The BBC just published an excellent dive into Ryan's (@antisomniac.bsky.social), Kevin's (@ze.vin), and Ethan's (@ethanz.bsky.social) random sampling work on YouTube, with visualizations based on data pulled from from Kevin's fantastic TubeStats project. www.bbc.com/future/artic...

How a computer that 'drunk dials' videos is exposing YouTube's secrets

YouTube is about to turn 20. An unusual research method is unveiling statistics about the platform that Google would rather keep secret.

bbc.com

Really happy with this piece about the social media scraping crackdown, effects on research, bipartisan importance of ensuring such research is possible, & permissioned vs. unpermissioned research. @techpolicypress.bsky.social (with @ethanz.bsky.social & @ze.vin) www.techpolicy.press/ai-companies...

AI Companies Threaten Independent Social Media Research | TechPolicy.Press

UMass Amherst researchers argue that researcher access to social media data should be one of the rare things all political factions in the US can agree on.

techpolicy.press

Researchers Ryan McGrady, Ethan Zuckerman, and Kevin Zheng argue that if we want responsible policy about social media, it begins with making it possible for American researchers to answer fundamental questions about how social media is shaping our public discourse. https://buff.ly/4hglUdV.

AI Companies Threaten Independent Social Media Research | TechPolicy.Press

UMass Amherst researchers argue that researcher access to social media data should be one of the rare things all political factions in the US can agree on.

buff.ly

my favorite albums of 2024 — featuring lizzy mcalpine, charli xcx, clairo, katy kirby, carol ades, maude latour, and more! (full list in alt text)

TubeStats.org, our platform transparency dashboard for YouTube developed at @idpiumass.bsky.social, was referenced in @washingtonpost.com! www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2...

happy to have helped with organizing this workers’ inquiry into “ai” at umich (graphic design is my passion 😌) I’m excited to see what workers at other universities/workplaces can come up with when they work together to counter narratives of “ai” inevitability and address algorithmic harms at work!

Linda Huber@puellaludens.bsky.social · 2y ago

I made a shareable version of our "AI workers' inquiry for University Workers and Students." We used this as part a workshop last month. Feel free to re-use, improve, and reach out if you wanna compare notes on running a similar workshop at your uni! docs.google.com/document/d/1...

For the December issue of The New Republic, I reviewed AI SNAKE OIL. For those learning about AI, it offers a lot: exegesis of technical details, a taxonomy to sift through different algorithmic systems, and a depoliticized history that taints the book’s analysis. newrepublic.com/article/1883...

AI Scams Are the Point

Propaganda and deceit are a feature of AI, not its downfall.

newrepublic.com

i'm back on bluesky...with more friends this time! check out this starter pack of all my awesome information phd colleagues at umich!! go.bsky.app/QcSqJrU

school of information, university of michigan

Join the conversation

go.bsky.app

Our team's paper, "Dialing for Videos: A Random Sample of YouTube," is out now in @journalqd.bsky.social. We analyzed 10,000 random YouTube videos through metadata analysis, a spoken language identification model, and hand-coding. Here are our 5 main takeaways:

VERY excited to delve into: loud men talking loudly report on exclusionary cultures of internet governance – corinne cath. https://www.criticalinfralab.net/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/LoudMen-CorinneCath-CriticalInfraLab.pdf

waking up and checking bluesky immediately

went to gay church (muna show) last night 🤠

this past weekend in dc, i learned that the smithsonian was named after some british guy named smithson??? and he’s entombed in this castle???

This morning, I ground some roasted beans then irrigated them with water. I drank the resulting liquid. And you won’t guess what happened next. I experienced higher levels of energy and productivity. And I want to share this experience with you. Are you ready to join me on this journey?

april 5x5!

me and my best friend (my roommate’s dog Bourbon) love to look wistfully out the window

oops @ethanz.bsky.social 🫣

Taylor Lorenz@taylorlorenz.bsky.social · 3y ago

If u use ur invite code to invite a boss or editor on here ur a NARC

saw caroline polachek in boston and her voice is incredible 😍

what should i get from costco today

wearing blue pants in honor of joining blue sky (not planned)