Sean Munson
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Sean Munson
@smunson.com
650 followers 340 following 44 posts
Professor of Human Centered Design & Engineering at the University of Washington, co-Director of UW ALACRITY Center. Personal informatics & design of collaborative health interventions. Mountains, nature, & casual photography. Views my own. smunson.com
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Reposted by Sean Munson
jessicahullman.bsky.social
"Machine learning research is not serious research & therefore hallucinated references are not necessarily a big deal, agrees prestigious group of ML researchers"

I ❤️ when the titles write themselves

But seriously, I don't think there's much to debate statmodeling.stat.columbia.edu/2026/01/26/m...
Machine learning research is not serious research and therefore hallucinated references are not necessarily a big deal, agrees a prestigious group of machine learning researchers | Statistical Modeli...
statmodeling.stat.columbia.edu
January 27, 2026 at 12:31 AM
smunson.com
Hard to believe whoever made this decision has tried their AI tools.

Or maybe they don’t care.
January 15, 2026 at 10:34 PM
Reposted by Sean Munson
amysundberg.bsky.social
I'm back at work! In this piece I analyze Governor Ferguson's proposed 2026 supplemental budget, which is balanced with cuts cuts cuts and a little help from the state's emergency fund and climate dollars.
January 5, 2026 at 6:06 PM
Reposted by Sean Munson
ndiakopoulos.bsky.social
🚨 Postdoc opening -- Come work with us at Northwestern! 🚨 This position is to work on evaluating LLMs for sociopolitical value expression: postdocs.northwestern.edu/announcement... -- Please share!
Postdoctoral Research Opportunity – Global LLM Values Benchmarking Working Group: Postdoctoral Affairs - Northwestern University
postdocs.northwestern.edu
December 2, 2025 at 7:34 PM
Reposted by Sean Munson
cbits-nu.bsky.social
CBITs is seeking applicants for our NIMH T32 postdoctoral fellowship to begin July 2026!
Check out some of the incredible mentors you can work with and their research interests. Apps will be reviewed early December 2025!
Interested? Learn more and apply: cbits.northwestern.edu/education-an...
November 26, 2025 at 5:33 PM
smunson.com
Seattle folks: check your ballot!
theurbanist.org The Urbanist @theurbanist.org · Nov 8
Check your ballot. It’s possible that it’s been challenged due to leaving the ballot envelope unsigned or a signature mismatch. You can cure that with King County Elections so your ballot is counted! kingcounty.gov/en/dept/elec...
Type, number, and age cohort of challenged ballots from Seattle
November 8, 2025 at 2:54 AM
Reposted by Sean Munson
meadekrosby.bsky.social
Never, ever gets old.

Don't forget to put your ballot in a drop box by 8pm, Seattle (it's too late to trust your vote to the mail!).
November 4, 2025 at 7:36 PM
Reposted by Sean Munson
condeunion.bsky.social
We strongly condemn @CondéNast’s consolidation plans for Teen Vogue, a move that is clearly designed to blunt the award-winning magazine’s insightful journalism at a time when it is needed the most. More from our statement:
November 3, 2025 at 11:24 PM
Reposted by Sean Munson
jonfroehlich.bsky.social
Join us at the UW Paul G. Allen School of Computer Science & Engineering. We are hiring tenure-track faculty positions. Apply here: apply.interfolio.com/174303
Apply - Interfolio {{$ctrl.$state.data.pageTitle}} - Apply - Interfolio
apply.interfolio.com
October 28, 2025 at 8:55 PM
Reposted by Sean Munson
cbits-nu.bsky.social
Attention #Postdoc researchers and #PhDAward candidates: CBITs is seeking applicants for our NIMH T32 postdoctoral fellowship to begin July 2026 with training in both mental health and human computer interaction
Apps will be reviewed December 2025!
Learn more: cbits.northwestern.edu/education-an...
Postdoctoral Fellowship in Digital Mental Health
The T32 postdoctoral fellowship at Northwestern University's Center for Behavioral Intervention Technologies offers interdisciplinary training in digital mental health, combining psychological science...
cbits.northwestern.edu
October 24, 2025 at 3:25 PM
Reposted by Sean Munson
carlbergstrom.com
1. We ( @jbakcoleman.bsky.social, @cailinmeister.bsky.social, @jevinwest.bsky.social, and I) have a new preprint up on the arXiv.

There we explore how social media companies and other online information technology firms are able to manipulate scientific research about the effects of their products.
Three schematic diagrams. The first illustrates selective publishing of internal resection, the second selective causal focus, and the third selective access and funding for researchers.
October 24, 2025 at 12:47 AM
Reposted by Sean Munson
sethcotlar.bsky.social
Remember April 2009 when about 250,000 people took to America’s streets in Tea Party rallies and the media was like “oh man, the Dems are in trouble?” Approximately 28X as many people took to the streets to protest Trump yesterday. Didn’t even make the NYT front page.
sethcotlar.bsky.social Seth Cotlar @sethcotlar.bsky.social · Apr 10
In April of 2009 I observed the Tea Party rally in Salem. As this front page story says, there were a couple hundred people there. This past weekend in Salem there were roughly 2-3000 people at the Hands Off rally. Yet the Tea Party coverage seemed to take that event far more seriously.
StatesmanJournal.com SERVING SALEM, KEIZER AND THE MID-VALLEY "If you don't say anything, you're accepting it." Mari Jensen, McMinnville resident OUT OF MY LOUR WALLET CHOICES LIMIT GOVERNMENT Oregon Taxpayers United FREEDOM gat TIMOTHY J. GONZALEZ | Statesman Journal Alan Grosso (center) of Happy Valley joins in chanting under the window of the speaker of the House on Wednesday during the Salem Tea Party protest at the Capitol. Protesters slam Fed spending Hundreds gather at Salem Tea Party to rally against bailouts, state-level taxes BY DENNIS THOMPSON JR. Statesman Journal Hundreds of people uneasy over the future of their country gathered on the state Capitol steps on Wednesday to protest federal spending and state-level taxation. Oregon State Police estimated more SCRAP THE CODE than 1,000 people attended the Salem Tea Party protest, which ran from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Organizers placed attendance at more than 2,000 people. The rally was passionate but peace-ful, although many people carried handmade signs bearing stark and angry messages. A fake wooden pitchfork read "Politicians take note. We the people are about to revolt." Anoth er sign read "200+ years to build the Republic, 3 mos. to destroy it." Many attendees said they were motivated to protest by the billions in stimulus spending and bailouts that have been doled out in recent months. Willy Lowman of Falls City wears a label on his head that reads "Scrap the Code" at the tea party protest. West Salem resident Steve Albin said he came to protest federal bailouts of banks and automakers. "They need to fail. That's what capitalism is all about," said Albin, who had a tea bag dangling from the brim See Protest, 2A Inside Protesters take part in Tea Party events across the nation, Page 2A Supporters to push for immigration reform, Page 2A • ONLINE: See photo galleries and a video from the protest at StatesmanJournal.com.
October 19, 2025 at 7:26 PM
Reposted by Sean Munson
carlbergstrom.com
This should be the scandal that topples an administration, not business as usual on a slow Sunday.
October 19, 2025 at 6:12 PM
Reposted by Sean Munson
npr.org
A Cornell University researcher has been developing an artificial heart for children for more than 20 years. Now, his research is on hold and his lab is shut down. n.pr/3KIfcSn
This 4-year-old's heart is failing. A federal grant that might help him was canceled
A Cornell University researcher has been developing an artificial heart for children for more than 20 years. Now, his research is on hold and his lab is shut down.
n.pr
October 9, 2025 at 1:02 PM
Reposted by Sean Munson
aaup.org
The Trump admin’s offer to give preferential treatment to institutions that toe the party line reeks of bribery in exchange for allegiance to a partisan ideological agenda.

This is corruption.

Adherence to ‘loyalty oaths’ would usher in a new era of thought policing in American higher education.
Universities Must Reject Trump Admin 'Loyalty Oath' Compacts
The AAUP and AFT warn that the Trump administration’s offer to give preferential treatment to colleges and universities that court government favor in exchange for allegiance to a partisan ideological...
www.aaup.org
October 2, 2025 at 7:31 PM
Reposted by Sean Munson
hcde.uw.edu
New from HCDE: Announcing our new Graduate Certificate in Human Centered AI.
Learn to build AI systems that are ethical, equitable, and human-first.
Courses are in the evenings, in-person, from January through September.
Priority application deadline: October 24, 2025.
www.hcde.washington.edu/hcai
Graduate Certificate in Human Centered Artificial Intelligence
Advance your expertise in responsible AI with HCDE’s newest program, starting January 2026.
www.hcde.washington.edu
October 2, 2025 at 4:44 PM
smunson.com
@hcde.uw.edu is launching our new human-centered AI graduate certificate in January, with applications open now and a priority deadline of 24 October. Learn more at www.hcde.washington.edu/hcai
Graduate Certificate in Human Centered Artificial Intelligence
Advance your expertise in responsible AI with HCDE’s newest program, starting January 2026.
www.hcde.washington.edu
October 2, 2025 at 5:12 PM
Reposted by Sean Munson
reichlinmelnick.bsky.social
What DHS pulled in Chicago on Tuesday is wildly unconstitutional. They smashed down almost every door in the building, dragged entire families into the street, and detained people for hours ("Kavanaugh stops").

Ms. Fisher was held for five hours and another senior citizen was held for three hours.
Rodrick Johnson, 67, is one of many residents who were detained by federal agents during the South Shore raid. A U.S. citizen, he said agents broke through his door and dragged him out in zip ties. Johnson said he was left tied up outside the building for nearly three hours before agents finally let him go. “I asked [agents] why they were holding me if I was an American citizen, and they said I had to wait until they looked me up,” Jones said. “I asked if they had a warrant, and I asked for a lawyer. They never brought one.”
October 2, 2025 at 12:16 PM
Reposted by Sean Munson
meganburbank.bsky.social
Today, I was laid off from Cascade PBS along with my entire team and most of the newsroom. I'll have more to say, but I have loved my time as news editor alongside some of the best journalists I have ever worked with. Every time a newsroom closes, stories go with it. The silence that follows is loud
September 22, 2025 at 11:27 PM
smunson.com
New paper, led by Shaan Chopra, examining how LLMs may–and may not–provide good support for personal health tracking: "Engagements with Generative AI and Personal Health Informatics: Opportunities for Planning, Tracking, Reflecting, and Acting around Personal Health Data"
Engagements with Generative AI and Personal Health Informatics: Opportunities for Planning, Tracking, Reflecting, and Acting around Personal Health Data | Proceedings of the ACM on Interactive, Mobile...
Personal informatics processes require navigating distinct challenges across stages of tracking, but the range of data, goals, expertise, and context that individuals bring to self-tracking often pres...
dl.acm.org
September 16, 2025 at 3:00 PM
smunson.com
At @hcde.uw.edu, we are hiring an assistant or associate teaching professor. If you are dedicated to advancing human centered design & engineering education and scholarship, and our interdisciplinary community might be the right next step in your career, I hope you will apply!
Apply - Interfolio {{$ctrl.$state.data.pageTitle}} - Apply - Interfolio
apply.interfolio.com
August 28, 2025 at 6:40 PM
Reposted by Sean Munson
katestarbird.bsky.social
Hi Seattle! Come see my talk on the history of human-computer interaction. I'll explain U.S. gov funding of science has led to many of the innovations that power our economy & shape our lives — and call out the short-sightedness & hypocrisy of efforts to defund science in this field & so many others
sufsseattle.bsky.social sufsseattle.bsky.social @sufsseattle.bsky.social · Aug 27
Seattle! We're joining the Summer of Science with our first teach-in. Join us at Obec brewing and meet Dr. @katestarbird.bsky.social
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Seattle! We're joining the Summer of Science with our first teach-in. Join us @obecbrewing to meet @katestarbird.bsky.social Dr. Starbird will be speaking about the evolution of human-computer interaction, and why public investment in research and diverse voices in computing and informatics are more essential than ever, especially at a time when those investments are under threat. And you won’t just leave inspired — Seattle’s Stand Up for Science team will be on hand with easy, actionable ways to contact your representatives and stand up for science. See you there!
August 27, 2025 at 7:58 PM
Reposted by Sean Munson
jeremymberg.bsky.social
New York Times story with profiles of researchers whose grants were terminated.

[Gift Link]

www.nytimes.com/2025/08/24/o...
Opinion | America First? Not When It Comes to Your Health.
www.nytimes.com
August 24, 2025 at 1:08 PM
Reposted by Sean Munson
astronamir.bsky.social
An amazing story by my friend & colleague, @dbseaton.bsky.social, highlights the personal, professional, & societal value of NSF’s REU undergrad research program, & the irreplaceable losses if planned funding cuts are enacted. A must-read.

🔭⚛️🧪☀️ #scicomm #citsci

www.nature.com/articles/d41...
Small, affordable undergraduate research programmes changed my career and strengthen US science. Why cut them?
Like so much else, this small scientific programme is on the Trump administration’s hit list. This will hurt the United States, says Dan Seaton.
www.nature.com
August 21, 2025 at 2:33 AM