We present a computational approach to modeling the intent of a communication source representing a group or an individual to engage in violent behavior. Our aim is to identify and rank aspects of radical rhetoric that are endogenously related to violent intent to predict the potential for violence as encoded in written or spoken language. We use correlations between contentious rhetoric and the propensity for violent behavior found in documents from radical terrorist and non-terrorist groups and individuals to train and evaluate models of violent intent. We then apply these models to unseen instances of linguistic behavior to detect signs of contention that have a positive correlation with violent intent factors. Of particular interest is the application of violent intent models to social media, such as Twitter, that have proved to serve as effective channels in furthering sociopolitical change.
Revised: February 13, 2014 |
Published: January 3, 2014
Citation
Sanfilippo A.P., L.R. Mcgrath, and E.B. Bell. 2014.Computer Modeling of Violent Intent: A Content Analysis Approach. In International Handbook of Threat Assessment, edited by JR Meloy and J Hoffmann. 224-235. New York, New York:Oxford University Press.PNNL-SA-91041.