Join the Cyber Policy Center on May 21st from Noon–1PM Pacific with speaker Dr. J. Nathan Matias founder of the Citizens and Technology Lab and assistant professor in the Cornell University Department of Communication, for Breaking Through Barriers to Usable Science on Tech and AI Policy. The session will be moderated by Jeff Hancock co director of the Stanford Cyber Policy Center, and is part of the Spring Seminar Series, a series spanning April through June hosted at the Cyber Policy Center. Sessions are in-person and virtual, via Zoom and streamed via YouTube, with in-person attendance offered to Stanford affiliates only. Lunch is provided for in-person attendance and registration is required. Sessions will take place in Encina Commons, Moghadam Room 123, 615 Crothers Way on Stanford Campus.

From online safety to AI discrimination, debates in tech policy often hinge on evidence about cause, effect, harms, and remedies. In theory, reliable evidence could inform substantive improvements in people’s lives and effective interventions from tech companies or governments. Yet despite technology platforms enabling unprecedented levels of social data collection and experimentation, science has not been able to deliver a commensurate amount of reliable, repeatable, actionable evidence for the common good.

In this talk, which will focus on the problem of  gender based violence and discrimination by AI and social platforms, Matias will summarize leading barriers to a usable science of tech policy. These include perverse incentives for tech firms to resist science, historical biases in science itself, incomplete pathways for the use of evidence, and challenges in scientific theory and methods. Through a series of case studies and field experiments conducted in collaboration with communities of tens of millions of people, Matias will argue that scientific progress on tech policy depends on pathways for the public to exercise leadership in the development, implementation, and use of scientific evidence about our digital lives.

Optional readings:

• Matias, J.N. (2023) Humans and algorithms work together — so study them together. Nature.
• Matias, J.N. (2023) To Hold Tech Accountable, Look to Public Health. WIRED

Nathan is founder of the Citizens and Technology Lab and an assistant professor in the Cornell University Department of Communication. CAT Lab has worked with communities of tens of millions of people on reddit, Wikipedia, and Twitter to test ideas for preventing harassment, broadening gender diversity on social media, responding to human/algorithmic misinformation, managing political conflict, and auditing social technologies. His research has been published in Nature, PNAS, Nature Human Behavior, FACCT, CHI, CSCW, and many other venues in computer science and the social sciences.

Nathan is also a pioneer in industry-independent evaluations on the impact of social technologies and artificial intelligence in society. Toward this end, he co-founded the Coalition for Independent Technology Research, a nonprofit that supports and defends independent research on technology and society.Nathan has also held positions at the Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences at Stanford University, the Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia University, the Princeton University Center for Information Technology Policy, the Berkman Klein Center at Harvard University, and the MIT Center for Civic Media. Nathan has received numerous honors in academia, industry, journalism, and nonprofits. In 2023, he was awarded the Mozilla Rise25 award for research and policy work for a fairer, more ethical Internet. He is recipient of the Nelson Award from the Association for Computer Machinery and the Linda Tischler Award from FastCompany. His public-interest journalism has been published in The Atlantic, PBS, the Guardian, FiveThirtyEight, Global Voices, Boston Magazine, Adventure Cyclist, and other international media. His work is regularly covered by international media, including the New York Times, Washington Post, Wall Street Journal, NPR All Things Considered, WIRED, The Atlantic.

Join the Cyber Policy Center and the Stanford Global Digital Policy Incubator on Friday May 10 from 3–4PM Pacific for a panel discussion on National Approaches to Global Technology Policy. The event will also be livestreamed on the CPC YouTube channel. Please email stanford_gdpi@stanford.edu with any questions.

The event is organized as part of the annual Cyber & Tech Retreat, which gathers cyber and tech ambassadors, tech firms, academics, and industry leaders in the Bay Area to strengthen cooperation. 

During the panel discussion, representatives from Australia, Denmark, Mexico, and the United States will present their national approaches to global technology policy followed by a moderated discussion and reception. 

Program:

Welcoming remarks from Larry Diamond, Senior Fellow, Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies, Stanford University

Panel Discussion and Q&A on "National Approaches to Global Technology Policy”

• Adam Segal, Senior Advisor, Bureau of Cyberspace and Digital Policy, State Department, United States 
• Anne Marie Engtoft Meldgaard, Tech Ambassador, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Denmark
• Brendan Dowling, Ambassador for Cyber Affairs and Critical Technology, Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, Australia
• Ulises Canchola Gutierrez, Ambassador, Special Representative for Technologies, Mexico
• Moderator - Heikki Hietala, Visiting Fellow at the Hoover Institution and Visiting Fulbright Scholar at Stanford

The U.S. Black-White wealth gap, the product of a grim and shameful history, is currently estimated to be nearly 90 trillion dollars. This means that typical Black families only have 15 percent of the wealth of typical White families. Despite gains made in the past,  this gap has widened in recent decades. How did we get here, and what can we do about it? 

Join the Program on Capitalism and Democracy for a thought-provoking look into the complex history of race and money in the U.S. We welcome a diverse range of prior knowledge levels, as we discuss challenges and opportunities for building a more equitable economic future with our esteemed guests Louise Story and Ebony Reed.

Ebony Reed and Louise Story are instructors at The Yale School of Management and co-authors of the forthcoming book, Fifteen Cents on the Dollar: How Americans Made the Black-White Wealth Gap. Through intimate interviews and personal narratives, their deeply researched book provides a comprehensive, human look at the Black-White wealth gap history, shedding light on the systemic economic discrimination and public/private actions that have perpetuated this staggering divide. Drawing on insights from their research, Ebony and Louise will share perspectives on the historical and contemporary role of business in shaping the wealth gap, delving into topics such as discriminatory pricing and insurance models, unequal employment opportunities and income, and disparities in access to wealth-building financial services and assets.

This event is co-sponsored by CDDRL and the Corporations and Society Initiative at the Stanford Graduate School of Business.

ABOUT THE SPEAKERS

Ebony Reed is a seasoned journalist who has led operations and coverage at The Plain Dealer, covering Cleveland public schools, and documenting public education’s inequities, where her work was recognized by The Investigative Reporters & Editors organization. At the Detroit News, she managed the local coverage during the 2008 economic crisis. Now the Chief Strategy Officer at The Marshall Project, she has held other senior roles at the Associated Press, Boston Business Journal, and The Wall Street Journal. She’s taught at more than a half dozen institutions, including The Yale School of Management.

Louise Story is a prize-winning investigative journalist who spent more than 15 years at the New York Times and the Wall Street Journal, where she was the top masthead editor running coverage strategy. Her work investigating corruption led to the largest kleptocracy forfeiture in U.S. history, a scandal known as the 1MDB case. During the 2008 financial crisis, her work led to a multi-billion dollar settlement in the derivative market and to Goldman Sachs’s S.E.C. settlement. Projects she has led have received honors including Emmy Awards, Pulitzer Prize finalist citations, and Online News Association awards. Louise’s film "The Kleptocrats" aired on the BBC, Apple and Amazon. She teaches about racial wealth gaps at The Yale School of Management.

Join the Program on Capitalism and Democracy with Peter Goodman, a journalist whose work has scrutinized economic elites and their influence on global policies and practices. As the author of Davos Man: How the Billionaires Devoured the World, Goodman investigates the World Economic Forum, the annual gathering of elites in Davos, Switzerland, and offers critical insights into how the world’s most powerful individuals exploit their influence and resources to further their own interests, often with negative consequences for many ordinary people.

Goodman covers the complexities of global economics, trade, and the intersection of power and policy. His latest investigative work and forthcoming book focus on exploring the global supply chain, How the World Ran Out of Everything: Inside the Global Supply Chain.

ABOUT THE SPEAKER

Peter S. Goodman is the global economics correspondent for The New York Times, based in New York. 

Over three decades in journalism, Goodman has covered some of the most momentous economic transformations and upheavals – the global financial crisis of 2008 and the Great Recession, as the Times' New York-based national economic correspondent; the emergence of China into a global superpower as the Shanghai bureau chief for The Washington Post; the dot-com bubble as a technology reporter based in Washington. During a five-year stint in London for the Times, he wrote about Brexit, the rise of right-wing populism in Europe, and the catastrophe of the coronavirus pandemic.  

Goodman has reported from more than 40 countries, including assignments in conflict zones such as Iraq, Cambodia, Sudan, and East Timor.

He has been recognized with some of journalism’s top honors, including two Gerald Loeb awards, and eight prizes from the Society of American Business Editors and Writers. His work as part of the Times’ series on the roots of the 2008 financial crisis was a Pulitzer finalist.

He is the author of two books, the best-selling Davos Man: How the Billionaires Devoured the World (HarperCollins, 2022), an NPR Best Book of the Year, and Past Due: The End of Easy Money and the Renewal of the American Economy (Times Books, 2009). His next book, How the World Ran Out of Everything: Inside the Global Supply Chain (HarperCollins, 2024), set to be released in June, was included on Foreign Policy’s list of most anticipated titles.