Lol, so much for that AI ROI

The rapid shift toward unified, bipartisan opposition to data centers has been incredibly to witness. It's a real testament to the tech industry that they've managed to devise something so widely unpopular.

I wrote about the fight against data centers and how it could impact the midterms for @rollingstone.com

Very pleased with this commencement speech trend of students booing AI boosters futurism.com/artificial-i...

It's truly sick how much the AI companies have already wormed their way into schools, including elementary schools. www.newyorker.com/culture/prog...

My team @aclu.org is hiring a Learning & Development Specialist to help train staff (lawyers, organizers, etc.) on privacy best practices! It's a two-year term limited $128k/yr position based in NYC. You're in the union & report directly to me. Please circulate/apply! www.aclu.org/careers/appl...

I'm thrilled to share that my new book is now available for pre-order! *Algorithmic Realism: Data Science Practices to Promote Social Justice* presents a new vision for how data science can help create a more equitable world, alongside practical steps for data scientists to follow.

My latest for @techpolicypress.bsky.social: why Democrats need to take the data center backlash seriously—and why opposition to data centers can unify Democrats around a winning message. www.techpolicy.press/the-public-i...

Tomorrow for any interested Ann Arbor folks.

This is one of the most sick statements I've seen from a tech company about how to get away with eroding privacy and civil liberties. Here's how Meta is strategizing about the release of new facial recognition glasses:

There really is no justification for this company’s existence.

Last week, I joined @justinhendrix.bsky.social and Maddy Dwyer @cdt.org to discuss DOGE, AI, and government "efficiency" initiatives for the @techpolicypress.bsky.social podcast. It's a rather grim topic, but I enjoyed making sense of it with Justin and Maddy. www.techpolicy.press/following-do...

This is such shoddy reporting by @washingtonpost.com that provides cover for AI hype and the Trump administration. It's incredibly clear that AI will make countless mistakes – and that the administration doesn't care.

There are many bad parts of Trump's new AI Action Plan, but the focus on accelerating data center development is going to be particularly damaging. Data centers aren't just bad for the environment in general -- they're also harmful to the communities they're located in.

Just because AI seems cool, that doesn't mean it's a reliable tool for making critical policy decisions. And with so many hallucinations, AI is probably slowing people down because they need to double check everything. www.techpolicy.press/using-ai-to-...

Big tech promotes the story that since ChatGPT burst onto the scene, AI has been so popular it's rushed to meet the demand. The reality is different. A study by design scholars shows tech co's have had to push AI on its users with a variety of intrusive tactics. How big tech is force-feeding us AI:

In our new policy brief for @datasociety.bsky.social, @mwoluchem.bsky.social and I break down the myths and industry talking points attached to data centers. Who benefits from unbridled data center growth and who is most at risk when such speculative ventures fail?

Excellent explainer on data centers @stpp-um.bsky.social to help communities understand them, their challenges, and policy options to manage their risks. Written by Terry Nguyen BA '25 @umfordschool.bsky.social and @benzevgreen.bsky.social, in partnership w/ Michigan Environmental Justice Coalition.

Even as a longstanding critic of "tech for good" initiatives, this is the most appalling example I've ever come across. If "AI for good" can't include challenging the use of AI to facilitate genocide, then it's truly a bankrupt movement.

States and AI companies tout data centers as a boon for local economies, but what's the reality? This policy brief reviews the evidence: data centers are harmful for the environment and tax breaks are a bad deal for communities. @stpp-um.bsky.social stpp.fordschool.umich.edu/research/pol...

This is a fascinating study and a valuable reminder not to rely on user surveys when evaluating the impacts of AI. My guesses to explain the results: users might 1) be susceptible to AI hype in framing their guesses of time saved and 2) systematically discount the time spent interacting with AI.

Great job AI! Thanks for solving climate change! www.ft.com/content/6922...

In exchange for tax breaks, a Michigan data center promised to bring 500 high-paying jobs. It delivered only 26 low-paying ones. What did the state do? It lowered the standard of job creation so that the data center was in compliance. And then passed more tax breaks. Absolutely infuriating.

New paper hot off the press www.nature.com/articles/s41... We analysed over 40,000 computer vision papers from CVPR (the longest standing CV conf) & associated patents tracing pathways from research to application. We found that 90% of papers & 86% of downstream patents power surveillance 1/

"In my 12 years as a legal aid lawyer ... my clients wrongfully lost Medicaid, Unemployment Insurance, or Social Security benefits due to AI. People got terminated when AI sent out incoherent paperwork" –@kevindeliban.bsky.social in @techpolicypress.bsky.social www.techpolicy.press/austerity-in...

AI is reshaping power and democracy in harmful ways, writes Kevin De Liban. “It is clearing Trump’s path to authoritarian rule” through decisions “that deprive the public of the resources needed to participate meaningfully in democracy.”

🚨 New series alert! 🚨In collaboration with @techpolicypress.bsky.social, we’re kicking off “Ideologies of Control,” two weeks of essays by researchers exploring how today’s tech systems are deepening democratic divides. www.techpolicy.press/tech-power-a...

🚨NEW SERIES ALERT🚨 My incredible @datasociety.bsky.social team with @techpolicypress.bsky.social just launched a series on "Tech Power and Democratic Crisis" (aka technofascism). The 1st piece by Jake Metcalf & Meg Young is out now: www.techpolicy.press/tech-power-a...

In @techpolicypress.bsky.social, I explain why using AI to reform government is much harder than policymakers and technologists assume. It's most directly about DOGE, but also raises warnings about the bipartisan push to adopt AI at all levels of government. www.techpolicy.press/using-ai-to-...

This is insane. Republicans have inserted language into the budget reconciliation bill that would ban states from regulating AI in any capacity for 10 years. from @404media.co www.404media.co/republicans-...

For @lpeblog.bsky.social , I wrote about DOGE, techno-authoritarians, and how all governance is information governance lpeproject.org/blog/the-rig...

To be clear: it took *two months* to get to this. If we don’t do everything we can to stop this now, it’s going to continue to get much worse very quickly

Oof.

Musk’s DOGE team wants to automate the federal gov, but history shows AI-led cuts end in disaster. Former AI Now fellow @benzevgreen.bsky.social explains why this experiment will gut essential services & become another case study in AI gone wrong. www.techpolicy.press/doge-plan-to...

New piece in @techpolicypress.bsky.social: Elon Musk and DOGE's AI plans exemplify the worst aspects of engineering hubris, and the impacts are going to be disastrous. www.techpolicy.press/doge-plan-to...

The DOGE team is displaying engineering hubris to an extreme degree, writes Ben Green, who fears this AI incursion will do incredible damage to federal operations and the people who depend on them.

The DOGE team is displaying engineering hubris to an extreme degree, writes Ben Green, who fears this AI incursion will do incredible damage to federal operations and the people who depend on them. www.techpolicy.press/doge-plan-to...

One sign of increasing AI use: this year, 20% of the PhD applications I reviewed included the word "delve." The last two years? Not a single one.

This is an older story, but worth keeping in mind through every step of the AI hype cycle. The whole business model relies on violating copyright law. If your business model relies on stealing your inputs, that's normally called not having a viable business model.

* Emerging scholars — a 2-year staff position in tech policy for candidates who have Bachelor’s degrees. It's an unusual program that combines classes, 1-on-1 mentoring, and work experience with real-world impact. Apply by Jan 10. citp.princeton.edu/programs/cit...

ACLU Technology Team is hiring for a 1-year Algorithmic Justice Fellow to work on cutting edge digital rights projects – including algorithmic audits of deployed AI systems and developing novel tools for analyzing emerging AI policies. www.aclu.org/careers/appl... #jobs

UMich STPP is trying to start a science & tech policy fellowship to work in the MI legislature (modeled on AAAS and state fellowships). We're hiring a Project Manager to get it going; position closes on November 17! Pls circulate! careers.umich.edu/job_detail/2... #scipolicy #techpolicy #altac #sts

Can laws be translated into software? In a new study, Nel Escher, Jeffrey Bilik, Nikola Banovic, and I show that the translation process is rife with misunderstandings, leading to errors and policy distortions in legal software. dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/...