This framework of "high-impact, content-agnostic election integrity recommendations for online platforms – readily actionable interventions rooted in their own product design and policy toolkits" is a product of Center for Human Technology, EPIC, Accountable Tech and others. In light of concerns raised that social media companies are "surrendering to misinformation," however, the operative question remains whether BigTech sees it as worth the effort to stay engaged in the fight.
This report from the Center for Democracy & Technology raises concern that online election integrity is under threat, citing staffing cuts, a political assault of independent disinformation researchers/academics and platform opacity. Concluding that "the 2024 election is likely to be the most vulnerable environment for political disinformation that the United States has seen in eight years," this report is the latest in a series of alarm bells about social media companies' disengagement as the world enters a pivotal election year.
Authored by several Meta/Instagram employees, this post provides a detailed overview of how social media ranking and recommender systems function and explores the trade-offs between different ranking systems.
Exploring Tradeoffs in Ranking and Recommendation Algorithms | LAWFARE
This op-ed provides a useful taxonomy of those warning about the risks of AI: the 'doomsayer' faction who use the language of AI safety; the 'reformer' faction focused on bias, inequity, misinformation and other near-term harms; the 'warrior' faction who speak the language of national security. All three have some degree of self-interest at heart and the authors urge regulations that "counterbalance for-profit corporate A.I. and help ensure an even playing field for access to the 21st century’s key technology."
The A.I. Wars Have Three Factions, and They All Crave Power | The New York Times
With technology companies from Microsoft to Zoom integrating AI into their products, the day is fast approaching when people won't have the choice to opt in/out of AI. With that in mind, this article from MIT Technology Review about the significant privacy and security concerns associated with AI bots, as well as hallucination tendencies, is incredible important and timely.
Why Big Tech’s Bet On AI Assistants Is So Risky | MIT Technology Review