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Manifesto: The Coalition for Independent Technology Research

By J. Nathan Matias, Susan Benesch, Rebekah Tromble, Alex Abdo, J. Bob Alotta, David Karpf, David Lazer, Nathalie Maréchal, Nabiha Syed & Ethan Zuckerman

Society needs trustworthy, independent research to relieve the harms of digital technologies and advance the common good. Research can help us understand ourselves more clearly, identify problems, hold power accountable, imagine the world we want, and test ideas for change. In a democracy, this knowledge comes from academics, journalists, civil society, and community scientists, among … Continue reading Manifesto: The Coalition for Independent Technology Research

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Coalition for Independent Technology Research Founding Document

By the Coalition

INTRODUCTION Technology companies have developed unprecedented power to observe, shape, and intervene in people’s everyday lives. While people benefit greatly from the digital communication and connection these companies provide, so too do they bear the harms that the companies’ new technologies impose. Society needs trustworthy, independent research to reveal and relieve these harms and to … Continue reading Coalition for Independent Technology Research Founding Document

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The Essential Role of Industry-Independent Research in US National AI R&D

By Susan Benesch, Brandi Geurkink, David Karpf, David Lazer, Nathalie Maréchal, J. Nathan Matias & Rebekah Tromble

The National AI Initiative Act is designed to ensure that the United States remains a leader on AI research and development. It sets out to leverage the opportunities of AI to increase the well-being of Americans while safeguarding against potential and actual harms to our communities. As Lynn Parker noted in her February blog post … Continue reading The Essential Role of Industry-Independent Research in US National AI R&D

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The Atlantic: Nobody Can See Into Facebook

By Susan Benesch

The overarching takeaway from the Facebook Papers is that Facebook knows. The company monitors just about everything, as the whistleblower Frances Haugen revealed by providing 17 news organizations with documents about the social-media company’s internal research and discussions. Facebook and its tech-industry peers employ armies of exceptional research scientists who evaluate how the platform shapes social behavior. Those … Continue reading The Atlantic: Nobody Can See Into Facebook