extremely online #2: upcoming events in tech accountability
TL;DR: This is Extremely Online, a tech accountability round-up by Julie Lee. It's for people who care about tech and AI accountability, bringing you original content, upcoming events and job and funding opportunities. Subscribe!
New here? I'm an investigative data journalist that writes about tech and AI. I have been a Technology Fellow at the ACLU of Massachusetts, research intern at the Surveillance Technology Oversight Project and Public Voices Fellow on Technology in the Public Interest. I’ve written stories on how civil asset forfeiture funded robot police dogs, the largest analysis to date of ShotSpotter’s efficacy in Boston, Kickstarter United’s historic fight for a four day work week, and that sad time Evernote killed its free tier. I've also worked on projects about Flock, automated license plate readers and location data brokers that haven't made it onto the internet but that I'm hoping can inform future editions. Oh yeah, and I have a Ph.D. in neuroscience, for some reason.
Thank you so much to the 60+ people who signed up for this newsletter so far! I really appreciate all of you coming along for the ride. I have exciting plans for future issues in the works but I thought I'd send this quick missive in the meantime with events in the coming week. Please let me know what you think. Want to see more of something? Less? Comment below or send me a message!
This past week in tech: Ring breaks up with Flock but still has ties to Axon, Meta plans to add facial recognition to its smart glasses, the Mamdani administration appoints a CTO, an AI dating cafe happened and ChatGPT started rolling out ads.
Disclaimer: Events, job postings, etc. are not endorsements!
Upcoming events:
Monday, February 16 (NYC, virtual): The Moral Economy of Using Real-Time Driving Data to Price Car Insurance, Center for Science and Society, Columbia University
Tuesday, February 17 (NYC): Teaching Creative Technology in the Age of AI, Index Space Chinatown
Thursday, February 19 (virtual): Externalization of borders, digital infrastructures and authoritarianism: experiences from the US, Canada and the EU, Everywhere Border
Thursday, February 19 (virtual): Effective Redress for AI Harms in Europe: Charting a Path Forward, Center for Democracy and Technology
Saturday, February 21 (virtual): Digital Security Workshop, Southerners Against Surveillance Systems & Infrastructure (SASSI)
February 21-22 (Boston): BU Spark Civic Hacks Hackathon, Boston University
Tuesday, February 24 (virtual): State of Flock, Southerners Against Surveillance Systems & Infrastructure (SASSI)
Tuesday, February 24 (virtual): AI Data Centers & Their Climate and Community Impact, Covering Climate Now
Jobs:
Solutions Technologist, Human Rights Watch
(Senior) Research Scholar, Institute for Law & AI
Data & Technology Director, Democratic Socialists of America
Senior Advisor, Technology & Innovation, New York City Mayor’s Office
Data Science Fellow, BlueLabs
Funding Opportunities:
The Logic - How to Pitch
RWJF - Local Data for Equitable Communities
Thanks again for being a part of this! Please sign up if you haven't already, and I would love any feedback, so please feel free to comment below.