Author: David Robinson
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Are We Rushing to Judgment Against the Hidden Power of Algorithms?
Several recent news stories have highlighted the ways that online social platforms can subtly shape our lives. First came the news that Facebook has “manipulated” users’ emotions by tweaking the balance of happy and sad posts that it shows to some users. Then, this week, the popular online dating service OKCupid announced that it had…
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If Robots Replace Lawyers, Will Politics Calm Down?
[TL;DR: Probably not.] A recent essay from law professor John McGinnis, titled “Machines v. Lawyers,” explores how machine learning and other digital technologies may soon reshape the legal profession, and by extension, how they may change the broader national policy debate in which lawyers play such key roles. His topic and my life seem closely related: After law…
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Just launched — Equal Future: Dispatches on Social Justice & Technology
Hello, Freedom to Tinker readers! I’m writing to introduce a new resource that may be of interest to you. It’s called Equal Future, and is written by Robinson + Yu with the support of the Ford Foundation.
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Unlocking Hidden Consensus in Legislatures
A legislature is a small group with a big impact. Even for people who will never be part of one, the mechanics of a legislature matter — when they work well, we all benefit, and when they work poorly, we all lose out. At the same time, with several hundred participants, legislatures are large enough…
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A Possible Constitutional Caveat to SOPA
Tomorrow, a hearing in the House will consider H.R. 3261, the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA). There are many frustrating and concerning aspects of this bill. Perhaps most troubling, the current proposed text would undermine the existing safe harbor regime that gives online service providers clear, predictable, and reasonable obligations with respect to their users’…
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Identifying John Doe: It might be easier than you think
Imagine that you want to sue someone for what they wrote, anonymously, in a web-based online forum. To succeed, you’ll first have to figure out who they really are. How hard is that task? It’s a question that Harlan Yu, Ed Felten, and I have been kicking around for several months. We’ve come to some…
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The Markey Net Neutrality Bill: Least Restrictive Network Management?
It’s an exciting time in the net neutrality debate. FCC Chairman Jules Genachowski’s speech on Monday promised a new FCC proceeding that will aim to create a formal rule to replace the Commission’s existing policy statement. Meanwhile, net neutrality advocates in Congress are pondering new legislation for two reasons: First, there is a debate about…
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Open Government Data: Starting to Judge the Results
Like many others who read this blog, I’ve spent some time over the last year trying to get more civic data online. I’ve argued that government’s failure to put machine-readable data online is the key roadblock that separates us from a world in which exciting, Web 2.0 style technologies enrich nearly every aspect of civic…
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The rise of the "nanostory"
In today’s Wall Street Journal, I offer a review of Bill Wasik’s excellent new book, And Then There’s This: How Stories Live and Die in Viral Culture. Cliff’s notes version: This is a great new take on the little cultural boomlets and cryptic fads that seem to swarm all over the Internet. The author draws…
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Recovery Act Spending: Getting to the Bottom Line
Under most circumstances, government spending is slow and deliberate—a key fact that helps reduce the chances of waste and fraud. But the recently passed Recovery Act is a special case: spending the money quickly is understood to be essential to the success of the Act. We all know that shoppers in a hurry tend to…
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Stimulus transparency and the states
Yesterday, I testified at a field hearing of the U.S. House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform. The hearing title was The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009: The Role of State and Local Governments. My written testimony addressed plans to put stimulus data on the Internet, primarily at Recovery.gov. There have been promising…
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Possible Opportunity for Outstanding Law Graduates
We are constantly looking for scholars of digital technology and public life to join us at the Center for Information Technology Policy. We’ll be making several appointments soon, and look forward to announcing them. Meanwhile, I wanted to highlight a possible opportunity for graduating law students who have a strong scholarly interest in cyberlaw (reflected…