The Underwor(l)d, when ChatGPT4 is reliable
The web has its words code. And ChatGPT4 is reliable in explaining it. “The Underwor(l)d — Le parole nascoste” is the Italian dictionary (to be commercialized as a plugin) that provides a translation of the games hackers’ jargon, based on the results from queries on English chatbots and other online tools.
UrbanDictionary, FluentSlang, and ChatGPT4 are a few of them: everyone can look there for the definitions of web expressions that schools should teach (and don’t).
Understanding terms is an issue for beginners and foreigners, too. Indeed, 33 % of the surveyors among Italian gamers needed to search for explanations of one or more English words found online. Tarzaning amid web pages takes time and may be wasteful. A dictionary represents an immediate and valuable response.
Yet, a doubt may arise regarding the soundness of online tools. Indeed, internet open sources aren’t trustworthy if you search for facts. Hallucinations and fake news are only a part of the problem. But if you want to clarify conventional slang inside the web, these means are consistent since they scrape and give results depending on what they find within the net.
The Jargon
The plugin (an extension for a browser) should be simple: double-click a word, and you get the Italian meaning in a little balloon without exiting the web page you are in.
At the moment, I’ve collected 1,240 English jargon words or phrases from chats and forums. Here are some examples, with the correspondent Italian translation (and the source for the explanation):
· “Anibus”, tr. Anubi, ex. variante grafica di “Anubis” (nome di divinità egizia), indica una versione modificata per il gioco “Lethal Company” (fonte: www.unknowncheats.me)
· “Teh Leetz0r Hax”, tr. fighissimo, ex. talmente bello da non poter essere descritto con parole normali (fonte: www.urbandictionary.com)
· “Gaslit”, tr. manipolazione psicologica, ex. variante grafica di “gaslight” (dall’opera teatrale “Gas Light”, 1938, di Patrick Hamilton), nel gergo di internet detto anche in senso ironico (fonte: www.knowyourmeme.com)
· “Fr”, tr. per davvero, ex. acronimo, dall’inglese “for real”. Usato in chat per enfatizzare un argomento o esprimere sgomento per qualcosa di incredibile (fonte: www.howtogeek.com)
· “Fr-bloody-ee”, tr. dannatamente gratuito, ex. dalle parole inglesi “bloody free”. Interpolazione nella parola “free” (gratuito) della parola “bloody” (sanguinoso), utilizzata in inglese britannico come rafforzativo (fonte: ChatGPT4)
Hackers
In addition, according to a 2022 report from Arkose Labs, stolen Gaming — Premium Accounts data are the most remunerative in the hacking environment. “The table below shows the [back then] market price of various types of accounts by industry based on the estimated credential harvested after completing an attack”.
The topic is sensitive, especially for teenagers who can be targets of grooming. The filters from forum spaces aren’t always effective; moderators aren’t present everywhere.
So, “The Underwor(l)d — Le parole nascoste” provides an easy-to-use tool for Italian gamers who can face fraud and scams when playing the games. Increasing awareness is the North Star that guides me in developing the product.
The Journey
This solution is part of the project “CyberCrimeClues”, which I have been working on since 2022 (website: www.cybercrimeclues.com, Instagram/Twitter: @cybercrimeclues). Uncovering cybercrime through cyber investigation follows the same logic as the dictionary: using OSINT to investigate frauds within Web 3.0.
I started my work through a crowdfunding campaign that helped me buy the license for the software Maltego, which is popular in security. Still, I needed to have a clear revenue model in mind. I searched for partners or funders but didn’t find any investors. I stopped the website for sustainability reasons.
Yet, in the meantime, I participated in the Product Immersion program by NewmarkJ+. It helped me think about my job not only from a journalistic perspective. I started designing a path and being aware of possible economic returns. The Entrepreneurial Journalism Creators Program (EJCP), which I’ve been following since October, boosted my ideas. How could technology apply to journalism interactively and sustainably?
I’ve found my answer. I will work on the translation and build the plugin (hiring a developer) in the next few months. In the meantime, I’ll start spreading the word among Italian gamers. They will be able to report chat phrases they don’t understand, and I will reward them mentioning their name and giving a list of gamers’ forums I visited during my research.
