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friedler.net
sorelle
@friedler.net
CS prof at Haverford, Chair @acm.org U.S. tech policy, @brookings.edu nonres Senior Fellow, former White House OSTP tech policy, co-author AI Bill of Rights, research on AI and society, @facct.bsky.social co-founder
formerly @kdphd 🐦
sorelle.friedler.net
Pinned
Philadelphia's City Council held its first AI hearing today in its tech committee chaired by @ruephilacouncil.bsky.social . It's great to see my city taking AI's impacts on all of us seriously!

I was honored to testify on "What is AI?"

As I explained, AI is not magic...

#PhillyAIHearing 1/n
Reposted by sorelle
WIRED interviewed me extensively for this piece and the recommendations still stand. Please share with anyone who might benefit
Just days into 2026, the killing of 37-year-old Renee Nicole Good by a federal immigration officer in Minneapolis, Minnesota, has sparked protests around the US.

If you’re planning to protest, here’s how to safeguard your digital security.
How to Protest Safely in the Age of Surveillance
Law enforcement has more tools than ever to track your movements and access your communications. Here’s how to protect your privacy if you plan to protest.
www.wired.com
January 8, 2026 at 6:37 PM
Reposted by sorelle
New: we've obtained material explaining how an ICE surveillance system, called Webloc, works. Draw shape on a map, see all phones available there, follow them home. All without warrant

“This is a very dangerous tool in the hands of an out-of-control agency.” www.404media.co/inside-ices-...
Inside ICE’s Tool to Monitor Phones in Entire Neighborhoods
404 Media has obtained material that explains how Tangles and Webloc, two surveillance systems ICE recently purchased, work. Webloc can track phones without a warrant and follow their owners home or t...
www.404media.co
January 8, 2026 at 2:03 PM
Reposted by sorelle
Reminder! We have an extensive author guide to help you prepare your paper submissions! It includes important info about:
- the reviewing process
- formatting instructions
- our preprint, AI, and other policies

facctconference.org/2026/authorg...
ACM FAccT - 2026 Author Guide
facctconference.org
January 6, 2026 at 5:41 PM
Reposted by sorelle
Preparing your #FAccT2026 abstract for our January 8 deadline?

Make sure your author list is ready to go!

It’s NOT possible to change the author list after the abstract deadline, so make sure you confirm contributions and have permission from all authors.

Read more in our author guide:
ACM FAccT - 2026 Author Guide
facctconference.org
January 5, 2026 at 6:11 PM
Reposted by sorelle
This morning, we @consumerfed.bsky.social renewed and expanded our urgent call to all US AG offices and the FTC, FCC, and DOJ for rapid investigation and enforcement against X's disgusting and purposeful behavior

xAI must be held accountable

consumerfed.org/testimonial/...
January 5, 2026 at 5:43 PM
Reposted by sorelle
Tell me we should trust AI to give us the facts. Tell me it's a future we can put our faith in. Come at me. I'm right here, waiting.
January 4, 2026 at 3:24 PM
Reposted by sorelle
Tech Policy Press fellow Anika Collier Navaroli and I just wrapped her special podcast series, Through to Thriving, with insights from Ellen Pao, Jerrel Peterson, Alice Hunsberger, Vaishnavi J, Desmond Patton, Nora Benavidez, Mimi Ọnụọha, Timnit Gebru, Jasmine McNealy, Naomi Nix, and Chris Gilliard:
Through to Thriving: Insights from the Field | TechPolicy.Press
Tech Policy Press fellow Anika Collier Navaroli and editor Justin Hendrix discuss insights from Anika's special series of podcasts from 2025.
www.techpolicy.press
December 21, 2025 at 3:49 PM
Reposted by sorelle
Announcements for #FAccT2026! 📣

#FAccT2026 will be on June 27-30 at the Hotel Bonaventure in Montréal!

Keep reading for important information about submitting papers! ⬇️

1/n
December 17, 2025 at 8:06 PM
This is a thoroughly enjoyable read.
“Within days, Claudius had given away nearly all its inventory for free—including a PlayStation 5 it had been talked into buying for “marketing purposes.” It ordered a live fish. It offered to buy stun guns, pepper spray, cigarettes and underwear.”
We Let AI Run Our Office Vending Machine. It Lost Hundreds of Dollars.
An AI agent ran a snack operation in the WSJ newsroom. It gave away a free PlayStation, ordered a live fish—and taught us lessons about the future of AI.
www.wsj.com
December 18, 2025 at 12:25 PM
Reposted by sorelle
Brown’s student newspaper is posting updates about the shooting at its campus. www.browndailyherald.com/article/2025...
Live updates: Two deceased in active shooter incident at Brown University
Serving the Brown University community since 1891
www.browndailyherald.com
December 14, 2025 at 1:33 AM
Reposted by sorelle
The horrific tragedy at Brown University is the 389th mass shooting this year and the 230th gun incident on school grounds so far this year.

This is not normal and we don't have to live this way.

bradyunited.org
@bradyunited.org
December 14, 2025 at 1:04 AM
Reposted by sorelle
Another handbag for justice. Another purse against fascism. The famous clobber-a-Nazi image from Sweden 40 years ago.
The image that won’t go away
A photo taken in 1985 has resurfaced this week. Kelly Grovier looks at the power of a figure pushed to breaking point.
www.bbc.com
December 12, 2025 at 4:04 AM
Reposted by sorelle
"Want to come the World Cup? We're going to need you to tell us every one of your social media accounts, every family member's names, addresses, and phone number, and every email address you've used in the last decade. Welcome to the land of the free!"
December 10, 2025 at 1:58 AM
Reposted by sorelle
One way to think of the Trump Admin is as having SHIFTED the $$ we used to spend on curing cancer (and providing care to Veterans and protecting nature and etc) to snatching brown people off the streets.
npr.org NPR @npr.org · Dec 9
Amid NIH funding delays, reversals and uncertainty, a scientist at Harvard who studies breast cancer has lost one-third of her lab employees and wonders if she can continue her research experiments. n.pr/4a4N3zD
After NIH grant cuts, breast cancer research at Harvard slowed, and lab workers left
Amid NIH funding delays, reversals and uncertainty, a scientist at Harvard who studies breast cancer has lost one-third of her lab employees and wonders if she can continue her research experiments.
n.pr
December 9, 2025 at 10:10 AM
Reposted by sorelle
"A coalition of more than 230 environmental groups has demanded a national moratorium on new datacenters in the US, the latest salvo in a growing backlash to a booming artificial intelligence industry that has been blamed for escalating electricity bills and worsening the climate crisis."
More than 200 environmental groups demand halt to new US datacenters
Exclusive: Congress urged to act against energy-hungry facilities blamed for increasing bills and worsening climate crisis
www.theguardian.com
December 8, 2025 at 7:59 PM
Reposted by sorelle
"Starting Jan. 1, in six states selected to take part in a federal pilot program, traditional Medicare recipients will face a new hurdle to get certain procedures covered --

private AI companies that get paid based on how many claims they deny..."

www.kuow.org/stories/thou...
Thousands of Washington state Medicare users could soon have claims denied by AI
Starting Jan. 1, traditional Medicare recipients in Washington state will face a new hurdle to get certain procedures covered — private AI companies that get paid based on how many claims they deny.
www.kuow.org
December 8, 2025 at 3:44 PM
Reposted by sorelle
📣 It's again that time of the year 🤩 - our internship call for the FATE team @ MSR Montreal and our collaborators is now up! 🎉🎉

We are broadly looking for candidates interested in perceptions, evaluation, uses, and impacts of AI!

#FAccT #FAccT2025 #CHI2025 #NeurIPS2025 #ACL2025
December 5, 2025 at 8:52 PM
Reposted by sorelle
Let me tell you a story. Perhaps you can guess where this is going... though it does have a bit of a twist.

I was poking around Google Scholar for publications about the relationship between chatbots and wellness. Oh how useful: a systematic literature review! Let's dig into the findings. 🧵
December 5, 2025 at 10:35 PM
Reposted by sorelle
Pleased to endorse the AI Civil Rights Act, comprehensive legislation to prevent companies from using AI for biased and discriminatory life outcomes, ensure algos are tested before and after deployment and increase transparency of algorithms used for critical decisions. #AIBillofRights
Y'all, tmrw is a BIG DAY for civil rights and tech. @markey.senate.gov, @repyvetteclarke.bsky.social, @jayapal.house.gov, @pressley.house.gov, & @repsummerlee.bsky.social are introducing the AI Civil Rights Act: the new gold standard AI bill endorsed by 85+ civil society orgs. Pull up a chair.
1/n
December 6, 2025 at 10:59 PM
Reposted by sorelle
On January 1, Illinois begins to regulate employer use of AI, making it a civil rights violation to use AI tools that result in discrimination based on protected characteristics in hiring, promotion, discipline, termination, or other employment terms and requiring notice of AI use. #AIBillofRights
Illinois becomes one of the few states to regulate employer use of AI. House Bill 3773 amends the Illinois Human Rights Act to make it a civil rights violation for employers to use AI tools that result in discrimination based on race, gender, age, or disability.
www.mystateline.com/news/local-n...
www.mystateline.com
December 6, 2025 at 10:49 PM
Reposted by sorelle
And, if you are a non-US citizen who did this work, you and your entire family will be banned from the United States. (I know this is incredible, but read the order—that’s what it says!)
If you were a tech company employee who moderated content overseas — say, trying to prevent a repeat of the Myanmar genocide! or maybe policing CSAM! Or hate speech illegal in your country! — you are a “censor” under the definitions of the Republicans in power.

www.reuters.com/world/us/tru...
Exclusive: Trump administration orders enhanced vetting for applicants of H-1B visa
An internal State Department memo said that anyone involved in "censorship" of free speech should be considered for rejection.
www.reuters.com
December 4, 2025 at 7:03 PM
Reposted by sorelle
For the second time this year, border agents set a record for warrantless device searches — over 16,000 phones, laptops, & tablets examined without judicial oversight. In the final blog in a 3-part series, CDT's @jakelaperruque.bsky.social warns how AI could supercharge this. cdt.org/insights/the...
December 3, 2025 at 6:05 PM
Reposted by sorelle
Y'all, tmrw is a BIG DAY for civil rights and tech. @markey.senate.gov, @repyvetteclarke.bsky.social, @jayapal.house.gov, @pressley.house.gov, & @repsummerlee.bsky.social are introducing the AI Civil Rights Act: the new gold standard AI bill endorsed by 85+ civil society orgs. Pull up a chair.
1/n
December 2, 2025 at 3:19 AM
Reposted by sorelle
Queer in AI is hosting a workshop at neurips tomorrow! I'm really excited for this program, covering a dazzling array of positive uses of tech/AI for queer people (including some we're making at Queer in AI), AI policy, and critiques of AI and tech. www.queerinai.com/neurips-2025
NeurIPS 2025 — Queer in AI
www.queerinai.com
December 1, 2025 at 11:22 PM
Reposted by sorelle
ACM members/computing researchers who should be members interested in contributing should join the subcommittee's mailing list!

One of our goals here is to build policy coalitions across institutions so we can do more as a collective 💪 and balance special interest groups.
November 25, 2025 at 5:43 PM