🌶 David Gray Widder
@davidthewid.bsky.social
🔜 Assistant Prof at UT Austin's iSchool.
AI ethics, political economy of tech, feminist STS
trying to help computer ppl think more critically about computer, including me
art: instagram.com/davidthewid
exCMU/NASA/MSR/IntelLabs.
davidwidder.me
AI ethics, political economy of tech, feminist STS
trying to help computer ppl think more critically about computer, including me
art: instagram.com/davidthewid
exCMU/NASA/MSR/IntelLabs.
davidwidder.me
Pinned
🪲 What is a "bug"? 🐛
Software bugs may seem obvious.
🚨But in a short piece, eminent bug expert @clegoues.bsky.social I seek to answer this seemingly simple question, and find that it is far from clear cut …
dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/...
Software bugs may seem obvious.
🚨But in a short piece, eminent bug expert @clegoues.bsky.social I seek to answer this seemingly simple question, and find that it is far from clear cut …
dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/...
Reposted by 🌶 David Gray Widder
I have a new Jotwell review of Tejas N. Narechania & Scott Shenker's _How to Save the Internet_, a really nice law/CS collaboration on Internet architecture policy.
article: papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers....
review: cyber.jotwell.com/the-edge-of-...
article: papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers....
review: cyber.jotwell.com/the-edge-of-...
The Edge of Tomorrow - Technology Law
Tejas N. Narechania & Scott Shenker, How to Save the Internet, __ Berkeley Tech. L.J. __ (forthcoming), available at SSRN (Mar. 18, 2025).James GrimmelmannEvery time I teach Internet Law, I start by l...
cyber.jotwell.com
November 28, 2025 at 4:47 PM
I have a new Jotwell review of Tejas N. Narechania & Scott Shenker's _How to Save the Internet_, a really nice law/CS collaboration on Internet architecture policy.
article: papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers....
review: cyber.jotwell.com/the-edge-of-...
article: papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers....
review: cyber.jotwell.com/the-edge-of-...
this is it! this is how you do a PhD. this is how I do my PhD. and all my research since.
From "There are people who are wrong on the internet!" to "There are institutions doing bad things!"
I think anger is undervalued in research, and really helps students develop a politics.
From "There are people who are wrong on the internet!" to "There are institutions doing bad things!"
I think anger is undervalued in research, and really helps students develop a politics.
my number one piece of advice to people wanting to do a PhD is to pick a topic that makes you so. fucking. angry. truly incredible the level of motivation that unbridled rage can provide
November 27, 2025 at 7:23 PM
this is it! this is how you do a PhD. this is how I do my PhD. and all my research since.
From "There are people who are wrong on the internet!" to "There are institutions doing bad things!"
I think anger is undervalued in research, and really helps students develop a politics.
From "There are people who are wrong on the internet!" to "There are institutions doing bad things!"
I think anger is undervalued in research, and really helps students develop a politics.
Reposted by 🌶 David Gray Widder
my number one piece of advice to people wanting to do a PhD is to pick a topic that makes you so. fucking. angry. truly incredible the level of motivation that unbridled rage can provide
October 28, 2025 at 2:55 AM
my number one piece of advice to people wanting to do a PhD is to pick a topic that makes you so. fucking. angry. truly incredible the level of motivation that unbridled rage can provide
Reposted by 🌶 David Gray Widder
If you are someone — citizen, scholars, journalist, activist, etc — fighting against AI data center development anywhere in Canada, can you ping me? Would like to coordinate something…
November 27, 2025 at 7:05 PM
If you are someone — citizen, scholars, journalist, activist, etc — fighting against AI data center development anywhere in Canada, can you ping me? Would like to coordinate something…
Reposted by 🌶 David Gray Widder
If inflation comes up at the dinner table, don’t forget to draw attention to a deeper structural driver of high prices: corporate power.
Much of the food industry is dominated by a few corporate giants with the power to keep prices high because they face little competition.
Much of the food industry is dominated by a few corporate giants with the power to keep prices high because they face little competition.
November 27, 2025 at 7:01 PM
If inflation comes up at the dinner table, don’t forget to draw attention to a deeper structural driver of high prices: corporate power.
Much of the food industry is dominated by a few corporate giants with the power to keep prices high because they face little competition.
Much of the food industry is dominated by a few corporate giants with the power to keep prices high because they face little competition.
Reposted by 🌶 David Gray Widder
Reposted by 🌶 David Gray Widder
A gentle reminder that if you might want to do a PhD with me at University of Texas at Austin's School of Information, the deadline is coming up December 1st.
Mention me in your application so I'll see it :)
ischool.utexas.edu/programs/phd
Mention me in your application so I'll see it :)
ischool.utexas.edu/programs/phd
PhD in Information Studies | UT iSchool
ischool.utexas.edu
November 24, 2025 at 3:55 PM
A gentle reminder that if you might want to do a PhD with me at University of Texas at Austin's School of Information, the deadline is coming up December 1st.
Mention me in your application so I'll see it :)
ischool.utexas.edu/programs/phd
Mention me in your application so I'll see it :)
ischool.utexas.edu/programs/phd
Reposted by 🌶 David Gray Widder
«Spätestens mit KI-Bildgeneratoren, die mühelos Werke in beliebigem Stil produzieren und so unkompliziert Artefakte mit bestimmten Vibes erzeugen können, ist die Zeit der Vibes abgelaufen.» Elias Kreuzmeier @krzmr.bsky.social im neuen Merkur @redaktionmerkur.bsky.social zur Frage: «Was waren Vibes»
Was waren Vibes? – MERKUR
Ein Essay von Elias Kreuzmair. Jetzt lesen in der Kulturzeitschrift MERKUR — Gegründet 1947 als Deutsche Zeitschrift für europäisches Denken.
www.merkur-zeitschrift.de
November 24, 2025 at 1:14 PM
«Spätestens mit KI-Bildgeneratoren, die mühelos Werke in beliebigem Stil produzieren und so unkompliziert Artefakte mit bestimmten Vibes erzeugen können, ist die Zeit der Vibes abgelaufen.» Elias Kreuzmeier @krzmr.bsky.social im neuen Merkur @redaktionmerkur.bsky.social zur Frage: «Was waren Vibes»
Reposted by 🌶 David Gray Widder
Faculty searches at Harvard Kennedy School in applied microeconomics and in technology and public policy www.hks.harvard.edu/more/about/l...
Faculty Appointments
The Academic Deans' Office recruits new faculty members who have strong teaching and research records and are intellectual leaders in their field.
www.hks.harvard.edu
November 22, 2025 at 7:17 PM
Faculty searches at Harvard Kennedy School in applied microeconomics and in technology and public policy www.hks.harvard.edu/more/about/l...
Reposted by 🌶 David Gray Widder
Just got a review request email with this compensation model. Peer-review crisis solved!
November 20, 2025 at 5:46 PM
Just got a review request email with this compensation model. Peer-review crisis solved!
Reposted by 🌶 David Gray Widder
"This work builds on our partnership with the American Federation of Teachers to support teacher-led innovation [and] our collaboration with Ministries of Education globally, including Estonia and Greece..." that's some very collaborative grave-digging
November 20, 2025 at 1:58 AM
"This work builds on our partnership with the American Federation of Teachers to support teacher-led innovation [and] our collaboration with Ministries of Education globally, including Estonia and Greece..." that's some very collaborative grave-digging
Reposted by 🌶 David Gray Widder
Join us for the 6th event in our Gender & Tech Online Talk Series, "Trans-inclusive tech governance," on Dec 2 at 11am EST, with the amazing @blairaf.com (Univ of Alberta) and @histoftech.bsky.social (@uvadatascience.bsky.social). Free & open to all: dtdlab.virginia.edu/event/gender.... See u there
November 19, 2025 at 5:45 PM
Join us for the 6th event in our Gender & Tech Online Talk Series, "Trans-inclusive tech governance," on Dec 2 at 11am EST, with the amazing @blairaf.com (Univ of Alberta) and @histoftech.bsky.social (@uvadatascience.bsky.social). Free & open to all: dtdlab.virginia.edu/event/gender.... See u there
Reposted by 🌶 David Gray Widder
The Ivy League, where racist correspondence with a sex trafficker is not politically problematic, but celebrating the olive harvest is.
The Palestine Solidarity Committee student group at Columbia says their event celebrating the olive harvest in Palestine, which was carefully planned and cleared through event review processes, was cancelled at the last minute by senior university leadership. www.instagram.com/p/DRBB6BVkX7...
Columbia Palestine Solidarity Coalition (CPSC) on Instagram: "This decision came directly from Columbia’s senior administration, meaning Claire Shipman and her counsel of advisors including Cass Hollo...
992 likes, 17 comments - columbia.psc on November 13, 2025: "This decision came directly from Columbia’s senior administration, meaning Claire Shipman and her counsel of advisors including Cass Hollow...
www.instagram.com
November 19, 2025 at 5:48 PM
The Ivy League, where racist correspondence with a sex trafficker is not politically problematic, but celebrating the olive harvest is.
Reposted by 🌶 David Gray Widder
if you are considering submitting an application for this position, you still have just under 2 weeks to do so
any and all suitable candidates, please apply. everyone else, pls share with your networks
any and all suitable candidates, please apply. everyone else, pls share with your networks
📣 I am hiring a postdoc! aial.ie/hiring/postd...
applications from suitable candidates that are passionate about investigating the use of genAI in public service operations with the aim of keeping governments transparent and accountable are welcome
pls share with your networks
applications from suitable candidates that are passionate about investigating the use of genAI in public service operations with the aim of keeping governments transparent and accountable are welcome
pls share with your networks
November 19, 2025 at 2:44 PM
if you are considering submitting an application for this position, you still have just under 2 weeks to do so
any and all suitable candidates, please apply. everyone else, pls share with your networks
any and all suitable candidates, please apply. everyone else, pls share with your networks
Reposted by 🌶 David Gray Widder
UK and Norway won nature's lottery in 1970 - found oil/gas in the North Sea.
UK squandered wealth, appeased corporations.
Norway levied 78% tax, took direct stake in companies.
Norway now has $1.8 trillion sovereign fund. UK has public finance crisis.
UK Govts still appeasing corporations/rich.
UK squandered wealth, appeased corporations.
Norway levied 78% tax, took direct stake in companies.
Norway now has $1.8 trillion sovereign fund. UK has public finance crisis.
UK Govts still appeasing corporations/rich.
How sparsely populated Norway amassed $1.8 trillion | Fortune Europe
Launched in the early 1990s to invest mostly in bonds, the fund has grown to become the largest of its kind by acquiring small equity stakes in thousands of companies across the world.
fortune.com
November 18, 2025 at 9:38 AM
UK and Norway won nature's lottery in 1970 - found oil/gas in the North Sea.
UK squandered wealth, appeased corporations.
Norway levied 78% tax, took direct stake in companies.
Norway now has $1.8 trillion sovereign fund. UK has public finance crisis.
UK Govts still appeasing corporations/rich.
UK squandered wealth, appeased corporations.
Norway levied 78% tax, took direct stake in companies.
Norway now has $1.8 trillion sovereign fund. UK has public finance crisis.
UK Govts still appeasing corporations/rich.
Reposted by 🌶 David Gray Widder
A senior academic using mentoring as leverage to obtain sex is a contemptible abuser of power.
Summers conferred with Epstein frequently about how to extract sexual favors from a Harvard econ grad (AB '04, PhD '09)
The grad is from China
Epstein and Summers referred to her by the codename "Peril"
Racism and sexual exploitation in one efficient package
bit.ly/3LHpin8
The grad is from China
Epstein and Summers referred to her by the codename "Peril"
Racism and sexual exploitation in one efficient package
bit.ly/3LHpin8
As Summers Sought Clandestine Relationship With Woman He Called a Mentee, Epstein Was His ‘Wing Man’ | News | The Harvard Crimson
When former Harvard President Lawrence H. Summers was pursuing a romantic relationship with a woman he described as a mentee, he turned to a longtime associate for guidance: convicted sex offender Jef...
bit.ly
November 17, 2025 at 8:07 AM
A senior academic using mentoring as leverage to obtain sex is a contemptible abuser of power.
Reposted by 🌶 David Gray Widder
If you haven't joined your local AAUP, now is a great time to do so.
BREAKING: In AAUP et al v. Trump (wall-to-wall union lawsuit challenging the administration’s unlawful use of TItle VI to reshape the University of California system), the faculty and staff of the UC system WON!!!
We were granted our preliminary injunction! @aaup.org
We were granted our preliminary injunction! @aaup.org
November 15, 2025 at 12:51 AM
If you haven't joined your local AAUP, now is a great time to do so.
Reposted by 🌶 David Gray Widder
A bad day for education....
Texas A&M OKs "race and gender ideology" restrictions
Faculty are also prohibited from teaching material inconsistent with approved syllabi. The changes come in response to a recent controversy over gender identity classroom discussions.
www.texastribune.org
November 14, 2025 at 12:18 AM
A bad day for education....
Reposted by 🌶 David Gray Widder
Reposted by 🌶 David Gray Widder
I honestly don’t get the value of this company. They hoover up energy and water. Their product constantly gets things wrong and, in extreme cases, coaches people into suicide.
And it’s all built on what seems to be malicious and vast intellectual property theft.
What does OpenAI offer the world?
And it’s all built on what seems to be malicious and vast intellectual property theft.
What does OpenAI offer the world?
“authors & publishers who filed a lawsuit against the Sam Altman-led firm have secured access to internal Slack messages… discussing the mass deletion of a pirated books dataset… A NY district court ordered OpenAI to hand over the communications regarding data deletion”
futurism.com/artificial-i...
futurism.com/artificial-i...
OpenAI in Danger After Authors Suing It Gain Access to Its Internal Slack Messages
Authors and publishers, who are suing OpenAI, secured access to internal Slack messages and emails discussing the deletion of pirated books.
futurism.com
November 9, 2025 at 7:35 AM
I honestly don’t get the value of this company. They hoover up energy and water. Their product constantly gets things wrong and, in extreme cases, coaches people into suicide.
And it’s all built on what seems to be malicious and vast intellectual property theft.
What does OpenAI offer the world?
And it’s all built on what seems to be malicious and vast intellectual property theft.
What does OpenAI offer the world?
Reposted by 🌶 David Gray Widder
Meta earns $3.5 billion every six months from showing Faceboon and Instagram users 15 billion “higher legal risk” scam ad impressions a day, internal documents state.
That haul vastly exceeds how much the company expects regulators
To fine it for running scam ads.
www.reuters.com/investigatio...
That haul vastly exceeds how much the company expects regulators
To fine it for running scam ads.
www.reuters.com/investigatio...
www.reuters.com
November 6, 2025 at 11:46 AM
Meta earns $3.5 billion every six months from showing Faceboon and Instagram users 15 billion “higher legal risk” scam ad impressions a day, internal documents state.
That haul vastly exceeds how much the company expects regulators
To fine it for running scam ads.
www.reuters.com/investigatio...
That haul vastly exceeds how much the company expects regulators
To fine it for running scam ads.
www.reuters.com/investigatio...
also: this book is $20, but as this review states, worth much more.
great book exploring a marxist political economy of AI without jargon.
I plan to teach undergrads with this, and its also the first book I recommend when friends and family ask me how to think about AI.
great book exploring a marxist political economy of AI without jargon.
I plan to teach undergrads with this, and its also the first book I recommend when friends and family ask me how to think about AI.
The TL;DR (even though it’s a very short review): perhaps the first book to attempt a serious move towards an analysis of AI rooted in the logics of capital, indeed as a direct manifestation of capital — and then attempts to think towards futures on those same terms.
October 30, 2025 at 10:36 PM
also: this book is $20, but as this review states, worth much more.
great book exploring a marxist political economy of AI without jargon.
I plan to teach undergrads with this, and its also the first book I recommend when friends and family ask me how to think about AI.
great book exploring a marxist political economy of AI without jargon.
I plan to teach undergrads with this, and its also the first book I recommend when friends and family ask me how to think about AI.
Reposted by 🌶 David Gray Widder
📣 I am hiring a postdoc! aial.ie/hiring/postd...
applications from suitable candidates that are passionate about investigating the use of genAI in public service operations with the aim of keeping governments transparent and accountable are welcome
pls share with your networks
applications from suitable candidates that are passionate about investigating the use of genAI in public service operations with the aim of keeping governments transparent and accountable are welcome
pls share with your networks
October 30, 2025 at 7:51 PM
📣 I am hiring a postdoc! aial.ie/hiring/postd...
applications from suitable candidates that are passionate about investigating the use of genAI in public service operations with the aim of keeping governments transparent and accountable are welcome
pls share with your networks
applications from suitable candidates that are passionate about investigating the use of genAI in public service operations with the aim of keeping governments transparent and accountable are welcome
pls share with your networks