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  • Ethics Education in Data Science: Classroom Topics and Assignments

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    [This blog post is a continuation of a recap of a recent workshop on data science ethics education.] The creation of ethics modules that can be inserted into a variety of classes may help ensure that ethics as a subject is not marginalized and enable professors with little experience in philosophy or with fewer resources…

  • Ethics Education in Data Science

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    Data scientists in academia and industry are increasingly recognizing the importance of integrating ethics into data science curricula. Recently, a group of faculty and students gathered at New York University before the annual FAT* conference to discuss the promises and challenges of teaching data science ethics, and to learn from one another’s experiences in the…

  • Are voting-machine modems truly divorced from the Internet?

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    (This article is written jointly with my colleague Kyle Jamieson, who specializes in wireless networks.) [See also: The myth of the hacker-proof voting machine] The ES&S model DS200 optical-scan voting machine has a cell-phone modem that it uses to upload election-night results from the voting machine to the “county central” canvassing computer.  We know it’s…

  • Why Everyone in Tech Should Visit the American Museum of Tort Law

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    This Monday, Nikki Bourassa and I organized a van from Harvard’s Berkman Klein Center for Internet and Society to visit the American Museum of Tort Law, which I have decided to call the American Museum of Exploding Cars and Toys that Kill You. While at the museum, I came to see another way that research can…

  • Automating Inequality: Virginia Eubanks Book Launch at Data & Society

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    What does it mean for public sector actors to implement algorithms to make public services to be more efficient? How are these systems experienced by the families and people who face the consequences? Speaking at the Data and Society Institute today is Virginia Eubanks, author of the new book Automating Inequality: How High-Tech Tools Profile,…

  • Getting serious about research ethics in computer science

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    Digital technology mediates our public and private lives. That makes computer science a powerful discipline, but it also means that ethical considerations are essential in the development of these technologies. Not all new developments may be welcomed by users, such as a patent application by Facebook that enables the company to identify their users’ emotions…

  • Design Ethics for Gender-Based Violence and Safety Technologies

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    Authored (and organized) by Kate Sim and Ben Zevenbergen. Digital technologies are increasingly proposed as innovative solution to the problems and threats faced by vulnerable groups such as children, women, and LGBTQ people. However, there exists a structural lack of consideration for gender and power relations in the design of Internet technologies, as previously discussed…

  • European authorities fine Google for search tactics

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    This week the European Commission (EC) announced that it is fining Google $2.7 billion for anti-competitive tactics in the company’s iconic search product. In this post I’ll unpack what’s going on here. I have some background on this topic. In 2011-12, when I was Chief Technologist at the FTC, the agency did a big investigation…

  • Lessons of 2016 for U.S. Election Security

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    The 2016 election was one of the most eventful in U.S. history. We will be debating its consequences for a long time. For those of us who pay attention to the security and reliability of elections, the 2016 election teaches some important lessons. I’ll review some of them in this post. First, though, let’s review…

  • Regulation and Anti-Regulation

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    [Hi, Freedom to Tinker readers. I’m back at Princeton, having completed my tour of duty as Deputy U.S. CTO, so I can resume writing here. I’ll start with some posts on specific topics, like the one below. As time goes on, I’ll have a lot more to say about what I learned.  –Ed Felten] Politicians often…

  • GIS Analysis as a Research Communication Tool

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    The power of geospatial analysis lies in the new ways it provides to look at datasets and the relations among them. It allows you to explore more nuanced questions and discover correlations previously hidden. Used properly, geographic information system (GIS) tools can increase the saliency of a policy issue by expressing your argument visually and…

  • Announcing the Open Review Toolkit

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    I’m happy to announce the release of the Open Review Toolkit, open source software that enables you to convert your book manuscript into a website that can be used for Open Review. During the Open Review process everyone can read and annotate your manuscript, and you can collect valuable data to help launch your book.…