Google set to fight violent extremism online

Google wants to tackle extremism, not with a full-scale invasion of a conveniently oil-rich country, but with an online network.

The network, called Against Violent Extremism (AVE), is the brainchild of the Institute for Strategic Dialogue (ISD) with support from the internet giant’s think/do tank Google Ideas, the Gen Next Foundation and other partners.

According to Google, AVE brings together “former extremists, survivors, non-profits and private sector leaders from around the world” with the aim of tackling “the problem of violent extremism”.

The company says the main focus is on stopping young people from becoming radicalised. In order to do this, it decided to initiate conversation between young people and former extremists. These so-called “formers” include a former violent jihadist from Indonesia and an ex-neo-Nazi from Sweden.

Google says it decided to spotlight formers as positive role models for youth. It also wanted to bring something usually tasked to governments into the private sector

It claims that the idea for AVE came about after it hosted Summit Against Violent Extremism in Dublin because it wanted “to go beyond the in-person, physical conversations we had at the summit into the realm of the virtual, using the internet to ensure sustained discussion and debate”.

Google reckons that “there has never before been a one-stop shop for people who want to help fight these challenges—a place to connect with others across sectors and disciplines to get expertise and resources”.

It also thinks it can make a difference in some of the other illicit areas that fund radical extremism including drugs, human trafficking and the underground arms trade.

The company claims that it plans “to bring together a diverse cross-section of activists, survivors, policymakers and engineers to come up with creative ideas about how technology can disrupt some of the world’s most dangerous illicit networks”.

“We want to look not only at how technology has been part of the problem, but how it can be part of the solution by empowering those who are adversely affected by illicit networks,” said Google Ideas director Jared Cohen.

The site will be managed by the London-based ISD, which is experienced when it comes to dealing with ideas around radicalisation.

AVE’s seed members are a global network of formers, survivors of violent extremism, NGOs, academics, think tanks and private sector execs—all with a shared goal of preventing youth from becoming radicalised.