Valerie Wirtschafter
@vwirtschafter.bsky.social
Fellow at the Brookings Institution. Poli sci PhD researching all things new media, emerging tech, and democracy.
I am hoping to talk to technologists in (or previously in) & around the federal gov for a project. If that sounds like you & you'd be willing to chat with me about what the federal government gets right & what it can do better, reach out at vwirtschafter@brookings.edu or send me a message here!
November 3, 2025 at 3:37 PM
I am hoping to talk to technologists in (or previously in) & around the federal gov for a project. If that sounds like you & you'd be willing to chat with me about what the federal government gets right & what it can do better, reach out at vwirtschafter@brookings.edu or send me a message here!
A first sighting in the wild. I guess we’re all rolling with the name Community Notes! Any ideas as to whether this data will be available?
October 30, 2025 at 12:42 AM
A first sighting in the wild. I guess we’re all rolling with the name Community Notes! Any ideas as to whether this data will be available?
Reposted by Valerie Wirtschafter
Since the viral Gemini image incident, I've wondered how long it would take for genAI to become politicized. It’s become increasingly clear that moment has arrived—much like it did for social media platforms. Read more from my new @brookings.edu research here: www.brookings.edu/articles/is-...
Is the politicization of generative AI inevitable? | Brookings
As generative AI systems become further embedded into everyday life, efforts to minimize their explicit politicization will be critical.
www.brookings.edu
October 16, 2025 at 11:52 PM
Since the viral Gemini image incident, I've wondered how long it would take for genAI to become politicized. It’s become increasingly clear that moment has arrived—much like it did for social media platforms. Read more from my new @brookings.edu research here: www.brookings.edu/articles/is-...
Since the viral Gemini image incident, I've wondered how long it would take for genAI to become politicized. It’s become increasingly clear that moment has arrived—much like it did for social media platforms. Read more from my new @brookings.edu research here: www.brookings.edu/articles/is-...
Is the politicization of generative AI inevitable? | Brookings
As generative AI systems become further embedded into everyday life, efforts to minimize their explicit politicization will be critical.
www.brookings.edu
October 16, 2025 at 11:52 PM
Since the viral Gemini image incident, I've wondered how long it would take for genAI to become politicized. It’s become increasingly clear that moment has arrived—much like it did for social media platforms. Read more from my new @brookings.edu research here: www.brookings.edu/articles/is-...
Reposted by Valerie Wirtschafter
X is wild because you can post a link to a NYT feature story on this and no one will see it, but cuntycakes123 can make a post summarizing the main bullet points with no attribution and it will go viral and everyone will be like "OMG why isn't the media covering this?!?"
September 12, 2025 at 4:25 PM
X is wild because you can post a link to a NYT feature story on this and no one will see it, but cuntycakes123 can make a post summarizing the main bullet points with no attribution and it will go viral and everyone will be like "OMG why isn't the media covering this?!?"
The amount rumors & conspiracies online right now is truly stunning & a clear illustration of the info supply & demand problem during breaking news periods and tragedies, made much worse by major platforms effectively abandoning content moderation & mainstream outlets running with unverified claims.
September 12, 2025 at 1:58 PM
The amount rumors & conspiracies online right now is truly stunning & a clear illustration of the info supply & demand problem during breaking news periods and tragedies, made much worse by major platforms effectively abandoning content moderation & mainstream outlets running with unverified claims.
Reposted by Valerie Wirtschafter
Political violence is bad. It usually begets more political violence.
Celebrating political violence is bad. It usually encourages more political violence, against various targets.
Campus shootings are bad. They make everyone on campus less safe.
It's bad that what I wrote here is controversial.
Celebrating political violence is bad. It usually encourages more political violence, against various targets.
Campus shootings are bad. They make everyone on campus less safe.
It's bad that what I wrote here is controversial.
September 10, 2025 at 7:06 PM
Political violence is bad. It usually begets more political violence.
Celebrating political violence is bad. It usually encourages more political violence, against various targets.
Campus shootings are bad. They make everyone on campus less safe.
It's bad that what I wrote here is controversial.
Celebrating political violence is bad. It usually encourages more political violence, against various targets.
Campus shootings are bad. They make everyone on campus less safe.
It's bad that what I wrote here is controversial.
The problem with this (or goal all along!) is that @anthropic.com’s UI makes it so difficult to know which toggle is on and which is off! www.theverge.com/anthropic/76...
Anthropic will start training its AI models on chat transcripts
You can choose to opt out.
www.theverge.com
August 28, 2025 at 5:12 PM
The problem with this (or goal all along!) is that @anthropic.com’s UI makes it so difficult to know which toggle is on and which is off! www.theverge.com/anthropic/76...
Come intern with my team and me in the AI and emerging tech initiative @brookings.edu! interns-brookings.icims.com/jobs/3690/fa...
Jobs and Internships
interns-brookings.icims.com
June 27, 2025 at 5:37 PM
Come intern with my team and me in the AI and emerging tech initiative @brookings.edu! interns-brookings.icims.com/jobs/3690/fa...
So obviously AI slop with more than 32k likes on Threads…
June 16, 2025 at 12:40 AM
So obviously AI slop with more than 32k likes on Threads…
A peak inside what the federal government is planning for AI adoption (GitHub link included) www.theregister.com/2025/06/10/t...
Trump team leaks AI plans in public GitHub repository
Updated: The AI.gov repository and staging site vanished when we asked questions, but don't worry – we captured backups
www.theregister.com
June 11, 2025 at 2:25 PM
A peak inside what the federal government is planning for AI adoption (GitHub link included) www.theregister.com/2025/06/10/t...
The effect of this is so much bigger than Google’s advertising revenue and extends to companies that rely on Google search to drive traffic…which is most of the internet?
www.wsj.com/tech/ai/goog...
www.wsj.com/tech/ai/goog...
May 20, 2025 at 9:01 PM
The effect of this is so much bigger than Google’s advertising revenue and extends to companies that rely on Google search to drive traffic…which is most of the internet?
www.wsj.com/tech/ai/goog...
www.wsj.com/tech/ai/goog...
Reposted by Valerie Wirtschafter
Opening a significant Senate hearing on AI policy at which Sam Altman will testify, Ted Cruz (R-Texas) calls for a hands-off approach: "To lead in AI, the United States cannot allow regulation, even the supposedly benign kind, to choke innovation."
Live: www.commerce.senate.gov/2025/5/winni...
Live: www.commerce.senate.gov/2025/5/winni...
Winning the AI Race: Strengthening U.S. Capabilities in Computing and Innovation
WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Ted Cruz (R-Texas), Chairman of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, will convene a full committee hearing titled “Winning the AI Race: Streng...
www.commerce.senate.gov
May 8, 2025 at 2:14 PM
Opening a significant Senate hearing on AI policy at which Sam Altman will testify, Ted Cruz (R-Texas) calls for a hands-off approach: "To lead in AI, the United States cannot allow regulation, even the supposedly benign kind, to choke innovation."
Live: www.commerce.senate.gov/2025/5/winni...
Live: www.commerce.senate.gov/2025/5/winni...
Reposted by Valerie Wirtschafter
Meanwhile, over on X, a fake "Polish reporter" with an AI avatar has convinced thousands of people that Sen. Gillibrand is campaigning for Cuomo.
Every day a new little experiment in how easily people fall for bullshit they can react to.
Every day a new little experiment in how easily people fall for bullshit they can react to.
April 22, 2025 at 3:27 PM
Meanwhile, over on X, a fake "Polish reporter" with an AI avatar has convinced thousands of people that Sen. Gillibrand is campaigning for Cuomo.
Every day a new little experiment in how easily people fall for bullshit they can react to.
Every day a new little experiment in how easily people fall for bullshit they can react to.
Apple with the brutal AI summary
April 16, 2025 at 9:13 PM
Apple with the brutal AI summary
Ending rather than expanding this program should tell you all you need to know about the desire to use technology to improve how government functions apnews.com/article/irs-...
Trump administration plans to end the IRS Direct File program for free tax filing, AP sources say
The Trump administration plans to eliminate the IRS’ Direct File program. That's the electronic system for filing tax returns directly to the agency for free.
apnews.com
April 16, 2025 at 7:20 PM
Ending rather than expanding this program should tell you all you need to know about the desire to use technology to improve how government functions apnews.com/article/irs-...
What a great way to communicate with voters. I wish more people with policy expertise would do this type of outreach www.reddit.com/r/IAmA/s/Vrj...
From the IAmA community on Reddit: I’m a former CIA officer, National Security Council staffer, and diplomat – AMA about Signalgate
Explore this post and more from the IAmA community
www.reddit.com
April 1, 2025 at 9:34 PM
What a great way to communicate with voters. I wish more people with policy expertise would do this type of outreach www.reddit.com/r/IAmA/s/Vrj...
Love to see my alma mater @bowdoin-college.bsky.social tackling some of these big questions www.nytimes.com/2025/03/24/t...
Netflix’s Reed Hastings Gives $50 Million to Bowdoin for A.I. Program (Gift Article)
The Netflix co-founder said he wanted his alma mater to become a leader in studying the consequences, and guiding beneficial uses, of artificial intelligence.
www.nytimes.com
March 24, 2025 at 12:05 PM
Love to see my alma mater @bowdoin-college.bsky.social tackling some of these big questions www.nytimes.com/2025/03/24/t...
Reposted by Valerie Wirtschafter
"Effective policymaking relies on accurate and timely data," says Caren Grown. Listen to a new episode of The Current, on the purge of data and information from U.S. government websites.
The US government data purge is a loss for policymaking and research
In its first two months, the Trump administration has not only laid off thousands of federal workers and shuttered agencies, but it has also purged taxpayer-funded data sets from a swathe of governmen...
www.brookings.edu
March 21, 2025 at 4:27 PM
"Effective policymaking relies on accurate and timely data," says Caren Grown. Listen to a new episode of The Current, on the purge of data and information from U.S. government websites.
One of my favorite assignments I’ve seen is for students to pick a relevant topic or idea on Wikipedia lacking in information and do research to fill it in! www.nature.com/articles/d41...
For more reliable AI, academics should edit Wikipedia
Letter to the Editor
www.nature.com
March 20, 2025 at 8:40 PM
One of my favorite assignments I’ve seen is for students to pick a relevant topic or idea on Wikipedia lacking in information and do research to fill it in! www.nature.com/articles/d41...
This type of error may seem minor but is really detrimental toward lowering the political temperature and working toward some common conception of “truth”
You can see here on the Internet Archive the Dropkick Murphy's account was suspended back to June 2024.
I am again begging staff reporters to learn basic X tech literacy stuff. Did anyone reach out to the band? Unverified online rumors are not a good news source.
web.archive.org/web/20240617...
I am again begging staff reporters to learn basic X tech literacy stuff. Did anyone reach out to the band? Unverified online rumors are not a good news source.
web.archive.org/web/20240617...
March 18, 2025 at 3:39 PM
This type of error may seem minor but is really detrimental toward lowering the political temperature and working toward some common conception of “truth”
Reposted by Valerie Wirtschafter
They're called public records for a reason. Starting today, WIRED will *stop paywalling* articles that are primarily based on public records obtained through the Freedom of Information Act, becoming the first publication to partner with @freedom.press to offer this for our new coverage.
Wired is dropping paywalls for FOIA-based reporting. Others should follow
As the administration does its best to hide public records from the public, Wired magazine is stepping up to help stem the secrecy
freedom.press
March 18, 2025 at 1:11 PM
They're called public records for a reason. Starting today, WIRED will *stop paywalling* articles that are primarily based on public records obtained through the Freedom of Information Act, becoming the first publication to partner with @freedom.press to offer this for our new coverage.
We’re hiring a program assistant on the AI and Emerging Tech team @brookings.edu ! Please share with your networks and apply soon if this sounds like a good fit for you! careers-brookings.icims.com/jobs/3616/pr...
Jobs and Internships
careers-brookings.icims.com
March 14, 2025 at 9:19 PM
We’re hiring a program assistant on the AI and Emerging Tech team @brookings.edu ! Please share with your networks and apply soon if this sounds like a good fit for you! careers-brookings.icims.com/jobs/3616/pr...
Reposted by Valerie Wirtschafter
How can researchers identify covert state propaganda campaigns in China? My co-authors Yin Yuan, Molly Roberts, Brandon Stewart @bstewart.bsky.social and myself are excited to share our new article in PNAS (@PNAS): doi.org/10.1073/pnas...
Thread below.
Thread below.
The decade-long growth of government-authored news media in China under Xi Jinping | PNAS
Autocratic governments around the world use clandestine propaganda campaigns to influence
the media. We document a decade-long trend in China towar...
doi.org
March 11, 2025 at 7:05 PM
How can researchers identify covert state propaganda campaigns in China? My co-authors Yin Yuan, Molly Roberts, Brandon Stewart @bstewart.bsky.social and myself are excited to share our new article in PNAS (@PNAS): doi.org/10.1073/pnas...
Thread below.
Thread below.