Suresh Venkatasubramanian
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geomblog.bsky.social
Suresh Venkatasubramanian
@geomblog.bsky.social
4.3K followers 770 following 860 posts

Director, Center for Tech Responsibility@Brown. FAccT OG. AI Bill of Rights coauthor. Former tech advisor to President Biden @WHOSTP. He/him/his. Posts my own.

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Suresh Venkatasubramanian is an Indian computer scientist and professor at Brown University. In 2021, Prof. Venkatasubramanian was appointed to the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, advising on matters relating to fairness and bias in tech systems. He was formerly a professor at the University of Utah. He is known for his contributions in computational geometry and differential privacy, and his work has been covered by news outlets such as Science Friday, NBC News, and Gizmodo. He also runs the Geomblog, which has received coverage from the New York Times, Hacker News, KDnuggets and other media outlets. He has served as associate editor of the International Journal of Computational Geometry and Applications and as the academic editor of PeerJ Computer Science, and on program committees for the IEEE International Conference on Data Mining, the SIAM Conference on Data Mining, NIPS, SIGKDD, SODA, and STACS. .. more

Computer science 89%
Engineering 5%
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Reposted by Suresh Venkatasubramanian

nsrnicek.bsky.social
Nick Srnicek @nsrnicek.bsky.social · 22h
The blog here is an enlightening piece on the EO, from one of the key architects behind it. The whole thing is worth reading, but some particularly notable points are:

www.hyperdimensional.co/p/dont-overt...
Don't Overthink "The AI Stack"
Reflections on the Export Promotion Executive Order
www.hyperdimensional.co

geomblog.bsky.social
Suresh Venkatasubramanian @geomblog.bsky.social · 2d
I'm also somewhat alarmed about the rise of position papers because there are way too many position papers saying "someone should do something" when they could just have been a regular paper saying "I did a thing"

Reposted by Suresh Venkatasubramanian

lance.fortnow.com
Lance Fortnow @lance.fortnow.com · 2d
Computational Complexity Conference launches its first test of time award. Nominations due by March 2.

computationalcomplex...

Reposted by Suresh Venkatasubramanian, Jocalyn Clark, Smith

angierasmussen.bsky.social
Angie Rasmussen @angierasmussen.bsky.social · 2d
I read The Double Helix as an undergraduate. I was a science major at a women’s college taking molecular biology. Our professor taught us that Watson & Crick screwed Rosalind Franklin over.

So I read the book to learn more. I’ll never forget how reading this passage made me feel.
“By choice [Rosalind Franklin] did not emphasize her feminine qualities.. There was never lipstick to contrast with her straight black her, while at the age of thirty-one her dresses showed all the imagination of English blue-stocking adolescents. So it was quite easy to imagine her the product of an unsatisfied mother who unduly stressed the desirability of professional careers that could save bright girls from marriages to dull men.. Clearly Rosy had to go or be put in her place. The former was obviously preferable because given her belligerent moods, it would be very difficult for Maurice [Wilkins] to maintain a dominant position that would allow him to think unhindered about DNA.. The thought could not be avoided that the best home for a feminist was another person’s lab”

Reposted by Suresh Venkatasubramanian, Rebecca Tushnet, Lesley Bartlett , and 1 more

mostlybree.kitrocha.com
Bree @mostlybree.kitrocha.com · 5d
I've seen this go by a few times on TikTok now and I have to say, I love this idea. We need a way to convince people to keep running even if they don't win, maybe building the loss into it as a troll move is the secret.

geomblog.bsky.social
Suresh Venkatasubramanian @geomblog.bsky.social · 6d
Now I want to know what you're subtweeting

Reposted by Suresh Venkatasubramanian

lswisnom.bsky.social
Dr Selena Wisnom @lswisnom.bsky.social · 7d
I’ve just discovered that @cwjones.bsky.social first posted this in 2019 - thanks and all credit to him!

Reposted by Suresh Venkatasubramanian

radekllundain.bsky.social
sonic vomit @radekllundain.bsky.social · 7d
"this meeting could have been a clay tablet"

Reposted by Kori Schake, Joanna Bryson, Meredith Broussard , and 46 more

lswisnom.bsky.social
Dr Selena Wisnom @lswisnom.bsky.social · 8d
Academics in Assyria in the 7th c BC complain that admin is preventing them from doing research and teaching

geomblog.bsky.social
Suresh Venkatasubramanian @geomblog.bsky.social · 10d
I have found it hard to find concrete reporting on real use cases. lots of hype and PR substituting for real. hence the question.

geomblog.bsky.social
Suresh Venkatasubramanian @geomblog.bsky.social · 10d
Do you get a sense that the discussion of benefits is grounded in concrete examples, or that it's focused on hype or putative future benefit?

Reposted by Suresh Venkatasubramanian

md.ekstrandom.net
Michael Ekstrand @md.ekstrandom.net · 10d
I haven’t gotten in to the AC games but Fallout 4 has forever warped how I view the Boston area and given me a visceral fear of Malden.

geomblog.bsky.social
Suresh Venkatasubramanian @geomblog.bsky.social · 10d
The result? A Raw Opportunity Bank (open to all) and a Vetted Opportunity Bank for policymakers and developers shaping the next era of AI.

If you’re building or researching an AI project that could benefit the public — submit it! 🌱
If you want to help evaluate entries — join us!
6/n, n=6

geomblog.bsky.social
Suresh Venkatasubramanian @geomblog.bsky.social · 10d
Submissions come from AI labs, civil society, and researchers around the world. Our interdisciplinary team, including students at @UTexasLaw and @BrownUniversity, evaluates each one for:
✅ Impact
✅ Scalability
✅ Ethics

and most importantly, if it's real :) 5/n

geomblog.bsky.social
Suresh Venkatasubramanian @geomblog.bsky.social · 10d
We’re cataloging and evaluating AI use cases across sectors:
⚕️ Healthcare
📚 Education
⚡ Energy
🧬 Material Science
🛡️ Societal Resilience
4/n

geomblog.bsky.social
Suresh Venkatasubramanian @geomblog.bsky.social · 10d
If we could, then we could start to move away from the doom-hype cycle of discourse and have a more grounded, evidence-based discussion of where AI might be useful and where it might not. 3/n

geomblog.bsky.social
Suresh Venkatasubramanian @geomblog.bsky.social · 10d
Too often, AI headlines focus on what might go wrong. The AI Opportunity Inventory focuses on what could go right — responsibly, transparently, and at scale.

Can we cut through the hype and identify promising use cases? 2/n

geomblog.bsky.social
Suresh Venkatasubramanian @geomblog.bsky.social · 10d
Exciting to join in a new initiative coming out of @utexaslaw.bsky.social: the AI Opportunity inventory

👉 law.utexas.edu/ai/ai-opport...

Read on for more about this and how to participate.

1/n
AI Opportunity Inventory
From improving healthcare outcomes and educational access to accelerating energy development and enhancing disaster response, AI presents profound opportunities. Our goal is to make these opportunitie...
law.utexas.edu

geomblog.bsky.social
Suresh Venkatasubramanian @geomblog.bsky.social · 10d
Played Assassins Creed Odyssey months; then went to Athens. Have played AC Valhalla for a month now; am going to London (Lunden). Now I need to figure out a trip to Tokyo for AC Shadows :).

In each actual place I visit, I feel this compulsion to climb buildings and jump into leaves. #IYKYK

Reposted by Suresh Venkatasubramanian

friedler.net
sorelle @friedler.net · 10d
Sure, it's been a few years, but that's the nice thing about statements based on ethical principles: they remain relevant.

Software engineers shouldn't be building this shit.

bidenwhitehouse.archives.gov/ostp/ai-bill...
Blueprint for an AI Bill of Rights | OSTP | The White House
Among the great challenges posed to democracy today is the use of technology, data, and automated systems in ways that threaten the rights of the American public. Too often, these tools are used to li...
bidenwhitehouse.archives.gov

Reposted by Suresh Venkatasubramanian

friedler.net
sorelle @friedler.net · 10d
As @acm.org made clear in 2020, there should be "an immediate suspension of the current and future private and governmental use of FR technologies in all circumstances known or reasonably foreseeable to be prejudicial to established human and legal rights." ...

www.acm.org/binaries/con...
www.acm.org

geomblog.bsky.social
Suresh Venkatasubramanian @geomblog.bsky.social · 12d
You had me at GPT

geomblog.bsky.social
Suresh Venkatasubramanian @geomblog.bsky.social · 12d
My day is half over, and so far I've been ... takes deep breath... PhD Advisor/budgeting strategist/event planner/comms expert/product manager/strategy thinker.

Do a Ph.D they said. Become a prof they said. You'll have infinite time to think they said. Academics don't live in the real world HA

geomblog.bsky.social
Suresh Venkatasubramanian @geomblog.bsky.social · 13d
you're channeling our CNTR opportunities slack :)

Reposted by Suresh Venkatasubramanian

goldwagnathan.bsky.social
Nathan Goldwag @goldwagnathan.bsky.social · 13d
Luckily, there's a foolproof solution to this conundrum.
Saturday Morning Breakfast Cereal - Automation
Saturday Morning Breakfast Cereal - Automation
www.smbc-comics.com

Reposted by Suresh Venkatasubramanian

aerialeverything.cryptoanarchy.network
Not (A.) I. @aerialeverything.cryptoanarchy.network · 13d
“I think they are a profoundly antisocial technology that should be rejected in every way possible,” said Gilliard. “Their
very existence is toxic to the social fabric.” @hypervisible.blacksky.app
www.theverge.com/tech/807834/...
Privacy laws can’t keep up with ‘luxury surveillance’
“It’s not clear to me that a small red light would be sufficient notification in some states for someone to consent to being recorded.”
www.theverge.com

Reposted by Anna O. Law, Suresh Venkatasubramanian, Christian E. Weller , and 12 more

stephenwest.bsky.social
Stephen West @stephenwest.bsky.social · 14d
lmao
My Post headline Mamdani didn’t tell the whole truth about his hijab-wearing ‘aunt’ who feared for safety post-9/11 The “aunt” who Zohran Mamdani said was too afraid to wear her hijab on the subways after 9/11 was actually his dad’s cousin.

geomblog.bsky.social
Suresh Venkatasubramanian @geomblog.bsky.social · 14d
The best protection against rogue AI is ... weaponized philosophers.

existentialcomics.com/comic/626
Philosophy vs the Terminator
A philosophy webcomic about the inevitable anguish of living a brief life in an absurd world. Also Jokes
existentialcomics.com

geomblog.bsky.social
Suresh Venkatasubramanian @geomblog.bsky.social · 14d
Beavers! Cryptids! Antihydras! And yes it's all math. A beautiful article by @benbenbrubaker.bsky.social - I had not realized the deep connections between Busy Beavers and the insanely vexing Collatz Conjecture.
benbenbrubaker.bsky.social Ben Brubaker @benbenbrubaker.bsky.social · 14d
I published a new post on my rarely updated personal blog! It's a sequel of sorts to my Quanta coverage of the Busy Beaver game, focusing on a particularly fearsome Turing machine known by the awesome name Antihydra.
Why Busy Beaver Hunters Fear the Antihydra
In which I explore the biggest barrier in the busy beaver game. What is Antihydra, what is the Collatz conjecture, how are they connected, and what makes them so daunting?
benbrubaker.com

Reposted by Anne Applebaum, Anna O. Law, Simon Hix , and 16 more

markhamillofficial.bsky.social
Mark Hamill @markhamillofficial.bsky.social · 14d
I have a very bad feeling about this...