NYU Alliance for Public Interest Technology

“Just the tip of the iceberg”: The New York Times’ Zach Seward on embracing AI The paper’s first editorial director of artificial intelligence initiatives takes us behind the scenes.

For @longlead.com's Depth Perception, I spoke with the @nytimes.com's first editorial director of artificial intelligence, @zachseward.com, about how the paper is—and is not—using AI. depthperceptionbyll.substack.com/p/zach-sewar...

And you can sign up for the newsletter here to get more news, interviews, events, and opportunities in the public interest tech space straight to your inbox!
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Here's our latest newsletter issue! Manny Patole, Industry professor @nyutandon.bsky.social Talks Ethics and Teaching - mailchi.mp/0f776472bd20...

State Dept.’s plan to buy $400 million worth of armored Teslas hastily changed to ‘armored EVs’ The document changed overnight.

State Dept.’s plan to buy $400 million worth of armored Teslas hastily changed to ‘armored EVs’

11 Tech Bosses Back Launch Of 'Public Interest' AI Partnership

www.barrons.com/news/11-tech...

Institute for Technoscience & Society - Institute for Technoscience & Society Upcoming! ITS Virtual Seminar Series Welcome to the Institute for Technoscience & Society! Our goal is to create a global hub of critical and interdisciplinary research and information about the relat...

We have the wonderful Fabian Muniesa (@provokedeconomy.bsky.social) talking about his new book "Paranoid Finance" on Monday 10th Feb @ 11am EST

It's virtual, so everyone welcome! More details here: www.yorku.ca/research/its/

Council Post: What Tech Executives Can Bring To The Public Sector When modernizing operations and infrastructure, the specific skills and mindset of technology builders can prove invaluable.

Council Post: What Tech Executives Can Bring To The Public Sector via @forbes.com www.forbes.com/councils/for...

DHS watchdog investigating TSA’s use of facial recognition The review comes after a bipartisan group of senators previously called for the watchdog to look into TSA’s use of biometric tools “from both an authorities and privacy perspective.”

www.nextgov.com/modernizatio...

Donald Trump’s data purge has begun  Researchers have been archiving government websites for months.

Donald Trump’s data purge has begun

Trump’s FCC chair investigates NPR and PBS, urges Congress to defund them Brendan Carr described as “Trump’s Censorship Czar” as he launches media probes.

Democrats have categorized this investigation as Chairman Carr's latest attempt at intimidating the media.

Silence of the labs - Banu Subramaniam, 2025 This is a commentary on ‘Virtual diversity: Resolving the tension between the wider culture and the institution of science’, by Harry Collins, Robert Evans, Lui...

I opened a link to a new article and started spiraling about STS methods and politics and the current state of science funding and policy

If you want to follow my questionable path, here's Silence of the Labs, a new commentary by Banu Subramaniam

journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/...

Our first newsletter issue of the year is out! @cmcilwain.bsky.social talks about our Alliance, the year ahead, and what investing in this important field looks like.

Didn't get it in your inbox? Join us here for bimonthly interviews, stories, curated news, and opps listings. lnkd.in/eXBsAjY7

Senator Ted Cruz is trying to block Wi-Fi hotspots for schoolchildren Cruz: Hotspot lending could “censor kids’ exposure to conservative viewpoints.”…

Cruz has claimed distributing Wi-Fi hotspots to schoolchildren will lead to unsupervised Internet usage, endanger kids, and possibly restrict kids' exposure to conservative viewpoints.

FCC chair says landlords can force bulk internet service on residents Apartment dwellers would need to pay for bulk internet even if they don’t want it.

FCC chair says landlords can force bulk internet service on residents

Knight Institute Symposium on AI and Democratic Freedoms to Feature Leading Scholars and Technologists

Deepseek's release of R1 make you wonder (again) about the implications of artificial intelligence for democratic freedom, right? Thankfully there's a @knightcolumbia.org symposium for that. April 10-11 in NYC. knightcolumbia.org/blog/knight-...

Our first newsletter issue of the year is out! @cmcilwain.bsky.social talks about our Alliance, the year ahead, and what investing in this important field looks like.

Didn't get it in your inbox? Join us here for bimonthly interviews, stories, curated news, and opps listings. lnkd.in/eXBsAjY7

"Through interviews, news analysis, and personal observation, Meredith D. Clark presents the first book about how Black Twitter users carved out a vital space for fast-paced, incisive commentary on Black life in America not found in the mainstream press."
global.oup.com/academic/pro...

Google reportedly worked directly with Israel’s military on AI tools Employees escalated the IDF’s requests for AI tools.

Google reportedly worked directly with Israel’s military on AI tools

House task force releases sweeping end-of-year report on AI The House Task Force on Artificial Intelligence (AI) released its sweeping end-of-year report Tuesday, laying out a roadmap for Congress as it crafts policy surrounding the advancing technology. &n…

House task force on ai releases end of year report.

“The report seeks to serve as a blueprint for future legislation and other actions, breaking recommendations into 14 areas of society, ranging from health care to national security to small businesses and more.”

There’s No Longer Any Doubt That Hollywood Writing Is Powering AI Dialogue from these movies and TV shows has been used by companies such as Apple and Anthropic to train AI systems.

I’m guessing that the next GenAI legal battle will erupt when Disney lawyers go after generative AI companies for using Disney screenplay subtitles as training data. www.theatlantic.com/technology/a...

I'll be at Harvard Bookstore tonight with with Dr. Joy Boulamwini and @amandapalmer.bsky.social talking about Dr. Joy's book "Unmasking AI," and how we resist a future where machine learning automates authoritarianism and injustice.

Plus maybe some music and poetry? LFG! It's free and open to all

Trump Picks Brendan Carr to Lead F.C.C. Mr. Carr, who currently sits on the commission and is a vocal critic of Big Tech, has said the agency should regulate the tech industry.

Trump Picks Brendan Carr to Lead F.C.C. www.nytimes.com/2024/11/17/t...

What do you think this means for public interest tech? And AI regulation?.