Compiler

On September 24, 2024, Australian eSafety Commissioner Julie Inman - Grant joined Compiler and The Security, Trust and Safety Initiative at Cornell Tech for a candid and sobering conversation about tackling online harms. The event, held on Cornell Tech's Roosevelt Island campus, took place during the 2024 United Nations General Assembly, where global technology policies—particularly those concerning artificial intelligence—were a central focus. Inman Grant spoke with Tazin Khan, founder and CEO of Cyber Collective, sharing insights into her work as the head of the world’s first government agency dedicated to addressing internet safety. Under her leadership, the commission has become a powerful force, making Inman Grant an influential figure and a frequent target. Elon Musk, an increasingly vocal opponent of government efforts to regulate digital content, labeled Australian officials "fascists" for policies aimed at curbing disinformation. Following a public dispute between the eSafety Commission and X over graphic images and false information related to the Bondi Junction stabbings, Inman Grant reported receiving "credible death threats." The conflict between Australia and X is playing out offline, too. In early October, an Australian court upheld a government fine against the platform for noncompliance with an eSafety Commissioner notice regarding the company’s efforts to remove child sexual abuse materials. "Australians across all political stripes definitely support freedom of expression, but they understand that when it veers into the lane of online discourse and is particularly targeting those who are vulnerable, it's silencing other voices," Inman Grant said at Cornell Tech. She acknowledged the immense scale of the work facing her team, which last year handled around 13,000 cases related to technology-facilitated gender-based violence, including cyberstalking, doxxing and image-based abuse. Still, she said, abusers need to face consequences. "A deterrent for the most egregious is important because we don't want to be creating sociopaths who just think they can target people with impunity." This video is an edited version of an interview from the Compiler Pop-Up Series, a global program spotlighting influential voices and pivotal ideas shaping our digital future.

In her first piece for Compiler, Nancy Scola explores the work of?John Mack, a visual artist?who’s been making the rounds at storied institutions like The Explorers Club in Manhattan and international tech conferences like the Mozilla Festival. He's a big thinker who challenges audiences to consider what our collective tech obsession is doing to humanness. It's a timely question for many reasons, especially given the rapid adoption of generative #AI and the increasing influence of tech billionaires such as?Elon Musk, who will likely push for an even faster move toward his version of sci-fi futurism (think robots, self-driving taxis and colonizing Mars). READ IT HERE: https://lnkd.in/dhNG27s7

You may be feeling like risk assessments are everywhere and whether you like it or not - they are here to stay! In addition to the EU Digital Services Act, a new regime is now in town with the UK Online Safety Act and under it platforms of all shapes and sizes will have to conduct risk assessments by mid-March 2025. What will this mean in practice, what to expect and how to get started? We will be discussing this and more with Hollie Keating-Akehurst from Ofcom, Emma Drake from Bird & Bird moderated by the great by Mike F. from Compiler. Join us tomorrow for a deep dive hosted by Tremau on how platforms will be affected and hear about best practices on how to be compliant! Sign up here: https://lnkd.in/d6jT_qec

What happens to workers once #AI starts taking our jobs? The AI talks at this year's TED Conferences made this question feel even more urgent—and my new piece for Compiler shares the paths forward, with the very thoughtful input of Duke's Nita Farahany, Datastax CEO Chet Kapoor and tech innovator Tom Gruber (the creator of Siri). The IMF says AI could affect 40% of the world's workforce (as much as 60% in industrialized countries), and this isn't a "someday" problem: Even moderate increases in unemployment could cause shock waves through our whole society. But there is still plenty of time for us to chart a course through those waves—and this article looks at how we might avoid the worst. I was thrilled when Mike Farrell launched Compiler as a new nonprofit newsroom for serious investigations into tech policy issues, and it's been a delight to work with Mike and his editor Tekendra Parmar. Please do take a look around Compiler, which is backed by the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, and to my mind represents exactly what the future of media needs to look like: Real reporting that shows what human journalists can still offer...even if AI is gunning for our jobs, too. ?? (Also: How great is this illustration by Matthew Curry? I'm afraid my crop didn't quite do it justice, so do take a look at the full story!) Link ??

How worried should we be about AI eliminating jobs—and how soon???? The IMF estimates that AI could impact 40% of the global workforce—up to 60% in advanced economies. At #TED2024, Alexandra Samuel, Ph.D. put that question to experts Tom Gruber, Nita Farahany, Chet Kapoor and Zeynep Ton. See what they think: https://lnkd.in/e3aUcZJU #AI #work #innovation #technology #futureofwork #TED

Been on a disinformation and information operations roll this past week. Hard not to see the human mind as almost infinitely malleable and willing to latch on to anything under stress and uncertainty. And worse, as described below, are those with dark motives and skills who mobilize zombies and terrorize anyone whose job is to tell the truth. Mike Farrell Nina Jankowicz Juliette Kayyem

Excited to get this story out into the world, and debut with Compiler, a new nonprofit newsroom covering global tech. Massive thanks to Mike F., Tekendra Parmar, and the many researchers who took the time to speak with me for this story. Eager for comments, critiques, questions. https://lnkd.in/es2d3UCm

Ongoing attacks on #disinformation researchers are having serious consequences—threatening funding for critical work that aims to improve information ecosystems, combat online abuse and safeguard democracy. As Ellery Roberts Biddle writes in?Compiler, many researchers are now "struggling to maintain institutional support for their work and fearful of political retribution for their research." Even the vice presidential debate took up the issue, with JD Vance accusing Kamala Harris of wanting to "censor people who engage in misinformation," while claiming that big tech is silencing citizens. Ellery also writes that, at the same time, "big technology companies are backpedaling on their past commitments to rein in disinformation and hate speech online. With another highly contentious general election just weeks away, the stakes for the work of these technology researchers—and American democracy—feel higher than ever." Check out the story with comments from Nina Jankowicz, Renee DiResta, Karrie Karahalios, Rebekah Tromble, Michelle Daniel, connie moon sehat, Brandi Geurkink, Paul M. Barrett and Alex Abdo. https://lnkd.in/eQPpTjbn #TechPolicy #Misinformation #DigitalHarms #Elections #Democracy

I may be biased, but I think Compiler deserves its rep for the most thoughtful journalism in #TechPolicy, and here's my latest contribution to that oeuvre. Amid all the speculative concerns about generative AI "supercharging" online fraud or writing undetectable malicious code, security experts on the ground are focused on a different, more immediate danger: #Software #AI products that have been rushed to market, using a hugely complex and not terribly transparent open source supply chain, and often replete with easy to find and exploit vulnerabilities. As Software Engineering Institute | Carnegie Mellon University Technical Director Lauren McIlvenny told me, these common-or-garden software #vulnerabilities are “the low hanging fruit” for #cybercriminals, and they've been exploiting them for quotidian money making schemes like #cryptocurrency mining. You can read the whole thing, including the contributions of Protect AI's Dan McInerney and APEX CEO Matan Derman, here: https://lnkd.in/eh-NPTx4

I spoke with FTC Chair Lina Khan about how the FTC — and the world of antitrust law more broadly — has evolved under her leadership and what work remains to be done. Read it at the new tech policy outlet Compiler: