Samantha Dalal
@samanthadalal.bsky.social
**On the job market!**
InfoSci PhD Candidate @ CU Boulder
MSR SMC '23; MSR TAIX '24
Community-based methods for tech accountability
InfoSci PhD Candidate @ CU Boulder
MSR SMC '23; MSR TAIX '24
Community-based methods for tech accountability
Reposted by Samantha Dalal
MUST READ: New blog from former CDT Fellow Varun Nagaraj Rao (Princeton University) + UC Boulder’s @samanthadalal.bsky.social, investigating how opaque AI and algorithmic decisions impact rideshare drivers. cdt.org/insights/the...
June 25, 2025 at 6:21 PM
MUST READ: New blog from former CDT Fellow Varun Nagaraj Rao (Princeton University) + UC Boulder’s @samanthadalal.bsky.social, investigating how opaque AI and algorithmic decisions impact rideshare drivers. cdt.org/insights/the...
Reposted by Samantha Dalal
The mods of r/ChangeMyView shared the sub was the subject of a study to test the persuasiveness of LLMs & that they didn't consent. There’s a lot that went wrong, so here’s a 🧵 unpacking it, along with some ideas for how to do research with online communities ethically. tinyurl.com/59tpt988
From the changemyview community on Reddit
Explore this post and more from the changemyview community
tinyurl.com
April 26, 2025 at 10:02 PM
The mods of r/ChangeMyView shared the sub was the subject of a study to test the persuasiveness of LLMs & that they didn't consent. There’s a lot that went wrong, so here’s a 🧵 unpacking it, along with some ideas for how to do research with online communities ethically. tinyurl.com/59tpt988
Reposted by Samantha Dalal
With respect to the researchers' claims that the "the potential benefits of this research substantially outweigh its risks," it seems to mostly rely on "warning call" benefits.
I am personally not a fan of "we need to do harm to show that harm can be done" ethical justifications.
I am personally not a fan of "we need to do harm to show that harm can be done" ethical justifications.
April 26, 2025 at 10:57 PM
With respect to the researchers' claims that the "the potential benefits of this research substantially outweigh its risks," it seems to mostly rely on "warning call" benefits.
I am personally not a fan of "we need to do harm to show that harm can be done" ethical justifications.
I am personally not a fan of "we need to do harm to show that harm can be done" ethical justifications.
Reposted by Samantha Dalal
ai is a political project to centralize power
Microsoft terminates jobs of engineers who protested use of AI products by Israel’s military (April 7, 2025) by Hayden Field @cnbc.com www.cnbc.com/2025/04/07/m...
Microsoft terminates jobs of engineers who protested use of AI products by Israel's military
At Microsoft's 50th anniversary celebration, two engineers interrupted events to protest the use of the company's artificial intelligence by Israel's military.
www.cnbc.com
April 8, 2025 at 1:43 PM
ai is a political project to centralize power
Reposted by Samantha Dalal
NEW Blog Post! Check out how CITP researchers are making real-world impact on the side of workers. Read "Revolutionizing Rideshare: Researchers Develop FairFare App to Empower Workers" 🔻
🙌 @andresmh.com @samanthadalal.bsky.social @dana.witchy.business
blog.citp.princeton.edu/2025/03/25/r...
🙌 @andresmh.com @samanthadalal.bsky.social @dana.witchy.business
blog.citp.princeton.edu/2025/03/25/r...
Revolutionizing Rideshare: Researchers Develop FairFare App to Empower Workers - CITP Blog
On February 1, 2025, Colorado’s Transportation Network Transparency Bill (SB24-075) took effect. CITP scholars, along with their colleagues, played a key role in supporting advocacy around the bill by...
blog.citp.princeton.edu
March 28, 2025 at 6:52 PM
NEW Blog Post! Check out how CITP researchers are making real-world impact on the side of workers. Read "Revolutionizing Rideshare: Researchers Develop FairFare App to Empower Workers" 🔻
🙌 @andresmh.com @samanthadalal.bsky.social @dana.witchy.business
blog.citp.princeton.edu/2025/03/25/r...
🙌 @andresmh.com @samanthadalal.bsky.social @dana.witchy.business
blog.citp.princeton.edu/2025/03/25/r...
Reposted by Samantha Dalal
The Department of Education, among other things, is what funds special education for children with disabilities.
Trump’s executive order will hurt kids and parents in virtually every school district in the country.
Trump’s executive order will hurt kids and parents in virtually every school district in the country.
March 21, 2025 at 10:38 PM
The Department of Education, among other things, is what funds special education for children with disabilities.
Trump’s executive order will hurt kids and parents in virtually every school district in the country.
Trump’s executive order will hurt kids and parents in virtually every school district in the country.
New level of microloan hell unlocked 🤡
DoorDash and Klarna have signed a deal where customers can choose to pay for food deliveries in interest-free installments or deferred options aligned with payday schedules.
March 20, 2025 at 6:41 PM
New level of microloan hell unlocked 🤡
Reposted by Samantha Dalal
Welp
(University of California system-wide hiring freeze and other cost-cutting measures implemented)
ucnet.universityofcalifornia.edu/employee-new...
(University of California system-wide hiring freeze and other cost-cutting measures implemented)
ucnet.universityofcalifornia.edu/employee-new...
A message from UC President Michael V. Drake on the University of California’s financial outlook | UCnet
President Drake shares a message with the UC community on the university's response to federal and state funding reductions.
ucnet.universityofcalifornia.edu
March 19, 2025 at 7:33 PM
Welp
(University of California system-wide hiring freeze and other cost-cutting measures implemented)
ucnet.universityofcalifornia.edu/employee-new...
(University of California system-wide hiring freeze and other cost-cutting measures implemented)
ucnet.universityofcalifornia.edu/employee-new...
Not an FTC commissioner using the Notes app to write his statement response to being fired by Tr*mp 😭
but fr damn this administration, their corruption, and their cronyism
but fr damn this administration, their corruption, and their cronyism
I am a commissioner at the Federal Trade Commission. Earlier today, the president attempted to illegally fire me. This is corruption, plain and simple. I will see the president in court. My full statement:
March 19, 2025 at 2:13 AM
Not an FTC commissioner using the Notes app to write his statement response to being fired by Tr*mp 😭
but fr damn this administration, their corruption, and their cronyism
but fr damn this administration, their corruption, and their cronyism
Reposted by Samantha Dalal
@narijohnson.bsky.social and Sanika have a FAccT paper about this (and also compiled cases of abandoned algorithms): arxiv.org/abs/2404.13802
The Fall of an Algorithm: Characterizing the Dynamics Toward Abandonment
As more algorithmic systems have come under scrutiny for their potential to inflict societal harms, an increasing number of organizations that hold power over harmful algorithms have chosen (or were r...
arxiv.org
March 18, 2025 at 6:00 PM
@narijohnson.bsky.social and Sanika have a FAccT paper about this (and also compiled cases of abandoned algorithms): arxiv.org/abs/2404.13802
Reposted by Samantha Dalal
One of the core points of Community Notes was that the COMMUNITY trusts it. This was built into so many aspects of the original, including making the code open source
Trillion dollar company doing a `git clone` on an open source project and then not even giving back to it. Of course
"Meta doesn’t plan to open source or publicly release more technical details about its Community Notes system"
"Meta doesn’t plan to open source or publicly release more technical details about its Community Notes system"
Meta's Community Notes will use open-source technology from Elon Musk's X
Meta revealed more details of Community Notes, and said that it incorporates the same open-source algorithm that powers X's crowdsourced feature.
www.cnbc.com
March 18, 2025 at 12:58 PM
One of the core points of Community Notes was that the COMMUNITY trusts it. This was built into so many aspects of the original, including making the code open source
Reposted by Samantha Dalal
They're called public records for a reason. Starting today, WIRED will *stop paywalling* articles that are primarily based on public records obtained through the Freedom of Information Act, becoming the first publication to partner with @freedom.press to offer this for our new coverage.
Wired is dropping paywalls for FOIA-based reporting. Others should follow
As the administration does its best to hide public records from the public, Wired magazine is stepping up to help stem the secrecy
freedom.press
March 18, 2025 at 1:11 PM
They're called public records for a reason. Starting today, WIRED will *stop paywalling* articles that are primarily based on public records obtained through the Freedom of Information Act, becoming the first publication to partner with @freedom.press to offer this for our new coverage.
Reposted by Samantha Dalal
by the way these are literally the exact same dumbass motherfuckers, not like them, the literal exact same fucking guys, saying government is inefficient and you should cancel it to give them all the governments money so they can provide you services instead
February 21, 2025 at 4:57 AM
by the way these are literally the exact same dumbass motherfuckers, not like them, the literal exact same fucking guys, saying government is inefficient and you should cancel it to give them all the governments money so they can provide you services instead
Reposted by Samantha Dalal
"Instead, to advance justice, we must radically transform not just the technology itself, but our ideas about it, and develop it from the bottom up, from the perspectives of those who stand the most risk of being harmed."
Speaking of AI Empire: it's always a good time revisit this @bigdatasoc.bsky.social open article by Jasmina Tacheva and Srividya Ramasubramanian available at: journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1...
February 20, 2025 at 11:51 PM
"Instead, to advance justice, we must radically transform not just the technology itself, but our ideas about it, and develop it from the bottom up, from the perspectives of those who stand the most risk of being harmed."
Reposted by Samantha Dalal
happy to announce the launch of my newsletter, String in a Maze. i'll be writing about the law, politics and media at least a few times a month, with a mix of free and premium content. thank you and bless up.
String in a Maze
Law, politics, and power.
stringinamaze.beehiiv.com
February 12, 2025 at 7:11 PM
happy to announce the launch of my newsletter, String in a Maze. i'll be writing about the law, politics and media at least a few times a month, with a mix of free and premium content. thank you and bless up.
Reposted by Samantha Dalal
This is one of the most basic insights from 20th century polisci.
The paradox of a democracy that presumes mass knowledge and participation, and manages to (at least barely) function in their absence, is one of our foundational puzzles.
This is intro-level shit. And Balaji is failing the test.
The paradox of a democracy that presumes mass knowledge and participation, and manages to (at least barely) function in their absence, is one of our foundational puzzles.
This is intro-level shit. And Balaji is failing the test.
February 9, 2025 at 3:25 PM
This is one of the most basic insights from 20th century polisci.
The paradox of a democracy that presumes mass knowledge and participation, and manages to (at least barely) function in their absence, is one of our foundational puzzles.
This is intro-level shit. And Balaji is failing the test.
The paradox of a democracy that presumes mass knowledge and participation, and manages to (at least barely) function in their absence, is one of our foundational puzzles.
This is intro-level shit. And Balaji is failing the test.
Seen a lot of people dunking on this Microsoft (MSFT) CHI paper on the impacts of GenAI and critical thinking in knowledge work and I have to say a lot of this critique feels unfair. 🧵 1/n
Microsoft's own research confirms something that was already pretty obvious: relying on a text generating machine to come up with answers erodes critical thinking, and is a method favoured by those who never liked doing critical thinking in the first place
advait.org/files/lee_20...
advait.org/files/lee_20...
advait.org
February 9, 2025 at 6:55 PM
Seen a lot of people dunking on this Microsoft (MSFT) CHI paper on the impacts of GenAI and critical thinking in knowledge work and I have to say a lot of this critique feels unfair. 🧵 1/n
I am once again begging companies to STOP shoving AI integrations down our throats!!! WE DON'T WANT IT
February 3, 2025 at 8:20 PM
I am once again begging companies to STOP shoving AI integrations down our throats!!! WE DON'T WANT IT
Reposted by Samantha Dalal
now that DeepSeek has completed AI, we hope that Silicon Valley will turn its attention to the next best thing: investing in rural history museums
January 27, 2025 at 3:44 PM
now that DeepSeek has completed AI, we hope that Silicon Valley will turn its attention to the next best thing: investing in rural history museums
Reposted by Samantha Dalal
THIS. What I term algorithmic agnotology.
what does it mean to have systems that render decisions at scales that are de facto or de jure impossible to scrutinize or challenge? again, are we not talking about authoritarian totalitarian states?
January 26, 2025 at 8:23 PM
THIS. What I term algorithmic agnotology.
Reposted by Samantha Dalal
dear CTA
We don't need data driven, we need buses driven
December 31, 2024 at 3:11 PM
dear CTA
Just because something is shorter does not mean it's simpler or easier to read. Sometimes longer narrative text is needed to tell a cohesive story and motivate a contribution.
December 8, 2024 at 10:38 PM
Just because something is shorter does not mean it's simpler or easier to read. Sometimes longer narrative text is needed to tell a cohesive story and motivate a contribution.
Holiday gift idea for your grad student friends: Send them a nice note about a paper of theirs that you enjoyed. It takes max 5 mins, costs $0, and makes them feel warm and fuzzy on the inside.
December 2, 2024 at 9:31 PM
Holiday gift idea for your grad student friends: Send them a nice note about a paper of theirs that you enjoyed. It takes max 5 mins, costs $0, and makes them feel warm and fuzzy on the inside.
Reposted by Samantha Dalal
If taken seriously, the first three will essentially subsidize Big Tech's experimental, glitchy products. Search for smart cities in old policy reports and replace them with "AI opportunity."
"Offer subsidized compute to incentivize AI startups to move to NYC." "Massively unlock city data accessibility." "Recruit the most coveted AI conferences to New York for the next five years." Or not!
Maximizing NYC’s AI Opportunity | Center for an Urban Future (CUF)
The Center for an Urban Future (CUF) proposes five policy ideas for how to maximize New York City's AI opportunity.
nycfuture.org
December 2, 2024 at 1:44 PM
If taken seriously, the first three will essentially subsidize Big Tech's experimental, glitchy products. Search for smart cities in old policy reports and replace them with "AI opportunity."