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?
February 22, 2018 by
(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
February 5, 2018 by
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
January 18, 2018 by
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, […]
Blockchains and voting
September 12, 2017 by
I’ve been asked about a number of ideas lately involving voting systems and blockchains. This blog piece talks about all the security properties that a voting system needs to have, where blockchains help, and where they don’t. Let’s start off a decade ago, when Daniel Sandler and I first wrote a paper saying blockchains would be […]
