michaelzimmer

michaelzimmer, 11 days ago to random

There's no way anyone could've possibly predicted this. /s

OpenAI finds Russian and Chinese groups used its tech for propaganda campaigns
https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2024/05/30/openai-disinfo-influence-operations-china-russia/

michaelzimmer, 1 month ago to random

Today is Black Mirror Writers Room day in my graduate Data Ethics class, and it is gonna be so much fun.

(h/t @cfiesler and her overview here: https://medium.com/cuinfoscience/the-black-mirror-writers-room-the-case-and-caution-for-ethical-speculation-in-cs-education-5c81d05d2c67)

michaelzimmer, 1 month ago to random

Extremely excited to have this article finally published. @Priya @vitak and I started the research that led to this publication back in 2017. I think we had at least one previous CSCW and a journal rejection along the way (maybe more, I've lost track), until we decided to completely re-envision the entire endeavor. Very happy with the result, where we provide privacy researchers a roadmap for applying "contextual integrity" to qualtitative data.
https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/3653710

michaelzimmer, 2 months ago to random

Facebook snooped on users’ Snapchat traffic in secret project, documents reveal
https://techcrunch.com/2024/03/26/facebook-secret-project-snooped-snapchat-user-traffic/

michaelzimmer, 3 months ago to random

We are very early in a larger analysis, but if you plot the monthly average sentiment of reviews posted for the top 20 #femtech apps for tracking women's sexual health and wellbeing, it looks like this. Guess what happened in early 2022 when the average drops from positive to negative? (we have lots of rich data to start to process)

michaelzimmer, 3 months ago to random

Thrilled this paper has finally been published, where @cfiesler @profprof @sarahgilbert Naiyan Jones and I dig into 134 studies that relied on Reddit data that also discussed the ethical implications of their data collection & methodologies. Through our analysis, we provide a set of recommendations for ethically-informed methods and reflection for researchers working with social data.

Remember the Human: A Systematic Review of Ethical Considerations in Reddit Research
https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/3633070

michaelzimmer, 3 months ago to random

For decades, robots.txt governed the behavior of web crawlers. But as unscrupulous AI companies seek out more and more data, the basic social contract of the web is falling apart.
https://www.theverge.com/24067997/robots-txt-ai-text-file-web-crawlers-spiders

michaelzimmer, 3 months ago to random

Really kinda think a Butlerian Jihad isn't that bad of an idea.

SpaceX to Deorbit 100 Starlink Satellites Due to Detected Flaw
https://gizmodo.com/spacex-to-deorbit-100-starlink-satellites-due-to-detect-1851251676

michaelzimmer, 5 months ago to random

I used to think the biggest gap in how PhD programs train future academics is the general lack of instruction on how to be an effective university teacher. But really, it is the complete obfuscation of how many goddamn forms you have to navigate to do pretty many any aspect of our jobs.

michaelzimmer, 6 months ago to random

Could write an entire dissertation on this tweet.

michaelzimmer, 6 months ago to OpenAI

Just let it collapse under its own absurdity. We were fine without it.
#OpenAI

michaelzimmer, 6 months ago to random

According to Google Scholar, my citation count crossed the 5,000 threshold overnight. So I guess that's something.

michaelzimmer, 6 months ago to random

If you want a critical deep dive into the myth of Elon Musk, I highly recommend the “Elon Musk Unmasked” podcast series by @parismarx

https://www.techwontsave.us/episode/189_elon_musk_unmasked_origins_of_an_oligarch_part_1

michaelzimmer, 7 months ago to random

I just noticed there aren't any ethicists - or representation from independent universities - on Governor Ever's new "Task Force on Workforce and Artificial Intelligence". I just emailed and volunteered my services to fill both gaps.

https://dwd.wisconsin.gov/ai-taskforce/

michaelzimmer, 7 months ago to random

Join me, @ylva and the @AoIR Ethics Working Committee for two #AoIR2023 panels focusing on emerging challenges and approaches to addressing the complex ethical issues related to our research practices. Thursday at 1:30pm and Friday at 8:30am (both in O'Keefe Room).
https://www.conftool.org/aoir2023/index.php?page=browseSessions&ismobile=true

michaelzimmer, 9 months ago to random

It seems the brilliant minds at X (nee Twitter) figure the best way to bump up MAU numbers is to just add random tweets to one's notifications. I suddenly had 20 notifications on my app icon, so I figured I'd go check out what I got tagged in. Of course, it was all just garbage posts, but they got me to be "active" today. What a joke.

michaelzimmer, 10 months ago to random

Just noticed that the Penguin Random House page for our MIT Press "Information Society" book series already has a listing for the forthcoming "The Secret Life of Data: Navigating Hype and Uncertainty in the Age of Algorithmic Surveillance" by @aram and @jesse
https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/739508/the-secret-life-of-data-by-aram-sinnreich-and-jesse-gilbert/

michaelzimmer, 10 months ago to random

Program overview for #CSCW2023 is live, and the closing plenary with @ruchowdh is a must-attend event. This means I'll be flying from MSP directly to PHL for #AoIR2023 that starts that same day. Wheee!
https://cscw.acm.org/2023/index.php/program-overview/

michaelzimmer, 10 months ago to random

Saw a similar example here, and thought I'd try asking ChatGPT about prime numbers ending with 2. OMG.

michaelzimmer, 11 months ago to random

It takes a special kind of stupid to limit the number of posts users can view on a (struggling) advertising-supported platform.

michaelzimmer, 11 months ago to random

What I don't get about the Reddit drama is how did so many mods think the platform actually would have their back and "cared" about their particular communities? Reddit is a multi-billion dollar advertising-based corporation, plain and simple.

michaelzimmer, 1 year ago to random

My students are often shocked/dismayed when I point out that after the original gorilla mislabeling fiasco, they simply removed the ability to label anything as "gorilla" rather than address the core problem (and if the problem isn't fixable...maybe we shouldn't pursue face labels at all?). The journey continues to this day.... https://www.nytimes.com/2023/05/22/technology/ai-photo-labels-google-apple.html

michaelzimmer, 1 year ago to random

Wherein the WaPo discovers that systems of surveillance are almost always designed/deployed for monitoring already marginalized communities.

Eyes on the poor: Cameras, facial recognition watch over public housing https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2023/05/16/surveillance-cameras-public-housing/