MUST READ: New blog from former CDT Fellow Varun Nagaraj Rao (Princeton University) + UC Boulder’s @samanthadalal.bsky.social, investigating how opaque AI and algorithmic decisions impact rideshare drivers. cdt.org/insights/the...

Even more reason to form a union at your place of work (please don't ask ChatGPT and ask a volunteer at @organizeworkers.bsky.social).

The mods of r/ChangeMyView shared the sub was the subject of a study to test the persuasiveness of LLMs & that they didn't consent. There’s a lot that went wrong, so here’s a 🧵 unpacking it, along with some ideas for how to do research with online communities ethically. tinyurl.com/59tpt988

With respect to the researchers' claims that the "the potential benefits of this research substantially outweigh its risks," it seems to mostly rely on "warning call" benefits. I am personally not a fan of "we need to do harm to show that harm can be done" ethical justifications.

ai is a political project to centralize power

NEW Blog Post! Check out how CITP researchers are making real-world impact on the side of workers. Read "Revolutionizing Rideshare: Researchers Develop FairFare App to Empower Workers" 🔻 🙌 @andresmh.com @samanthadalal.bsky.social @dana.witchy.business blog.citp.princeton.edu/2025/03/25/r...

The Department of Education, among other things, is what funds special education for children with disabilities. Trump’s executive order will hurt kids and parents in virtually every school district in the country.

New level of microloan hell unlocked 🤡

Welp (University of California system-wide hiring freeze and other cost-cutting measures implemented) ucnet.universityofcalifornia.edu/employee-new...

Not an FTC commissioner using the Notes app to write his statement response to being fired by Tr*mp 😭 but fr damn this administration, their corruption, and their cronyism

@narijohnson.bsky.social and Sanika have a FAccT paper about this (and also compiled cases of abandoned algorithms): arxiv.org/abs/2404.13802

One of the core points of Community Notes was that the COMMUNITY trusts it. This was built into so many aspects of the original, including making the code open source

They're called public records for a reason. Starting today, WIRED will *stop paywalling* articles that are primarily based on public records obtained through the Freedom of Information Act, becoming the first publication to partner with @freedom.press to offer this for our new coverage.

by the way these are literally the exact same dumbass motherfuckers, not like them, the literal exact same fucking guys, saying government is inefficient and you should cancel it to give them all the governments money so they can provide you services instead

"Instead, to advance justice, we must radically transform not just the technology itself, but our ideas about it, and develop it from the bottom up, from the perspectives of those who stand the most risk of being harmed."

happy to announce the launch of my newsletter, String in a Maze. i'll be writing about the law, politics and media at least a few times a month, with a mix of free and premium content. thank you and bless up.

This is one of the most basic insights from 20th century polisci. The paradox of a democracy that presumes mass knowledge and participation, and manages to (at least barely) function in their absence, is one of our foundational puzzles. This is intro-level shit. And Balaji is failing the test.

Seen a lot of people dunking on this Microsoft (MSFT) CHI paper on the impacts of GenAI and critical thinking in knowledge work and I have to say a lot of this critique feels unfair. 🧵 1/n

I am once again begging companies to STOP shoving AI integrations down our throats!!! WE DON'T WANT IT

now that DeepSeek has completed AI, we hope that Silicon Valley will turn its attention to the next best thing: investing in rural history museums

THIS. What I term algorithmic agnotology.

dear CTA

Just because something is shorter does not mean it's simpler or easier to read. Sometimes longer narrative text is needed to tell a cohesive story and motivate a contribution.

Holiday gift idea for your grad student friends: Send them a nice note about a paper of theirs that you enjoyed. It takes max 5 mins, costs $0, and makes them feel warm and fuzzy on the inside.

If taken seriously, the first three will essentially subsidize Big Tech's experimental, glitchy products. Search for smart cities in old policy reports and replace them with "AI opportunity."

It should be noted that the original person who said this is @mollycrabapple.bsky.social - artist and activist. I find it odd that her name got cropped out of the original screenshot (from an article in LA Times, btw) and the uncredited version is the one that makes the viral rounds.

6. Lastly, public policy interest is on the rise. But many departments are actively navigating the role that HCI/CSCW/CS should actually play in public policy. Open question to track going forward.

2. Post-docs are now pretty much required to get a tenure track job. No one is really talking publicly about this shift and its implications for the academic market. Plenty of people are talking about it behind the scenes.

Since some seem determined not to get it: Arguing science shouldn’t be political is like arguing that ducks shouldn’t be waterfowl. Sure, whatever floats your boat, but they wouldn’t be ducks then would they? Science is a collective human effort at sensemaking—the very definition of political.

My feeling seeing yet another job I need to apply to

Hi Friends <3 making my bluesky debut in the best way possible - with a new paper announcement! I had the privilege to work with Nari Johnson & Siobhan Mackenzie Hall on a NeurIPS EvalEval paper interrogating the promised benefits of participation in AI dev to socially marginalized communities 🧵

My internship at the SMC @ MSR was one of the most formative experiences of my career. This team truly embodies what it means to take a human-centered approach to research. Apply!! You won't regret it! (also happy to answer peoples' Qs & give advice!)