Share this page!

Rachel Thomas Profile picture
Twitter logo
1 Dec, 14 tweets, 5 min read
There has been more focus on whether the public trusts institutions (governments, medicine, public health orgs) than on how those institutions could better earn our trust. 1/

Western leaders have expressed confidence even when they were completely wrong, and have been unwilling to express uncertainty, even when it would have been more honest 2/

We've seen politicians upgrade parliament to have excellent air ventilation, as school children & essential workers are forced into poorly ventilated buildings with insufficient mitigations #COVIDisAirborne 3/

Some leaders lied about the efficacy of masks rather than admit there was a shortage. Which of course backfired when they later needed to ask everyone to wear masks. 4/

nytimes.com/2020/03/17/opi…
A lot of advice has been patronizing: the general public was told we aren't smart enough to learn how to wear masks properly, and that we won't wash our hands AND wear masks (as though we can only keep 1 idea in mind at a time) 5/

People distrust the institutions that don't trust them (@karlitaliliana referring to the disbelief & dismissal with which many doctors treat suffering patients) 6/

The warnings of those with devastating post-viral illness were & still are ignored 7/

The experiences & expertise of patients are routinely denied 8/

Often, it is suggested that the public is stopping the government from acting, rather than the other way around (below poll from the UK, but this media/govt dynamic applies to many countries) 9/

We've had absurd policies (you can gather with friends in a restaurant but not your own home), harmful ones (closing beaches & parks, even though outdoor air is typically safer), & misleading ones (hand-washing over mask-wearing) 10/

Again and again, leaders have made false promises that vaccines alone are sufficient to end the pandemic, even as country after country shows that is not the case. 11/
We've watched some doctors feed anti-vaxxer doubts, at scale, downplaying the risks of covid in children 12/

And other doctors have received a national platform to portray patients as dogmatic & anti-science, even as those same doctors mislead audiences about the well-documented multi-system organ damage that is part of LongCovid 13/

22 months into the pandemic, and public health messaging in the West is still too often outdated, inadequate, & erroneous 14/

• • •

Missing some Tweet in this thread? You can try to force a refresh
　

Keep Current with Rachel Thomas

Rachel Thomas Profile picture

Stay in touch and get notified when new unrolls are available from this author!

Read all threads

This Thread may be Removed Anytime!

PDF

Twitter may remove this content at anytime! Save it as PDF for later use!

Try unrolling a thread yourself!

how to unroll video
  1. Follow @ThreadReaderApp to mention us!

  2. From a Twitter thread mention us with a keyword "unroll"
@threadreaderapp unroll

Practice here first or read more on our help page!

More from @math_rachel

Rachel Thomas Profile picture
30 Nov
On *reviewability* of automated decision making (ADM), rather than *explainability*

Reviewability does not necessarily involve explanations. It is about exposing the decision-making process, including human processes, structures, & systems around a model

papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cf… Reviewability of ADM does not therefore necessarily involve
Explanations focused on how a model has arrived at an output may miss much of what is important. A more holistic view could include information on testing & auditing procedures, training data, effects of decisions on protected characteristics, & more. 2/ @jennifercobbe As such, explanations focused on how the model itself has ar
Judicial review of public sector decision-making does not simply assess the decision itself, but the decision-making process as a whole

An understanding of human decision-making as a process that begins before the decision and that has consequences that resonate afterwards 3/ act in line with long-established principles of good adminis
Read 4 tweets
Rachel Thomas Profile picture
29 Nov
My newest post: Doing Data Science for Social Good, Responsibly 1/

fast.ai/2021/11/23/dat…
Data use by non-profits can be powerful, such as this CA vaccine equity analysis by @ACLU_NorCal @snowjake & @DataInstituteSF @MaxShinnerl (I mentored) 2/

Recent projects in which @QUTDataScience partnered with @CCQld & @fareshare_aus were a success 3/
Read 10 tweets
Rachel Thomas Profile picture
28 Nov
Flaws of countering disinfo w/ appeal to authority:

"Worrying about whether we trust institutions without asking if these institutions deserve trust... A program of infantalization – trust that the adults know what is right – will provoke equally infantile resistance." @Aelkus We have gotten very far from the original goal of trying to
Failure of legacy institutions to respond appropriately to the pandemic, from March 2020 @aelkus, h/t @RSButner

aelkus.github.io/problem/2020/0…
A society that cares more about declining trust in institutions than what institutions have done to deserve trust – and which devotes far more effort towards managing the behavioral psychology of risk than actually reducing risk – is engaged in narrative-making above all else. Managing public health and disease was one of the core tasks
Read 4 tweets
Rachel Thomas Profile picture
26 Nov
Compared to ethics principles in medicine, AI ethics principles lack:
1. common aims & fiduciary duties
2. professional history & norms
3. proven methods to translate principles into practice
4. robust legal & professional accountability mechanisms

nature.com/articles/s4225…
"The truly difficult part of ethics—actually translating theories, concepts & values into good practices AI practitioners can adopt—is kicked down the road like the proverbial can." @b_mittelstadt 2/
"Ethics has a cost. AI is often developed behind closed doors without public representation... It cannot be assumed that value-conscious frameworks will be meaningfully implemented in commercial processes that value efficiency, speed and profit." 3/
Read 4 tweets
Rachel Thomas Profile picture
25 Nov
🧵on Google, Tech Regulation, & Risk of Industry Capture in 🇦🇺

"Google’s investment in Australia’s tech future — a boon for universities or a Faustian bargain?" by @jordanguiao 1/

abc.net.au/religion/googl…
Australia's competition regulator found:
- Google engages in anti-competitive behavior in digital advertising, which harms consumers & businesses
accc.gov.au/media-release/…

- monopoly on search has "stifled innovation and reduced consumer choice"
ia.acs.org.au/article/2021/a… 2/
Australian federal court found that Google misled Australian mobile and tablet users on how it collects location data 3/

abc.net.au/news/2021-04-1…
Read 7 tweets
Rachel Thomas Profile picture
22 Nov
Many people have a false dichotomy that you are either FOR or AGAINST covid restrictions, with no nuance about the TYPE of restrictions or level of effectiveness, much less that eschewing all restrictions → hospitals collapse & lockdown more likely. 1/
There has been a lot of terrible public health messaging & contradictory government policies in the West, from the start of the pandemic, continuing now, and these erode public trust, create false expectations, & contribute to “pandemic fatigue” 2/
The “only elderly & chronically ill are at risk” was both false AND ineffective messaging. This has been clear from the VERY START of the pandemic. (I RTed @jenbrea at the time) 3/
Read 16 tweets

Did Thread Reader help you today?

Support us! We are indie developers!

This site is made by just two indie developers on a laptop doing marketing, support and development! Read more about the story.

Become a Premium Member ($3/month or $30/year) and get exclusive features!

Become Premium

Too expensive? Make a small donation by buying us coffee ($5) or help with server cost ($10)

Donate via Paypal

Or Donate anonymously using crypto!

Ethereum

0xfe58350B80634f60Fa6Dc149a72b4DFbc17D341E copy

Bitcoin

3ATGMxNzCUFzxpMCHL5sWSt4DVtS8UqXpi copy

Thank you for your support!

Follow Us on Twitter!

Like this author's thread?

Get emails when @math_rachel has new unrolls!

Check out other threads from @math_rachel!

Read all threads by @math_rachel

:(