The annual Pauline and Philip M. Piaker Memorial Lecture will be held on Thursday, September 4, at 7 pm, at the Chabad Center, 420 Murray Hill Rd., Vestal. The guest lecturer will be Joel Finkelstein, Ph.D., who will speak about “Algorithmic Hate: Botification, Antisemitism, and the Machinery of Mass Persuasion.” There is no charge, but reservations are required and can be made at the Chabad's website or by calling 607-797-0015. There will be an opportunity for a question-and-answer session after Finkelstein’s presentation. A dessert buffet will follow the program.
Finkelstein is the co-founder and chief science officer of the Network Contagion Research Institute, which deploys machine learning tools to expose the growing tide of hate and extremism on social media. He is a graduate of Princeton University, where his award-winning doctoral work focused on the psychology and neuroscience of addiction and social behavior. He currently directs the Network Contagion Lab at the Miller Center for Community Protection and Resilience at Rutgers University, where he trains the next generation of students in the field of critical intelligence, social-cyber threat identification and threat forecasting. His work on hate in social media has appeared in “60 Minutes,” The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, NPR and other media outlets. 
“In his lecture, Finkelstein will use data driven studies to expose how foreign regimes, ideological movements and propaganda networks exploit America’s openness – educational systems, nonprofit status, and digital platforms – to spread antisemitism and undermine national cohesion,” said organizers of the event. “Drawing on NCRI’s original research, the talk introduces the concept of botification: the cognitive process through which individuals lose agency and adopt rigid ideological programming. Antisemitism plays a central role in this process – used not just to incite hate, but to control, divide, and radicalize.”
Organizers added, “The lecture will blend psychological findings with network analysis, revealing how both authoritarian regimes and domestic actors manipulate platforms like TikTok and weaponize movements on the left and right to erode civic trust.”
“Personally, I am very much looking forward to learning more about the ideological puppeteering Dr Finkelstein has been studying and how his data can be used to prophylactically stop crimes,” said Rivky Slonim. “I am intrigued by the role social media plays in crafting cognitive biases, social incentives and algorithmic contagion. More generally, I am deeply appreciative of the support the Piaker family provides so that we in Binghamton can benefit from edifying presentations such as this one.”