Becca Ricks
@baricks.bsky.social
Researcher, technologist, artist. 🐚 Public interest tech at Data & Society @datasociety.bsky.social & Slow Machines. she/her 〰️
Prev: Head of Open Source Research @mozilla.org Foundation, Tech Fellow @hrw.org, engineering & art @ITP-NYU.
nyc/slc
Prev: Head of Open Source Research @mozilla.org Foundation, Tech Fellow @hrw.org, engineering & art @ITP-NYU.
nyc/slc
Reposted by Becca Ricks
Two years into Europe’s Digital Services Act, data access for researchers is on life support, write Mark Scott and LK Seiling. Yet an alternative future is possible—one built on openness, interoperability, and platforms that treat data access as a civic and scientific good.
In Critical Condition – How To Stabilize Researcher Data Access? | TechPolicy.Press
Mark Scott and LK Seiling discuss the struggle for researcher access to social media data and an alternative future where transparency is seen as a civic good.
www.techpolicy.press
November 12, 2025 at 2:36 PM
Two years into Europe’s Digital Services Act, data access for researchers is on life support, write Mark Scott and LK Seiling. Yet an alternative future is possible—one built on openness, interoperability, and platforms that treat data access as a civic and scientific good.
Reposted by Becca Ricks
Three German universities offering post-docs for researchers "who cannot conduct or continue their work in the USA appropriately because of actual political pressure. "
www.uni-konstanz.de/zukunftskoll...
www.uni-konstanz.de/zukunftskoll...
Early Career Rescue Fellowship
www.uni-konstanz.de
November 11, 2025 at 7:10 PM
Three German universities offering post-docs for researchers "who cannot conduct or continue their work in the USA appropriately because of actual political pressure. "
www.uni-konstanz.de/zukunftskoll...
www.uni-konstanz.de/zukunftskoll...
Reposted by Becca Ricks
Hello. I wrote a nice long essay about AI and this very strange moment where we're constantly told we're living in the dawn of a strange new future but the only thing that's actually clear is that everyone feels pretty unmoored and uncertain. I hope you'll read it
AI Is a Mass-Delusion Event
Three years in, one of AI’s enduring impacts is to make people feel like they’re losing it.
www.theatlantic.com
August 18, 2025 at 9:21 PM
Hello. I wrote a nice long essay about AI and this very strange moment where we're constantly told we're living in the dawn of a strange new future but the only thing that's actually clear is that everyone feels pretty unmoored and uncertain. I hope you'll read it
Reposted by Becca Ricks
@tamigraph.bsky.social and I get to some mythbusting today about data centers and the supposed future they bring. Long story short: 😬
Data Centers Aren't the Future of American Prosperity- @tamigraph.bsky.social & @mwoluchem.bsky.social bust the myths of data centers: they don't massively increase jobs, they don't increase clean energy investment, and they don't benefit local communities! OH SNAP datasociety.net/library/data...
Data Centers Aren’t the Future of American Prosperity
Tamara Kneese and Maia Woluchem cut through lobbying points and speculative myths to focus on what the evidence reveals about the tech industry’s claims.
datasociety.net
July 22, 2025 at 7:20 PM
@tamigraph.bsky.social and I get to some mythbusting today about data centers and the supposed future they bring. Long story short: 😬
“…what we are left with is a structure of feeling that is now a part of AI as an artifact, the aspirations pinned to its potentials, which are directing its adoption into spheres of intellectual inquiry where it may have little or even nothing to offer.” www.artforum.com/features/gen...
MACHINE YEARNING
Sonja Drimmer critically examines art historians’ recent embrace of generative AI as a tool for humanities research.
www.artforum.com
July 22, 2025 at 3:20 PM
“…what we are left with is a structure of feeling that is now a part of AI as an artifact, the aspirations pinned to its potentials, which are directing its adoption into spheres of intellectual inquiry where it may have little or even nothing to offer.” www.artforum.com/features/gen...
Reposted by Becca Ricks
And while you’re at it - also read @bcmerchant.bsky.social's excellent AI Now report AI Generated Business, on how OpenAI has used narratives around AGI (front and center in this report) to inflate its business proposition: ainowinstitute.org/publications...
AI Generated Business: The Rise of AGI and the Rush to Find a Working Revenue Model
By Brian Merchant In This Article Introduction OpenAI and the Generative AI Boom Silicon Valley Mythology, Distilled and Accelerated From “Safe AI” to AGI — and the Hype-Led Business Model Genesis Mar...
ainowinstitute.org
July 18, 2025 at 4:49 PM
And while you’re at it - also read @bcmerchant.bsky.social's excellent AI Now report AI Generated Business, on how OpenAI has used narratives around AGI (front and center in this report) to inflate its business proposition: ainowinstitute.org/publications...
Amazing group of AI auditing scholars and practitioners at the AI Accountability Lab @aial.ie, led by @abeba.bsky.social ✨
July 10, 2025 at 6:38 PM
Amazing group of AI auditing scholars and practitioners at the AI Accountability Lab @aial.ie, led by @abeba.bsky.social ✨
Reposted by Becca Ricks
NEW: 911 audio and EMS records from ICE detention centers reveal a surge in medical emergencies — including staff sexual assaults, suicide attempts, and head injuries.
Records also show calls over severe pregnancy complications.
Free to read: www.wired.com/story/ice-de...
w/ @dell.bsky.social
Records also show calls over severe pregnancy complications.
Free to read: www.wired.com/story/ice-de...
w/ @dell.bsky.social
'They're Not Breathing': Inside the Chaos of ICE Detention Center 911 Calls
Records of hundreds of emergency calls from ICE detention centers obtained by WIRED—including audio recordings—show a system inundated by life-threatening incidents, delayed treatment, and overcrowdin...
www.wired.com
June 25, 2025 at 9:25 PM
NEW: 911 audio and EMS records from ICE detention centers reveal a surge in medical emergencies — including staff sexual assaults, suicide attempts, and head injuries.
Records also show calls over severe pregnancy complications.
Free to read: www.wired.com/story/ice-de...
w/ @dell.bsky.social
Records also show calls over severe pregnancy complications.
Free to read: www.wired.com/story/ice-de...
w/ @dell.bsky.social
Reposted by Becca Ricks
While existing disability rights statutes do provide some legal recourse against AI-enabled discrimination, state-level regulation remains a vital avenue for harm mitigation. The proposed federal moratorium on state AI laws threatens those very protections, Ariana Aboulafia and Travis Hall write.
The Proposed AI Moratorium Will Harm People with Disabilities. Here’s How. | TechPolicy.Press
A proposed 10-year federal moratorium on state AI laws could expose people with disabilities to harm, Ariana Aboulafia and Travis Hall write.
www.techpolicy.press
June 19, 2025 at 9:25 PM
While existing disability rights statutes do provide some legal recourse against AI-enabled discrimination, state-level regulation remains a vital avenue for harm mitigation. The proposed federal moratorium on state AI laws threatens those very protections, Ariana Aboulafia and Travis Hall write.
Reposted by Becca Ricks
NEW: A protester was shot and killed at the Salt Lake City 'No Kings' march. A man is in police custody, booked on suspicion of murder—but not the one who fired the gun. From video, witnesses and interviews, @schotthappens.com and I tried to piece together what really happened Saturday.
Our report-
Our report-
What actually happened at the Salt Lake City ‘No Kings’ shooting?
One man is dead. Another is in jail—but not the one who fired his gun.
www.thehandbasket.co
June 18, 2025 at 1:22 PM
NEW: A protester was shot and killed at the Salt Lake City 'No Kings' march. A man is in police custody, booked on suspicion of murder—but not the one who fired the gun. From video, witnesses and interviews, @schotthappens.com and I tried to piece together what really happened Saturday.
Our report-
Our report-
Reposted by Becca Ricks
Most reporting on AI examines worst-case systems deployed under the guise of efficiency. But what would a good faith effort at Ethical AI look like? For two years, we’ve been looking over the shoulder of a city trying to do things differently.
June 11, 2025 at 1:39 PM
Most reporting on AI examines worst-case systems deployed under the guise of efficiency. But what would a good faith effort at Ethical AI look like? For two years, we’ve been looking over the shoulder of a city trying to do things differently.
Reposted by Becca Ricks
Federal data misuse is accelerating, but state and local governments can still act, argue Reem Suleiman, Esra’a Al Shafei, and Brian Hofer. “Before DHS, ICE, or others come knocking, governments should run, not walk! — through this triage checklist to protect the privacy of the most vulnerable.”
Public Sector Triage of the Federal Government’s Data Hemorrhage | TechPolicy.Press
Reem Suleiman, Esra’a Al Shafei, and Brian Hofer urge state and local governments to take action to protect the public amid a federal data-sharing crisis.
www.techpolicy.press
June 7, 2025 at 12:29 PM
Federal data misuse is accelerating, but state and local governments can still act, argue Reem Suleiman, Esra’a Al Shafei, and Brian Hofer. “Before DHS, ICE, or others come knocking, governments should run, not walk! — through this triage checklist to protect the privacy of the most vulnerable.”
Reposted by Becca Ricks
I'm biased, but this report is a must-read for anyone looking to understand the state of AI in 2025.
It explains how AI is entrenching power for big tech and the oligarch class, speeding deregulation, dislodging human expertise and threatening workers—and how there's still time to refuse all that.
It explains how AI is entrenching power for big tech and the oligarch class, speeding deregulation, dislodging human expertise and threatening workers—and how there's still time to refuse all that.
NEW REPORT: Artificial Power, our 2025 Landscape Report, is out.
Today’s AI isn’t just being used by us, it’s being used on us. We urgently need to reclaim public power over the future trajectory of AI. Another path is possible.
Read the report: ainowinstitute.org/2025-landscape
Today’s AI isn’t just being used by us, it’s being used on us. We urgently need to reclaim public power over the future trajectory of AI. Another path is possible.
Read the report: ainowinstitute.org/2025-landscape
June 3, 2025 at 6:10 PM
I'm biased, but this report is a must-read for anyone looking to understand the state of AI in 2025.
It explains how AI is entrenching power for big tech and the oligarch class, speeding deregulation, dislodging human expertise and threatening workers—and how there's still time to refuse all that.
It explains how AI is entrenching power for big tech and the oligarch class, speeding deregulation, dislodging human expertise and threatening workers—and how there's still time to refuse all that.
Reposted by Becca Ricks
Today, as part of the @techpolicypress.bsky.social and @datasociety.bsky.social "Ideologies of Control: A Series on Tech Power and Democratic Crisis" series, @emilymbender.bsky.social and I write about the myth of AGI.
www.techpolicy.press/the-myth-of-...
www.techpolicy.press/the-myth-of-...
June 3, 2025 at 1:22 PM
Today, as part of the @techpolicypress.bsky.social and @datasociety.bsky.social "Ideologies of Control: A Series on Tech Power and Democratic Crisis" series, @emilymbender.bsky.social and I write about the myth of AGI.
www.techpolicy.press/the-myth-of-...
www.techpolicy.press/the-myth-of-...
"Actual reform is done carefully...Instead, AI appears to be understood within this administration as a highly effective tool for consolidating power..." Great piece by Jake Metcalf & Meg Young introducing a @techpolicypress.bsky.social series on technofacism: www.techpolicy.press/tech-power-a...
Tech Power and the Crisis of Democracy | TechPolicy.Press
Announcing a new series, Jacob Metcalf and Meg Young examine how a small group of tech billionaires is pushing an anti-democratic agenda.
www.techpolicy.press
June 3, 2025 at 7:14 PM
"Actual reform is done carefully...Instead, AI appears to be understood within this administration as a highly effective tool for consolidating power..." Great piece by Jake Metcalf & Meg Young introducing a @techpolicypress.bsky.social series on technofacism: www.techpolicy.press/tech-power-a...
Reposted by Becca Ricks
NEW REPORT: Artificial Power, our 2025 Landscape Report, is out.
Today’s AI isn’t just being used by us, it’s being used on us. We urgently need to reclaim public power over the future trajectory of AI. Another path is possible.
Read the report: ainowinstitute.org/2025-landscape
Today’s AI isn’t just being used by us, it’s being used on us. We urgently need to reclaim public power over the future trajectory of AI. Another path is possible.
Read the report: ainowinstitute.org/2025-landscape
June 3, 2025 at 12:36 PM
NEW REPORT: Artificial Power, our 2025 Landscape Report, is out.
Today’s AI isn’t just being used by us, it’s being used on us. We urgently need to reclaim public power over the future trajectory of AI. Another path is possible.
Read the report: ainowinstitute.org/2025-landscape
Today’s AI isn’t just being used by us, it’s being used on us. We urgently need to reclaim public power over the future trajectory of AI. Another path is possible.
Read the report: ainowinstitute.org/2025-landscape
Reposted by Becca Ricks
I spent five weeks talking to federal workers about knowledge loss and brain drain across the federal government, and its implications, both right now and for decades to come. Their stories are frightening, but I think it's important to know what we're facing: www.motherjones.com/politics/202...
When it comes to Trump's brain drain, “the damage is already done”
How the DOGE-triggered attack on government research left America in the dark.
www.motherjones.com
May 29, 2025 at 4:59 PM
I spent five weeks talking to federal workers about knowledge loss and brain drain across the federal government, and its implications, both right now and for decades to come. Their stories are frightening, but I think it's important to know what we're facing: www.motherjones.com/politics/202...
Reposted by Becca Ricks
Happy to have a shared piece on trust in relationality in the new @datasociety.bsky.social Trust Issues Anthology! Read below 🪢
📣 Just published! Our new anthology reframes the question of trust and technology away from whether a particular technology is trustworthy and toward how trust shapes institutions, bodies, and knowledge. 1/5 datasociety.net/library/trus...
May 29, 2025 at 8:14 PM
Happy to have a shared piece on trust in relationality in the new @datasociety.bsky.social Trust Issues Anthology! Read below 🪢
Reposted by Becca Ricks
A new tool has scraped YouTube comments, lets harassers or anyone else search for a specific user, use AI to approximate where the person might be from based on their comments. Developer says it's for cops, but there are no checks. We signed up and used it www.404media.co/developer-bu...
Developer Builds Tool That Scrapes YouTube Comments, Uses AI to Predict Where Users Live
The developer claims the tool is for cops, but anyone can sign up and use it for targeted harassment.
www.404media.co
May 28, 2025 at 6:14 PM
A new tool has scraped YouTube comments, lets harassers or anyone else search for a specific user, use AI to approximate where the person might be from based on their comments. Developer says it's for cops, but there are no checks. We signed up and used it www.404media.co/developer-bu...
Reposted by Becca Ricks
Psst! Hey you! EFF is hiring a staff technologist and *you* should apply! www.paycomonline.net/v4/ats/web.p...
Policy and Research Staff Technologist
...
www.paycomonline.net
May 27, 2025 at 11:21 PM
Psst! Hey you! EFF is hiring a staff technologist and *you* should apply! www.paycomonline.net/v4/ats/web.p...
Listening to an author talk by @karenhao.bsky.social on her new book Empire of AI, hosted by @alltechishuman.bsky.social. Hao describes "quasi-religious" beliefs motivating doomer/boomer narratives around the "inevitability" of AGI that run parallel to narratives around the inevitability of empire.
May 23, 2025 at 3:21 PM
Listening to an author talk by @karenhao.bsky.social on her new book Empire of AI, hosted by @alltechishuman.bsky.social. Hao describes "quasi-religious" beliefs motivating doomer/boomer narratives around the "inevitability" of AGI that run parallel to narratives around the inevitability of empire.
Reposted by Becca Ricks
When @kesearles.bsky.social and I began our research we thought we would be studying experts’ experiences w/ *online* harassment. But we quickly realized that was insufficient. Now we speak of tech-facilitated harassment & hybrid forms of harassment.
A 🧵 about what we found and why it matters: 1/
A 🧵 about what we found and why it matters: 1/
May 22, 2025 at 12:03 PM
When @kesearles.bsky.social and I began our research we thought we would be studying experts’ experiences w/ *online* harassment. But we quickly realized that was insufficient. Now we speak of tech-facilitated harassment & hybrid forms of harassment.
A 🧵 about what we found and why it matters: 1/
A 🧵 about what we found and why it matters: 1/
Reposted by Becca Ricks
This is really not good; www.techpolicy.press/us-house-pas...
US House Passes 10-Year Moratorium on State AI Laws | TechPolicy.Press
The US House advanced a 10-year pause on state AI regulation, but its fate is uncertain in the Senate.
www.techpolicy.press
May 22, 2025 at 5:56 PM
This is really not good; www.techpolicy.press/us-house-pas...
Reposted by Becca Ricks
SCOOP: DOGE used Meta's Llama 2 model to review emails from federal workers responding to the original "Fork in the Road" email.
www.wired.com/story/doge-u...
www.wired.com/story/doge-u...
DOGE Used Meta AI Model to Review Emails From Federal Workers
DOGE tested and used Meta’s Llama 2 model to review and classify responses from federal workers to the infamous “Fork in the Road” email.
www.wired.com
May 22, 2025 at 4:59 PM
SCOOP: DOGE used Meta's Llama 2 model to review emails from federal workers responding to the original "Fork in the Road" email.
www.wired.com/story/doge-u...
www.wired.com/story/doge-u...