"The tech story is being used to mask the political and social goal. And it’s important to understand that, because otherwise people waste their time fighting battles that might not matter...and losing the ones that do, like the actual decisions that an organization is making about its future."

"There is something particular about realizing that war is moving closer to you. The images, the emotions, the sounds, even the smells. The way we slowly grow accustomed to new forms of violence." Powerful story from Venezuela in @globalvoices.org globalvoices.org/2026/01/05/a...

Happy international day of everything everywhere all at once* to all who celebrate! *brought to you by our official sponsor, the schedule-send feature on every email app

I would pay news orgs to subscribe to future stories for an accurate picture of a breaking issue once facts are out. The problem is that information is least reliable at times of greatest demand- but avoiding news fosters disengagement. So why not let me in the moment subscribe to future updates?

"The survey also found that 17% of those who expressed a lack of confidence in vaccines say they get their information from US government websites."

“Here are a few mistakes we’ve noticed from open source researchers in recent years. Many examples are relevant to monitoring armed conflict”

*opens the news* *closes the news* Back to working on our project on content reviewer/moderator mental health. They're going to need the support this year I think.

If you are concerned that the internet & social media naturally default to the worst of humanity, consider why fascists are so committed to censorship. When we give up on listening to others and having good if hard conversations, we miss out on the best of humanity and let censors win.

Learning about the Christmas Eve sermon of Robert Barnes 500yrs ago, which got him accused of heresy & launched the English Reformation. Censorship debates collapse social, political, & interpersonal issues into a binary that escalates. We also need tools to de-escalate. youtu.be/XbODHakKHMc?...

When I write that resistance works in defense of our basic rights and freedoms, this is what I mean: www.nytimes.com/live/2025/12...

We got Meta’s “general global playbook” for defeating advertiser verification regulations, which the company knows would reduce scams. It includes making scam ads “not findable” for regulators searching Meta’s ad library through targeted scrubbing. www.reuters.com/investigatio...

How does censorship of science fit into broader US censorship? Excellent year in review by @attorneynora.bsky.social: "Acts of resistance have blunted the potency of Trump’s censorship campaign... Unquestionably, more and more Americans are rejecting his overreach." www.nytimes.com/2025/12/31/o...

Finally finished Michelle Murphy’s book Sick Building Syndrome, which aptly for a text on uncertainty, raises questions rather than answer them. It provides an important background for understanding the rise of MAHA. www.dukeupress.edu/sick-buildin...

I knew Katherine slightly during my D.C. days a dozen years ago. Then, as now, she was principled, fearless, and perceptive. She’s spot on re: the First Amendment implications of the public media fight. And as a lifetime NPR listener, I’m impressed by her leadership. www.nytimes.com/2025/12/30/b...

One lesson from the shocking story of this teenager's final AI interactions is how sensitive the data is. Journalists were not allowed to review the content itself. Society shouldn't have to wait for deaths & lawsuits to pile up. We need faster science. (1/n) www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2...

Catching up late on this from @natematias.bsky.social and Avriel Epps. As federally funded grants to study these issues disappear, another case of a company offering "measly" grants that at best will offer limited insights while hurting researcher credibility. www.techpolicy.press/beware-of-op...

Good news; a judge has blocked the detention of a technology researcher that the State Department had slated to deport. However, this is just the start of what will certainly be a longer-term challenge. What can we do about this? A thread. www.nytimes.com/2025/12/25/u...

MIT Technology Review profiles @rondeibert.bsky.social, who understood that civil society needed digital defense long before just about anyone else and has been doing it ever since. www.technologyreview.com/2025/12/24/1...

AI researchers need to understand that folks working on safety, bias, transparency, and audits could well be next. We urgently need to prepare for when it comes to our communities - hoping to stay at arms length will not protect anyone in the long term. www.nytimes.com/2025/12/23/t...

The State department continues to use false allegations of "censorship" to censor people, or in this case sanction them www.nytimes.com/2025/12/23/t...

Has anyone computed the cost to the economy of repeatedly verifying you're human? I would gladly install a browser plugin to find out how much time I lose each week to this and what the cost to my employer is.

Why has the State Dept told diplomats to deny visas to workers with experience in online safety? As @charlottewillner.bsky.social & Sullivan write: this risks "making life easier for the worst abusers," especially for child safety. www.bostonherald.com/2025/12/19/w...

Important caution by @natematias.bsky.social and Avriel Epps on OpenAI's grantwashing ploy to escape criticism of the real mental health risks of GenAI use. But industry-backed research grants have always been problematic and require careful negotiation. This is no different.

i'm spending my sick time sleeping and writing wikipedia articles, WikiNYC 400 only has 11 more days and there are still a bunch of articles that need writing! Here's mine on the first Black librarian of the 135th branch of the NY Public Library, Dorothy R Homer! en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dorothy...

One like, one video game recommendation. (I'll start with stuff I enjoyed in 2025! And then we'll see where we go from there.)

So what's the alternative to grantwashing you ask? We offer several ideas, including one by Alondra Nelson that borrows from the structure of the Human Genome project to dedicate 3-5% of R&D funding from emerging technologies to safety and ethics research. www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...

Thinking this weekend about a recent study on differences in effects between paid/professional punishment versus unpaid. This has relevance to many forms of cooperation, including the governance of online behavior by @raihanalam.bsky.social and @tagerai.bsky.social www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...

Should scientists apply to OpenAI's fund for research on AI & mental health? Should policymakers consider it a credible safety effort? Avriel Epps & I see it as "grantwashing," and it's an insult to anyone whose loved one's death involved chatbots. We explain: www.techpolicy.press/beware-of-op...

Very important piece. "Whether or not OpenAI leaders intend to muddy the waters of science, grantwashing hinders technology safety ... It adds uncertainty and debate in areas where companies want to avoid liability and that uncertainty gives the appearance of science."

Should scientists apply to OpenAI's fund for research on AI & mental health? Should policymakers consider it a credible safety effort? Avriel Epps & I see it as "grantwashing," and it's an insult to anyone whose loved one's death involved chatbots. We explain: www.techpolicy.press/beware-of-op...

The sanctions that Trump has imposed on the ICC and UN rapporteurs have been deterring American human rights advocates and scholars from exercising their First Amendment rights. This letter--obtained by @mesa1966.bsky.social & @knightcolumbia.org--should help. knightcolumbia.org/content/trum...

What does it mean for an online environment to be "toxic" or "polluted" and can we borrow ideas from environmental modeling to make online spaces more livable? @gedankenstuecke.scholar.social.ap.brid.gy has a post announcing a new CAT Lab project citizensandtech.org/2025/12/onli...

Complaints over what's taught in college classrooms aren’t new. But only in the past decade have professors contended with the possibility that what happens in a class could be easily taped and shared. Now many faculty are walking on eggshells, wondering what that means for the future of learning.

This looks super relevant to anyone who does research on gender based online harassment in our own times. Adding to my list.

1. Indiana passes law requiring website with more than 1/3 harmful-to-minors sexual content to verify that users are adults. 2. Pornhub parent Aylo responds by blocking Indiana users. 3. Indiana now sues because Hooisers may use VPNs to evade the geoblock, so ... events.in.gov/event/protec...

My second post about researchers’ rights to scrape data under DSA Article 40.12 is up! This is dense with legal arguments for researchers to use if they get sued. Or to show their lawyers before that. www.techpolicy.press/how-the-mean... verfassungsblog.de/dsa-fine-x-r...

Last week, Jon Penney, Sarah Brayne, & I discussed the role of AI and surveillance in transforming and scaling restrictions on academic freedom & speech. @jessicapriest.bsky.social has an excellent story on how gen AI is being used to do so in Texas universities www.texastribune.org/2025/12/15/t...

With mounting deaths that involve generative AI & social media in some way, the public is increasingly asking science for answers. Did these technologies play a role? Is this a wider trend? And if so, what can we do to prevent such deaths in the future? New pre-print: osf.io/3ebj2/files/...

A new app developed at @princetoncitp.bsky.social allows researchers to construct a large-scale dataset that aggregates individual worker data across many thousands of rides to shed light on the working conditions of rideshare drivers.

With mounting deaths that involve generative AI & social media in some way, the public is increasingly asking science for answers. Did these technologies play a role? Is this a wider trend? And if so, what can we do to prevent such deaths in the future? New pre-print: osf.io/3ebj2/files/...

NEW: We took a deep dive into ICE's data dragnet: the data brokers, biometrics tools, and license plate readers powering Trump's deportation effort. Some of the contracts are for tools previous administrations deemed too intrusive.

How can scientists make a difference when democratic norms, institutions, & rights are under threat? Weds @ 12:30 ET join me, Jon Penney, Sarah Brayne, & @katygb.bsky.social for a @knightcolumbia.org panel on science, the courts, & chilling effects. WE NEED YOU 🫵🏽 knightcolumbia.org/events/the-s...

We're currently seeking nomination materials for the @cip.uw.edu Award for Impact & Excellence. The submission deadline is January 15, 2026. Complete information: www.cip.uw.edu/cip-award-im...

How can scientists make a difference when democratic norms, institutions, & rights are under threat? Weds @ 12:30 ET join me, Jon Penney, Sarah Brayne, & @katygb.bsky.social for a @knightcolumbia.org panel on science, the courts, & chilling effects. WE NEED YOU 🫵🏽 knightcolumbia.org/events/the-s...

Springer Nature retracting papers based on bonkers dataset www.thetransmitter.org/retraction/e... Good. #autism

📣 It's again that time of the year 🤩 - our internship call for the FATE team @ MSR Montreal and our collaborators is now up! 🎉🎉 We are broadly looking for candidates interested in perceptions, evaluation, uses, and impacts of AI! #FAccT #FAccT2025 #CHI2025 #NeurIPS2025 #ACL2025

Tired of CS and other technology-adjacent departments giving Black women soft money faculty appointments that by definition will never lead to tenure. Off the top of my head, of people in my age cohort, at least an equal number of Black CS faculty are that precarious position as in TT roles.

Deeply worried about how AI is simultaneously eroding layers of knowledge institutions, including peer review. This company charged almost $300k from high school students who wanted to publish AI work in NeurIPS - AND those students then served as reviewers O_O www.theguardian.com/technology/2...

“Farid says that he now counsels students to not go into AI research, because of the “frenzy” in the field and the large volume of low-quality work being put out by people hoping to better their career prospects” www.theguardian.com/technology/2...

Today, December 6th, is the National Day of Remembrance and Action on Violence Against Women in Canada. I wrote about the event that precipitated its creation, and its role in my own life, on its 25th anniversary. buttondown.com/metafoundry/...