Cynthia Dwork & other privacy experts show why Trump Admin’s politically motivated decision to prevent the Census Bureau from using the best methods to protect confidentiality will end up with worse quality data, less publicly available data, and/or a privacy breach. scottaaronson.blog?p=9902

An American privacy emergency: Guest post from Cynthia Dwork et al.

Scott’s foreword: Cynthia Dwork is Gordon McKay Professor of Computer Science at Harvard, and a pioneer in the fields of differential privacy and algorithmic fairness. On my recent travels to…

scottaaronson.blog

The Project of AI is a world-building endeavor, wherein those who fund and develop AI systems both operate through and seek to sustain networks of power and wealth. dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/...

Reckoning with the Political Economy of AI: Avoiding Decoys in Pursuit of Accountability | Proceedings of the 2026 ACM Conference on Fairness, Accountability, and Transparency

dl.acm.org

NEW: Researchers & data advocates @apduorg.bsky.social, @copafs.bsky.social, @icpsr.bsky.social, @popassocamerica.bsky.social call for the Trump admin to rescind a ban on “noise infusion” as a way to protect people’s privacy in Census Bureau statistics or allow for public input before data changes

My 25th anniversary OII talk mixes old tech, political economy, and new US-based focus group data about youth/AI (in collab with Project Vibes). (Hint: teens' simultaneous use and HATRED of AI....) It's a fun one, so check it out: www.oii.ox.ac.uk/news-events/...

OII | OII 25th Anniversary Public Lecture. Dreaming of a Networked World: Reflections on the Political Economy of the Internet

In this talk, danah will weave through internet pasts, presents, and future to shed light on the good, bad, and ugly so that we may leverage our knowledge of what happened in pursuit of a more just an...

oii.ox.ac.uk

I have a new book coming out this fall and now I’m getting SLAMMED with GenAI invitations to join their book community (for a fee of course). I doubt I’m alone. But what I can’t work out is how the economy of these pay-to-play networks is working. Has anyone investigated? Curious minds want to know.

It's weird to read the pope's msg cuz it echos my upcoming co-authored FAccT paper. "Reckoning with the Political Economy of AI" argues that political & economic maneuvering of those invested in the project of AI must be analyzed separately from the technical workings of AI. lnkd.in/eFgthayX

🔥🔥 talk at @princetoncitp.bsky.social on the #politicaleconomy of #AI, turning #safety and #regulation into decoys, and how to see the new market-making strategies of monopoly. Joint work with @zephoria.bsky.social, Alex Taylor and Ben Shestakovsky. #academicsky www.youtube.com/watch?v=m7ju...

CITP Seminar:Janet Vertesi - Where Fairness Fails: How to Confront Material Political Economy of AI

YouTube video by CITP Princeton

youtube.com

I will try not to cry. Knowing it would happen doesn’t make it any less sucky. www.washingtonpost.com/politics/202...

Whistleblower claims ex-DOGE member says he took Social Security data to new job

The Social Security inspector general’s office is investigating allegations that the former DOGE engineer took sensitive data on a thumb drive in a major potential security breach, said people familia...

washingtonpost.com

Janet Vertesi on the ways in which the pursuit of space is the new railroad fantasy. Yay for dreams of domination! ::groan:: www.techpolicy.press/in-the-twent...

In the Twenty-first Century, Space is the New Railroad for Billionaire Ambitions

Billionaires are playing a game of orbital Monopoly, writes Janet Vertesi.

techpolicy.press

Did you know that Nepal had a high-stakes election last week? That the backstory involved Discord, a youth movement, and a rapper-turned-politician? I didn't - at least until a student of mine told me. She wrote it up for others to learn too: www.techpolicy.press/nepals-gen-z...

Nepal's Gen Z Used TikTok and Discord to Win a Historic Election

The election of rapper-turned politician Balen Shah was shaped by platforms and algorithms built on the other side of the world, writes Aaradhyaa Gyawali.

techpolicy.press

Current household debate: Who bullshits more - GenAI or politicians?

::bounce:: My upcoming book - "Data Are Made, Not Found: A Story of Politics, Power, and the Civil Servants Who Saved the U.S. Census" - is on the shortlist for the J. Anthony Lukas Work-in-Progress Prize!!! Thank you CJS/Nieman for your encouragement!! journalism.columbia.edu/news/lukas-s...

Here is a lovely article about the newest #SloanFellow recipients at Cornell. So inspiring! Congrats to all. news.cornell.edu/stories/2026...

Five from Cornell named 2026 Sloan Research Fellows | Cornell Chronicle

Five Cornell faculty members are among 126 early-career researchers across North America who have won 2026 Sloan Research Fellowships from the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation.

news.cornell.edu

danah boyd@zephoria.bsky.social · 6mo ago

I am tickled pink to share that I received a 2026 Sloan Research Fellowship. I've always been sooooo impressed by the amazing scholarship produced by the academics that Sloan selects for this fellowship and so I'm utterly giddy to be among them. sloan.org/fellowships/...

I am tickled pink to share that I received a 2026 Sloan Research Fellowship. I've always been sooooo impressed by the amazing scholarship produced by the academics that Sloan selects for this fellowship and so I'm utterly giddy to be among them. sloan.org/fellowships/...

2026 Fellows | Alfred P. Sloan Foundation

Our mission is to make the world a better place through the advancement of scientific knowledge.

sloan.org

It’s that time. The time each year when I have a second job as a cookie peddler. Help me out! Who wants a cookie from a Girl Scout? I know you do… digitalcookie.girlscouts.org/scout/nava80...

Order your Faves on my Digital Cookie Site Today

That's right! You can order your favorite Girl Scout Cookies from me online, all while helping my troop and I do great things in our community and beyond! Check it out.

digitalcookie.girlscouts.org

ICE at the polls! Bannon is basically yelling “fire” in a crowded theater here. His objective is to cause chaos (and suppress votes on the left). And it’s already working. This threat works on multiple levels and doesn’t have to be “real” to serve its purpose. Let me explain & offer some advice.

Kyle Griffin@kylegriffin1.bsky.social · 6mo ago

Steve Bannon says the federal government is planning to send ICE officers to patrol polling stations during the midterms. "We're going to have ICE surround the polls come November." "We're not going to sit here and allow you to steal the country again." www.democracydocket.com/news-alerts/...

Tomorrow night, @noupside.bsky.social and I are talking Teens, Screens & Minds. Join us! interintellect.com/salons/teens...

Teens, Screens & Minds: danah boyd in Conversation with Renée DiResta

What’s really happening with teenagers, screens, and mental health?Much of today’s public debate is driven by claims that smartphones are "rewiring" an entire generation; popular books like "The Anxio...

interintellect.com

Our fight against Trump’s reckless threat to dismantle NCAR continues, and we are building a bipartisan coalition to stop it. I urge all Coloradans to make their voices heard during the NSF's public comment period. See the Daily Camera’s reporting 👇🏽

Rep. Joe Neguse urges residents to send comments to NSF in support of NCAR

U.S. Rep. Joe Neguse, a Lafayette Democrat, is urging all Boulder and Colorado residents to submit written comments to the National Science Foundation in support of the National Center for Atmosphe…

dailycamera.com

I made a deep dive video into the TESCREAL ideology shaping Silicon Valley’s biggest companies and the AI arms race, and how a shocking number of tech billionaires are pro-human extinction

Tech Billionaires Want Us Dead

YouTube video by Taylor Lorenz

youtu.be

Have you read the 1994 account of alt.tasteless vs. rec.pets.cats lately? I hadn't. The closing para sent shudders down my spine. www.wired.com/1994/05/alt-...

The Atlantic posted an article about memorization and generative AI, and it mentions our work on extraction of books from production LLms and open-weight models. www.theatlantic.com/technology/2... The referenced work reflects research with @marklemley.bsky.social @jtlg.bsky.social and others.

AI’s Memorization Crisis

Large language models don’t “learn”—they copy. And that could change everything for the tech industry.

theatlantic.com

Join us on Monday November 3 at 7pm ET for a Peoples & Things livestream featuring Cory Doctorow @pluralistic.net.web.brid.gy on his book, _Enshittification: Why Everything Suddenly Got Worse and What to Do About It_, with special guest host @zephoria.bsky.social! www.youtube.com/watch?v=WjFv...

OMG OMG OMG. I handed in my upcoming book on the census - "Data Are Made, Not Found: A Story of Politics, Power, and the Civil Servants Who Saved the US Census." Now, the fine folks at the University of Chicago Press will begin the march towards production (September 2026). OMG OMG OMG.

I can't stop thinking about @bedoyausa.bsky.social's essay this week. It is a story-forward account of why the American people are struggling. (Hint: political economy.) It's the kind of account that makes an ethnographer swoon. I can't recommend this enough: newrepublic.com/article/2011...

How I Became a Populist

My time at the Federal Trade Commission—before Donald Trump fired me—totally changed the way I see our political divide.

newrepublic.com

Today is one of those days where I can’t stop thinking about Kurt Vonnegut’s “Harrison Bergeron.” I invite you to (re)read it. archive.org/stream/Harri...

I’m so grateful for the committee who recognized our paper, which was a wonderful collaboration with @cyberlyra.bsky.social marrying insights from two in-depth ethnographic projects to examine how time and money are weaponized for political agendas in govt.

ASA SKAT@asaskat.bsky.social · 12mo ago

#ASA2025 Star-Nelkin Paper Award Honorable Mention: Janet Vertesi and danah Boyd: @cyberlyra.bsky.social @zephoria.bsky.social “The Resource Bind: System Failure and Legitimacy Threats in Sociotechnical Organizations Authors” 🔗: doi.org/10.6092/issn...

The sociotechnical team at MSR is amaaaazing. I’m sad to be leaving but I really hope some amazing researcher gets to work with them. Check out this fabulous job opportunity:

Nancy Baym@nancybaym.bsky.social · last yr.

We may have the chance to hire an outstanding researcher 3+ years post PhD to join Tarleton Gillespie, Mary Gray and me in Cambridge MA bringing critical sociotechnical perspectives to bear on new technologies. jobs.careers.microsoft.com/global/en/jo...

"Is AI inevitable?" was a fun podcast convo on "AI for All Tomorrows." Check it out: www.youtube.com/watch?v=-l5g...

Is AI Inevitable? with danah boyd

YouTube video by AI for All Tomorrows

youtube.com

EFF is 35! 🎉 We've spent three+ decades defending your rights online—and we're not slowing down:

35 Years for Privacy, Free Speech, and a Brighter Future

Through July 10, new monthly or annual Sustaining Donors get an EFF35 Challenge Coin! With your help, EFF is here to stay.

eff.org