Computer Says Maybe

This week Sherif Elsayed-Ali came on the pod to discuss *concrete* -- an unlikely subject, but it's actually one of the biggest carbon emitters in the world. We learned a lot about how concrete is made (because we... knew nothing about that before, obviously) and how the process can be made more efficient and less wasteful with the addition of AI & machine learning. Listen to the episode to get a high level understanding of global emissions and an extremely detailed understanding of how you manufacture concrete. Link below 👇

Bianca Wylie and her network succeeded where many others have failed. They got Google to give up and go home. If you don't know the story of Sidewalk Labs (and even if you think you do) listen to this episode. We talk about: -what happened in 2017 when Google tried to win a huge bid to turn Toronto's waterfront into a 'smart city' -the sales tactics of big tech -the pressure on government officials to solve huge problems quickly and cheaply without building any capacity -what it teaches us about our current AI policy conversations This story is such a great example of the patience and focus we need to prevent the state from being hollowed out by well-resourced tech companies with ambitious PR operations and SO much more. Learn from Bianca's multi-year fight here: https://lnkd.in/ezG3U2EH

California is trying to do the seemingly impossible...pass regulation on AI. The bill, SB1047, is about to hit Governor Newsom's desk and he might veto it. The part stirring the most controversy is about AI safety testing, but there's another half of the bill that isn't getting as much attention. The bill ALSO mandates big public investment in cloud computing infrastructure. It's called CalCompute. While waiting to discover the fate of the bill, enjoy this podcast interview with Teri Olle at Economic Security Project who co-sponsored it. We dig deep into the idea of CalCompute and why an organisation working on economic thriving in the USA things public compute matters. Listen here:

Who keeps spinning the narrative that AI will destroy us? Or that it will usher us into an era of plenty? What do people stand to gain from all this? In our latest podcast ep Alix spoke to Hanna Barakat, John Tanner, and Daniel Stone to better understand: • How language and journalism are shaping AI narratives and public perception • How the tech industry uses this to this to their advantage • How civil society can leverage narrative frames to win friends and influence people The episode is linked below. Improve your day; listen NOW 👇

There are social scientists working their butts off to understand the harms of social media platforms and digital tech. How does that research influence different groups? Like policymakers, advocacy groups, the media, and the tech industry itself? How do we make sure this research isn’t ignored or unhelpful? Luckily for us, The Knight Foundation commissioned Issie Lapowsky to write a report called Bridging the Divide - https://lnkd.in/eDgGC4Vh - on that exact set of questions! Alix interviewed her and John Sands for our latest pod, and they both gave some great analysis on the trials and tribulations of research on these topics. Link below.

When I first heard that Pavel Durov of Telegram was taken into custody by the French government I thought, I have to know what Mallory Knodel thinks about this. Good news! She joined me on the Computer Says Maybe podcast to talk about: ✔️ the geopolitical implications of Durov’s arrest and what it might tell us about how France is positioning itself in global technology governance ✔️ whether Telegram is secure platform that stands up to autocrats or an unserious, unsafe platform that happened to get HUGE ✔️ which countries make online banking illegal ✔️and how far we’ve come in consumer, information security protections Mallory has worked for years on thorny questions of internet governance, free speech, cryptography and encryption, corporate power, and the use of digital tools by people under threat from various governments around the world. Side note: Mallory was also a high school physics teacher and literally wrote the book on explaining how the internet works to non-technical audiences (I’ll link it in comments), so come learn some things about encryption, internet governance, and technology politics from one of the best. Listen here: https://lnkd.in/eNshs_mv

When I first heard that Pavel Durov of Telegram was taken into custody by the French government I thought, I have to know what Mallory Knodel thinks about this. Good news! She joined me on the Computer Says Maybe podcast to talk about: ✔️ the geopolitical implications of Durov’s arrest and what it might tell us about how France is positioning itself in global technology governance ✔️ whether Telegram is secure platform that stands up to autocrats or an unserious, unsafe platform that happened to get HUGE ✔️ which countries make online banking illegal ✔️and how far we’ve come in consumer, information security protections Mallory has worked for years on thorny questions of internet governance, free speech, cryptography and encryption, corporate power, and the use of digital tools by people under threat from various governments around the world. Side note: Mallory was also a high school physics teacher and literally wrote the book on explaining how the internet works to non-technical audiences (I’ll link it in comments), so come learn some things about encryption, internet governance, and technology politics from one of the best. Listen here: https://lnkd.in/eNshs_mv

We just wrapped up Exhibit X! In a 5-part podcast series we explored how big tech might (eventually?!) be held accountable in the US legal system, and what it might look like for social scientists to emerge as 𝗲𝘅𝗽𝗲𝗿𝘁 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗲𝘀. If you haven’t been down a rabbit hole in a while this might be just what you’ve been looking for. Or… pick your fave: • 𝗕𝗶𝗴 𝗧𝗲𝗰𝗵 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗼𝗯𝗮𝗰𝗰𝗼: what can we learn from the big tobacco trials? How did they dodge accountability for so long and is big tech doing the same now? Featuring Prathm Juneja as co-host 😎 • 𝗪𝗵𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗹𝗲𝗯𝗹𝗼𝘄𝗲𝗿𝘀: companies aren’t going to disclose what they’re up to. And when it gets bad enough, what happens when someone speaks up reveals corporate backend practices? Alix spoke to Frances Haugen about her experiences whistleblowing for Facebook • 𝗟𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗴𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻: what can litigators do to stop complaints against big tech being thrown out in court? Big tech firms leverage section 230 and the first amendment to ensure cases never get far enough to compel discovery — Meetali Jain explains how this works, and we try and understand legalese • 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗖𝗼𝘂𝗿𝘁𝘀: how does social media content become viable as a piece of evidence in court? There’s a whole evidentiary process that you may not be aware of, and a bunch of other stuff to consider (digital media can be manipulated!). Alexa Koenig did a great job of untangling what it might take to modernise courts for our digital era. • 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗖𝗼𝗺𝗺𝘂𝗻𝗶𝘁𝘆: who are the people doing the research into platforms, and making that research legible to lawyers? When will these researchers be given the status of expert witnesses? Elizabeth Eagen thinks: soon 😲 If you’ve already listened to this and you want MORE (understandable), Prathm and Alix recorded a recap episode, for your pleasure. All linked below 👇

The NEON Comms Hub is excited to present Narrative Connections - a series of online sessions featuring a conversation between an international and a UK based organiser about messaging and campaigning on shared issues. 𝗪𝗵𝗼 𝗶𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗳𝗼𝗿: progressive comms people, people working in strategic communication, campaigners, organisers and spokespeople 𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝘄𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝗴𝗲𝘁 𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗼𝗳 𝗶𝘁: this is a chance to learn how organisers tackle similar struggles in different contexts, how messaging is deployed in campaigns to shift narratives digitally, on the doorstep and in the media and how different organising tactics interact with messaging strategies. This September we have lined up three incredible conversations: 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗰𝗼𝘀𝘁 𝗼𝗳 𝘄𝗶𝗻𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴: 𝗛𝗼𝘄 𝗟𝗮𝗯𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗗𝗲𝗺𝗼𝗰𝗿𝗮𝘁𝘀 𝘄𝗲𝗮𝗽𝗼𝗻𝗶𝘀𝗲 𝗽𝗿𝗼 𝗽𝗼𝗹𝗶𝗰𝗲 𝗻𝗮𝗿𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲𝘀 - 11th of September (Register here: https://bit.ly/3SImKG3)  Jeralyn Cave, 𝘳𝘢𝘤𝘪𝘢𝘭 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘤𝘦 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘥 𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘚𝘦𝘳𝘷𝘪𝘤𝘦 𝘌𝘮𝘱𝘭𝘰𝘺𝘦𝘦𝘴 𝘐𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘯𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘢𝘭 𝘜𝘯𝘪𝘰𝘯 (𝘚𝘌𝘐𝘜) 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘜𝘚, 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘣𝘦 𝘫𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘥 𝘣𝘺 𝘩𝘶𝘮𝘢𝘯 𝘳𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘤𝘪𝘷𝘪𝘭 𝘭𝘪𝘣𝘦𝘳𝘵𝘪𝘦𝘴 𝘤𝘢𝘮𝘱𝘢𝘪𝘨𝘯𝘦𝘳, Emmanuelle Andrews 𝘵𝘰 𝘥𝘪𝘴𝘤𝘶𝘴𝘴 𝘩𝘰𝘸 𝘣𝘰𝘵𝘩 𝘓𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘋𝘦𝘮𝘰𝘤𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘴 𝘸𝘦𝘢𝘱𝘰𝘯𝘪𝘴𝘦 𝘱𝘳𝘰-𝘱𝘰𝘭𝘪𝘤𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘯𝘢𝘳𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘴 𝘪𝘯 𝘦𝘭𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴. 𝗕𝘂𝗶𝗹𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝘁𝗵-𝗹𝗲𝗱 𝗺𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝗱𝗲𝗺𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗿𝗲𝗽𝗮𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗰𝗹𝗶𝗺𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝗷𝘂𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗰𝗲 - 19th of September (Register here: https://bit.ly/470svoB) Anthony Vidal Torres 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 Get Free 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘜𝘚 - 𝘢 𝘮𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘮𝘰𝘣𝘪𝘭𝘪𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘨 𝘱𝘦𝘰𝘱𝘭𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘳𝘦𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴 - 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘣𝘦 𝘫𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘥 𝘣𝘺 Green New Deal Rising’𝘴 Fatima Ibrahim 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘢𝘭𝘬 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘴𝘪𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘢𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘥𝘪𝘧𝘧𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦𝘴 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘤𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘤𝘩 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘮𝘰𝘷𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘨 𝘱𝘦𝘰𝘱𝘭𝘦. 𝗝𝗼𝗯𝘀, 𝗝𝗼𝗯𝘀, 𝗝𝗼𝗯𝘀: 𝗕𝗿𝗶𝗱𝗴𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗴𝗮𝗽 𝗯𝗲𝘁𝘄𝗲𝗲𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗰𝗹𝗶𝗺𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝗺𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘂𝗻𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 - 25th September (Register here: https://bit.ly/3WQE7pw) 𝘓𝘢𝘬𝘴𝘩𝘮𝘪 𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘷𝘢𝘴𝘢𝘨𝘢𝘺𝘢𝘮 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘞𝘪𝘳 𝘧𝘢𝘩𝘳𝘦𝘯 𝘻𝘶𝘴𝘢𝘮𝘮𝘦𝘯 𝘪𝘯 𝘎𝘦𝘳𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘺, 𝘢 𝘤𝘢𝘮𝘱𝘢𝘪𝘨𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘬𝘦𝘥 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘶𝘯𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘤𝘭𝘪𝘮𝘢𝘵𝘦 𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘴 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘣𝘦𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘬𝘦𝘳’𝘴 𝘳𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵𝘴 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘣𝘶𝘴 𝘥𝘳𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘴, 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘢𝘬 𝘵𝘰 𝘕𝘌𝘖𝘕’𝘴 𝘏𝘦𝘢𝘥 𝘰𝘧 𝘔𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘢𝘨𝘪𝘯𝘨, Dora Meade 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘪𝘴 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘢𝘨𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘬 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘛𝘜𝘊 𝘢𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥 𝘢 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘬𝘦𝘳-𝘭𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘴𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘦𝘭 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘢𝘶𝘵𝘰𝘮𝘰𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘪𝘯𝘥𝘶𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘺. 𝘰𝘱𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘶𝘯𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘦𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘤𝘰𝘭𝘭𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘣𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘴. 

𝗜𝗖𝗬𝗠𝗜: last week Alix interviewed Elizabeth Eagen for our final Exhibit X podcast ep. How do we decide what’s important when tech policy is both personal and public? How do we build out the field of sociotechnical scientists who can then be represented as expert witnesses in court? Full episode linked below!