What could it mean for an AI to be "politically neutral”? And can we measure it? New paper + dataset. We propose a definition that applies to any type of conflict on any topic: a neutral response should maximize approval on both sides of an issue, while keeping that approval balanced. 1/🧵

Big news! The 14th ACM Collective Intelligence Conference (CI 2026) will be held September 27-30, 2026, at the Virginia Tech Institute for Advanced Computing near Washington, DC. I'm excited to be a program co-chair this year. ci.acm.org/2026/ Papers and abstracts due 8 June. Check it out!

🧵 We are likely to need better democratic systems to navigate the challenges posed by AI advances. Today we're releasing the Democratic Capabilities Gap Map to show what needs to happen to make better democracy a reality.

📆save the date - Build Peace is back! We’re excited to share that Build Peace 2026 will take place this year from November 13-16 Co-organised @uwaterloo.ca 🎉 More details on the way - conference themes & ways to get involved @abualfatah.bsky.social @lukethorburn.com @allancheboi.bsky.social

Here is the syllabus from the most recent iteration of my Stanford Law School class on platform regulation. docs.google.com/document/d/1... 1/

Public Copy of 2026 Platform Regulation Syllabus

Foundations of Internet Speech Platform Regulation Schedule and assignments I experimented this term with allowing students to choose topics for five “deeper dive” sessions later in the class, out ...

docs.google.com

🚨New preprint and our results are rather concerning.. We find the "boiling frog" equivalent of AI use. Using large-scale RCTs, we provide *casual* evidence that AI assistance reduces persistence and hurts independent performance. And these effects emerge after just 10–15 minutes of AI use! 1/

Game theory does not have a way to distinguish "conflict" from "competition." I think the difference is whether people are using destructive moves (e.g. murder) to win the game. Such moves are defections in the meta-game of peace and security.

Could social media make us less polarized instead of more? We tested 5 algorithms on 3 platforms with 10,000 people for 6 months during the 2024 election, and found that the answer is yes. 🧵

🧑‍💻 New paper at #chi2026 w @lorenzspreen.eurosky.social and @stefanherzog.bsky.social Are you worried about how social media algorithms affect people’s beliefs? We are, so we tested engagement-based ranking algorithms against alternatives in a pre-reg’d collaborative filtering experiment... 🧵

I'm pretty sure the CJEU in Russmedia just casually dismantled 80% of the DSA with one ill-considered judgment. As I read it, it substitutes in GDPR rules -- not notice and takedown rules -- for any platform where a user is likely to post content about people. 1/ curia.europa.eu/juris/docume...

AI presents a fundamental threat to our ability to use polls to assess public opinion. Bad actors who are able to infiltrate panels can flip close election polls for less than the cost of a Starbucks coffee. Models will also infer and confirm hypotheses in experiments. Current quality checks fail

💥My report out now💥 📗 *VLOPs - how big is your Polarization Footprint? Towards a metric to give EU citizens transparency about an online systemic risk driving conflict in our societies* Connecting #polarizationfootprint concept to systemic risk framework of Digital Services Act (#DSA)

Is social media dying? How much has Twitter changed as it became X? Which party now dominates the conversation? Using nationally representative ANES data from 2020 & 2024, I map how the U.S. social media landscape has transformed. Here are the key take-aways 🧵 arxiv.org/abs/2510.25417

GreenEarth is creating open source AI-driven recommender infrastructure for BlueSky. Type a prompt, see your feed change. We are here for the users, the builders, the dreamers. Join us. greenearthsocial.substack.com/p/introducin...

Introducing GreenEarth

We're building advanced open source algorithms for social media

greenearthsocial.substack.com

Macron remarks are notable- some quotes: "We have been incredibly naive in entrusting our democratic space to social networks that are controlled either by large American entrepreneurs or large Chinese companies, whose interests are not at all the survival or proper functioning of our democracies."

Defend Democracy@defenddemocracy.eurosky.social · 10mo ago

President Macron: “Europeans, let's wake up! We have been incredibly naive in entrusting our democratic space to social networks.” defenddemocracy.eu/macron-democ...

🚨 PhD Position at the University of Amsterdam 🚨 Join my team as a computer scientist / computational social scientist working on LLMs, social media, and politics. We offer freedom, impact, and an inspiring environment at one of Europe's leading universities. 🔗 werkenbij.uva.nl/en/vacancies...

Vacancy — PhD Position on Improving Social Media Using Large Language Models

The Institute for Logic, Language and Computation (ILLC) at the University of Amsterdam is inviting applications for a fully funded PhD position in the NWO VIDI project "Improving Social Media Using L...

werkenbij.uva.nl

In the literature, there are two competing explanations for "echo chambers": 1️⃣ Algorithms curate what we see (“filter bubbles”) 2️⃣ People choose like-minded peers (“selective exposure”) Our new study suggests something surprising: both explanations might be wrong. 🧵 arxiv.org/abs/2508.10466

Online Homogeneity Can Emerge Without Filtering Algorithms or Homophily Preferences

Ideologically homogeneous online environments - often described as "echo chambers" or "filter bubbles" - are widely seen as drivers of polarization, radicalization, and misinformation. A central debat...

arxiv.org

Ever since I started thinking seriously about AI value alignment in 2016-7, I've been frustrated by the inadequacy of utility+RL theory to account for the richness of human values. Glad to be part of a larger team now moving beyond those thin theories towards thicker ones.

🔔 Often our tech policy interventions operate from linear, top-down assumptions that don't account for the complexity they seek to govern. To dig into this I'm co-organizing a workshop at ACM CI 2025 with Jason Burton, Joe Bak-Coleman, + Naomi Shiffman. You should come! ci-x-tp.github.io

Proposals for Build Peace (arguably the main conference on digital peacebuilding) are now open. This year it's near Barcelona in November. Consider applying! https://howtobuildpeace.org/attend-the-conference/register/

🚨 WEBINAR ALERT 🚨 Join KGI on March 25th for a live discussion on designing algorithmic feeds that put people first. As legislation and litigation around algorithms heats up, it’s never been more important to learn how they can be improved.

EVENT: Join us for Artificial Intelligence and Democratic Freedoms on April 10-11 at @columbiauniversity.bsky.social & online. Hosted with Senior AI Advisor @sethlazar.org. Co-sponsored by the Knight Institute & @columbiaseas.bsky.social. Panel info in 🧵. RSVP: knightcolumbia.org/events/artif...

Artificial Intelligence and Democratic Freedoms

knightcolumbia.org

Connected by Data are seeking examples of participatory digital governance to map out such projects around the world. https://connectedbydata.org/blog/2025/03/05/participatory-digital-governance

🔔 (new paper!) You might have heard of the "Habermas Machine", an AI-human pipeline that is really good at finding common ground between ideologically diverse groups, at least in lab settings. But can this kind of approach help in real world conflicts?

Thanks to TIME and Tharin Pillay for this great coverage of our work with @audreyt.org, @mchangama.bsky.social, @lukethorburn.com, Divya Siddarth and Emilie de Keulenaar: time.com/7258238/soci... Read the full paper here: www.arxiv.org/abs/2502.10834

Social Media Fails Many Users. Experts Have an Idea to Fix It

In a new paper, digital activist Audrey Tang and others emphasize the need for context and community over clicks.

time.com

Live near Chicago? Or going to ISA 2025? Want to geek out on conflict theory + coauthor a landmark paper? We're finding all the ways people distinguish between "good conflict" and "bad conflict" — but we need help, so we're hosting a workshop! You should come! https://forms.gle/BKxziu8zbZ1oZZqU8

Re-aligning SOCIAL MEDIA & AI: "Whom does it serve? That is the overarching issue as we confront "enshittification" & threats to democracy. Subject of 4 publications covered in this thread. 🧵 Most recent applies to PERSONAL AI AGENTS - "Have your AI call my AI" www.techpolicy.press/new-perspect...

New Perspectives on AI Agentiality and Democracy: "Whom Does It Serve?" | TechPolicy.Press

Richard Reisman and Richard Whitt write that interoperability will enable agential relationships that serve individuals and communities faithfully.

techpolicy.press

Register your interest in our LLMs & Public Discourse: Convening & Workshop by mid-December. This exclusive, invite-only event will occur in Berkeley, California, February 27-28, 2025. Complete the interest form here: docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F...

Interest Form: LLMs & Public Discourse Convening

Thank you for your interest in attending the LLMs & Public Discourse Convening in Berkeley, CA on Feb 27-28, 2025. The event is by invitation, but we have several seats open for technologists, rese...

docs.google.com

Build Up are hiring a Digital Peacebuilding Associate! You should apply. They're the best. https://docs.google.com/document/d/1WH9-zE7tt7EsFe-W_DFAhX3MGuhloiSSAhf0c_y4G_w/edit?usp=sharing

Today the European Commission proposed how Art.40 of the Digital Services Act (#DSA) could work in practice.In a worldwide first, this article in the DSA mandated very large platforms to grant researchers access to a wide range of previously undisclosed data.Some key points - now also on Bluesky :)👇