Professor, Stanford University
Co-Author, SYSTEM ERROR: Where Big Tech Went Wrong
Author, JUST GIVING: How Philanthropy is Undermining Democracy
Sep 6, 2022 • 8 tweets • 3 min read
Today is the official publication date for the paperback of System Error: Where Big Tech Went Wrong and How We Can Reboot.
Short 🧵 1/
The book grew out of a sense that Stanford (and Silicon Valley) had lost its way.
CS had become the largest major, Stanford was pumping out incredible technical talent. Yet something was wrong in paradise. 2/
Sep 7, 2021 • 5 tweets • 4 min read
It's publication day for System Error!
Writing is a solitary undertaking, but this book is the result of an amazing community of students and colleagues, esp Jeremy Weinstein & @mehran_sahami
These powerful language models force developers and ordinary users to confront a wide array of concerns: the use of unconsented data, the perpetuation of bias, stereotype, and discrimination, deliberate misuse via disinformation campaigns, and entrenchment of corp power.
Dec 21, 2020 • 16 tweets • 7 min read
The stunning announcement of >$6B in philanthropic donations in one year by @mackenziescott deserves wider discussion.
"Philanthropy, as far as I can see, is rapidly becoming the recognizable mark of a wicked man" -- G.K. Chesterton, 1909.
In these days of criticizing Sackler and Epstein philanthropy, it's worth remembering that the complaints about tainted money and tainted donors are old.
Or consider what President Roosevelt and Samuel Gompers said of John D. Rockefeller's idea of creating the Rockefeller Foundation:
Jul 9, 2019 • 7 tweets • 3 min read
Another chapter in ethics of field experiments in social science:
American economists and political scientists at @UChicago, @Stanford, @MIT and @Harvard randomly incentivize young Hong Kong university students to engage in antiauthoritarian protests.
Some questions about philanthropy, large and small, and the re-building of Notre Dame.
nytimes.com/2019/04/17/wor…1. Tax breaks will be given to French donors. Significant tax concessions, according to @nytimes: 66% deduction for individual donations and 60% for corporate donations. So a 100K Euro donation only costs the donor 34K Euro.