Ben Waber's Academic Run Playlist Rundown - Late June 2021

We're only about three months from race day, but the heat has made my longer runs fairly brutal. I've only just started bringing water/snacks with me, but it's uncomfortable to carry and slows me down a bit. I've found I really prefer planning routes that bring me by convenience stores so I can quickly drink a Gatorade without carrying it, and even with the stop I run slightly faster. My goal is to get to a 3:30 marathon time (I ran a 4 hour time a month ago), and my pace is nearly there.

All of this is with an eye towards raising money for the Samaritans, and if you're enjoying these lists I hope you'll consider donating. For those with corporate donation programs feel free to reach out to me and we can get your logo on our race day jerseys. With that, on to the talks!

"Too Lazy to Read the Paper" Podcast - Dashun Wang and Sune Lehmann

I have a feeling that by the time we get to Marathon day I'll have worked through all of Sune's great podcast sessions. They're engrossing, getting deep into both the science and the scientist behind it. I've been a huge fan of both Dashun and Sune for awhile, and after listening to this discussion I'm sure others will join that group. This is a fairly wide ranging conversation, with a focus on science of science research (someone will have to tell me why "metascience" isn't used for this because IMO it sounds cooler).

The development of science in general is obviously critical for humanity, but Dashun's work has done an amazing job at getting to the heart of how science develops over time and across disciplines in an exciting new way. It's also in many ways the progenitor of modern organizational network analysis as citation data was the cleanest, most scalable social network dataset until the rise of social media platforms and internal corporate communication systems. Beyond this topic, there's lots of inside baseball discussions of Barabasi Lab at Northeastern, which is really enjoyable for those interested in the workings of academia.

"BEING" (The Digital Griot) - Stanford HAI, Rashaad Newsome

I had to rewatch this talk with video since the visual art referenced here is central to the discussion, but I'm glad I did. Rashaad Newsome is working in the critical intersection of art, technology, and representation, and through his work highlights but also challenges systems of oppression that have continued and evolved through today. Breathtaking work.

Governing an Algorithm in the Wild - Data & Society, David Robinson

How should donated kidneys get matched to recipients? While compared to most discussions of AI this is a relatively old problem, but with profound implications for how algorithms actually need to function in the real world. This talk is an incredibly important discussion of ethics, stakeholders, and how societal consensus develops through examination of tough problems. As we think about deploying algorithms in workplaces and beyond, this thorough examination from David Robinson should be essential listening.

Biases in Data & Other Threats to Validity of Predictive Models - CHM Seminar Series, Kristina Lerman

You'll need to crank up the volume for this one as the recording is on the quiet side, but it's worth it. Prof. Lerman digs into one of the most pressing issues in data science today: understanding biases in data we use to build and train models. Where could it come from? How can data scientists deal with it? This is arguably the next frontier of AI, and anyone who's building or using technology in this space should absolutely use this talk as an entry point.

Origins of Trust and Safety - Data & Society, Alexander Macgillivray and Nicole Wong

Trust and transparency in the online world has been a focus of discussion for years, but it wasn't always this way. Macgillivray and Wong discuss the early days of this space, complete with a blast from the past with a Xenu.net reference! People under 30 probably aren't even familiar with this (yeah even millennials are old apparently), but it was a seismic event in the development of trust online. The discussion then moves to more recent development and what the field has to do to continue to evolve to solve problems that have only more recently risen to widespread awareness.

"Too Lazy to Read the Paper" Podcast - Roberta Sinatra and Sune Lehmann

I confess, I can't get enough Roberta Sinatra. Upon reading her work on understanding success, my reaction was the same as Sune's in this episode: profound awe, like my eyes were finally open to a fundamental truth of society. In an earlier rundown I listed another of her talks, and she's back here again because it's so important for understanding society.

Across a variety of fields with easy to quantify outcomes (academic research, music, acting, etc.) luck comes out as a huge fundamental driving force in success (i.e. popularity). The effects are multiplicative: luck begets luck, snowballing into overwhelming success when actual differences in ability are relatively small. Appreciating this is critical for self examination, for understanding what leads to success vs. what is just luck, and thinking about how to maximize this luck for yourself or organizations. My perception of work and society in general have been completely transformed by Roberta's work, this is well worth your time.

Which Humans? Innovation, Equity, and Imagination in Human-Centered Design - CHI 2021, Ruha Benjamin

Our technology and society evolved over time. Beneath this truth we have to also realize that a big part of that history is racism and oppression. It's now baked into so many aspects of how we live and work that it takes a different perspective to see where current practices actually came from. Ruha Benjamin has that perspective. In this deep and wide-ranging talk, she digs into how these racist systems underlie so much of what we take for granted in technology and design today, and what it will take to begin right these longstanding wrongs.

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That’s all for this week! If you saw any academic talks or seminars I should watch/listen to on my runs, please let me know in the comments.

I'll plan to share the next slate of talks in about a week, and as a reminder if you're able please?donate?to Samaritans as I train for the Boston Marathon.