Kellee Wicker
@kelleewicker.bsky.social
VP of the Center for Technology, Innovation and Space at the Meridian International Center, lover of interdisciplinary conversations and breaking things
Yesterday we had the privilege of hosting White House OSTP Director Michael Kratsios at the Meridian International Center to chat about the AI Action Plan - a great opportunity to dig deeper into how the US will engage with allies and international community on AI governance and development
July 25, 2025 at 10:16 PM
Yesterday we had the privilege of hosting White House OSTP Director Michael Kratsios at the Meridian International Center to chat about the AI Action Plan - a great opportunity to dig deeper into how the US will engage with allies and international community on AI governance and development
I'm so pleased to be joining the Meridian International Center to build out high-impact programming and contribute to international readiness to create smart tech policy. Technology is borderless, and the conversations we have about its use and governance should be too!
meridian.org/news/meridia...
meridian.org/news/meridia...
Meridian Expands Senior Leadership to Drive Strategic Growth and Global Engagement | Meridian International Center
Learn more...
meridian.org
July 15, 2025 at 3:22 PM
I'm so pleased to be joining the Meridian International Center to build out high-impact programming and contribute to international readiness to create smart tech policy. Technology is borderless, and the conversations we have about its use and governance should be too!
meridian.org/news/meridia...
meridian.org/news/meridia...
Fue un placer dar la apertura de nuestra conferencia sobre el desarrollo de la IA hoy en la Universidad Católica del Uruguay! Estamos hablando como el país y la región puede usar la tecnología, evitar riesgos, y garantizar que los beneficios lleguen a toda la sociedad
March 14, 2025 at 2:26 PM
Fue un placer dar la apertura de nuestra conferencia sobre el desarrollo de la IA hoy en la Universidad Católica del Uruguay! Estamos hablando como el país y la región puede usar la tecnología, evitar riesgos, y garantizar que los beneficios lleguen a toda la sociedad
Such a succinct way to say this. I try to get at this constantly - I don't want to generate a first draft of something because the ugly first draft is where I figure out what I really think. To cede that process to AI is to lose access to any novel insights or approaches I could have produced
4) As one reporter noted: Writing *is* thinking. The process of writing plays a role in shaping how we view and understand whatever it is we are writing about.
"Writing *is* thinking." <-- I love this one.
/end🧵
"Writing *is* thinking." <-- I love this one.
/end🧵
February 28, 2025 at 5:04 PM
Such a succinct way to say this. I try to get at this constantly - I don't want to generate a first draft of something because the ugly first draft is where I figure out what I really think. To cede that process to AI is to lose access to any novel insights or approaches I could have produced
This post piqued my interest so I hunted down the report referenced in this episode that National Institute for Defense Studies in Japan published on this topic - very good stuff! www.nids.mod.go.jp/publication/...
February 20, 2025 at 7:39 PM
This post piqued my interest so I hunted down the report referenced in this episode that National Institute for Defense Studies in Japan published on this topic - very good stuff! www.nids.mod.go.jp/publication/...
Enjoyed this post unpacking why openness is so essential in AI, and considering how we get there. We wholeheartedly share the emphasis on "local solutions for local contexts", which we talked about in our whitepaper on AI ecosystem growth in the Global South!
We attended the AI Action Summit last week where our panel and conversations revolved around three central points: civil society matters, importance of openness in AI, and local solutions for local contexts/content/needs.
Read our blog post here:
creativecommons.org/2025/02/18/t...
Read our blog post here:
creativecommons.org/2025/02/18/t...
The AI Action Summit & Civil Society’s (Possible) Impact - Creative Commons
The Conciergerie, Paris by Mustang Joe is marked with CC0 1.0 On February 10 and 11, 2025, the government of France convened the AI Action Summit, bringing together heads of state, tech leaders, and c...
creativecommons.org
February 19, 2025 at 5:43 PM
Enjoyed this post unpacking why openness is so essential in AI, and considering how we get there. We wholeheartedly share the emphasis on "local solutions for local contexts", which we talked about in our whitepaper on AI ecosystem growth in the Global South!
The sky is not falling and neither is our ferocious appetite for compute - I tried to cut through the hype in this #NeedToKnow conversation about DeepSeek, check it out!
🌐 Security concerns arise in #Japan over the lack of personal data protection from DeepSeek artificial intelligence use. Science & Technology Innovation Program Director @kelleewicker.bsky.social provides insight into #China’s DeepSeek #AI breakthrough in this #NeedToKnow episode ⬇️
buff.ly/4b7J2sQ
buff.ly/4b7J2sQ
Is the US Losing the AI Race?
buff.ly
February 14, 2025 at 4:53 PM
The sky is not falling and neither is our ferocious appetite for compute - I tried to cut through the hype in this #NeedToKnow conversation about DeepSeek, check it out!
It was a privilege to co-author a section of this report with a former EU MP who championed protections for the vulnerable online during her time in office. Check it out for our thoughts on how EU actions and priorities could affect the transatlantic relationship
"Technology and Digitalization" by @kelleewicker.bsky.social & Sylwia Spurek ⤵️
Transatlantic Relations Under new US and EU leadership: Technology and Digitalization
www.wilsoncenter.org
February 11, 2025 at 3:14 PM
It was a privilege to co-author a section of this report with a former EU MP who championed protections for the vulnerable online during her time in office. Check it out for our thoughts on how EU actions and priorities could affect the transatlantic relationship
We take games very seriously at the Science and Technology Innovation Program! Thanks for doing an interview with the Serious Games Initiative, and I think you also came to our arcade party celebrating SGI's 20 years? We're always ready to wonk out on complex topics via approachable platforms!!
If you deal in Cold War history, you’ve likely relied on the Wilson Center’s Cold War history project. So I was very pleased to join the @wilsoncenter.org serious games initiative to discuss modern gaming. https://www.wilsoncenter.org/video/serious-games-past-present-and-future-jason-matthews
Serious Games: The Past, Present, and Future with Jason Matthews
www.wilsoncenter.org
February 6, 2025 at 9:28 PM
We take games very seriously at the Science and Technology Innovation Program! Thanks for doing an interview with the Serious Games Initiative, and I think you also came to our arcade party celebrating SGI's 20 years? We're always ready to wonk out on complex topics via approachable platforms!!
Today, we're unpacking what the executive order on financial innovation will do for the US crypto landscape, with Wilson trustee, NYU senior lecturer, and author Alan Rechtschaffen - virtual only at 3 PM Eastern, register to join! www.wilsoncenter.org/event/brief-...
February 6, 2025 at 3:08 PM
Today, we're unpacking what the executive order on financial innovation will do for the US crypto landscape, with Wilson trustee, NYU senior lecturer, and author Alan Rechtschaffen - virtual only at 3 PM Eastern, register to join! www.wilsoncenter.org/event/brief-...
Very excited to spin our Tech Lab program back up in 2025 with our first cohort of the year going through our Advanced AI Lab - it's such a privilege to help train government staff to understand more of the nuance and technical side of AI, especially as we look to implement more in gov't practice
January 24, 2025 at 7:17 PM
Very excited to spin our Tech Lab program back up in 2025 with our first cohort of the year going through our Advanced AI Lab - it's such a privilege to help train government staff to understand more of the nuance and technical side of AI, especially as we look to implement more in gov't practice
We're feeling sunny over @wilsoncenter.org - check out "Rays of Optimism" to read what gives us hope, written by programs across the center. Check it out to learn why I'm excited about the promise of accelerating scientific discovery through AI implementation! www.wilsoncenter.org/publication/...
Rays of Optimism | Bright Spots in Foreign Policy
www.wilsoncenter.org
January 16, 2025 at 7:09 PM
We're feeling sunny over @wilsoncenter.org - check out "Rays of Optimism" to read what gives us hope, written by programs across the center. Check it out to learn why I'm excited about the promise of accelerating scientific discovery through AI implementation! www.wilsoncenter.org/publication/...
just finished @annelamott.bsky.social's "Bird by Bird" and am floored at how deeply her advice resonates. It's so much more than advice on writing fiction, it's how to be at home with yourself in a way that lets you find the important things only you can say, then get it out there. Highly recommend!
January 13, 2025 at 7:08 PM
just finished @annelamott.bsky.social's "Bird by Bird" and am floored at how deeply her advice resonates. It's so much more than advice on writing fiction, it's how to be at home with yourself in a way that lets you find the important things only you can say, then get it out there. Highly recommend!
This in @axios.com AI newsletter today has got me in the mood to re-read 17776. If you love tech, speculative fiction, or the way the internet used to be home to amazing things tucked into the strangest corners, and you HAVEN'T read it, you really ought to: www.sbnation.com/a/17776-foot...
January 10, 2025 at 5:20 PM
This in @axios.com AI newsletter today has got me in the mood to re-read 17776. If you love tech, speculative fiction, or the way the internet used to be home to amazing things tucked into the strangest corners, and you HAVEN'T read it, you really ought to: www.sbnation.com/a/17776-foot...
I enjoyed Suzanne Nossel's @latimes.com op-ed's global focus on the Meta decision to eliminate content moderation, well worth a read to start thinking about the impact on countries not well-represented by moderators but also in danger of violence stemming from speech: www.latimes.com/opinion/stor...
Opinion: Meta is changing its rules and embracing Trump. What does that mean for the world?
Mark Zuckerberg and company are ditching fact-checkers for community notes and other updates that reflect shifting U.S. politics.
www.latimes.com
January 8, 2025 at 5:45 PM
I enjoyed Suzanne Nossel's @latimes.com op-ed's global focus on the Meta decision to eliminate content moderation, well worth a read to start thinking about the impact on countries not well-represented by moderators but also in danger of violence stemming from speech: www.latimes.com/opinion/stor...
Plunging headlong into 2025 already, and this topic is priority #1 for me this year - ensuring all communities & nations benefit from AI development requires broadening the decision-making table, and putting AI skills & inputs within reach no matter where or who you are. See our whitepaper for more!
We hosted a roundtable of Global South thinkers back in September to talk about opportunities and obstacles with AI ecosystem development. I'm excited to say the whitepaper with topline takeaways from that discussion is now available! www.wilsoncenter.org/publication/...
Developing AI Ecosystems in the Global South
www.wilsoncenter.org
January 2, 2025 at 4:42 PM
Plunging headlong into 2025 already, and this topic is priority #1 for me this year - ensuring all communities & nations benefit from AI development requires broadening the decision-making table, and putting AI skills & inputs within reach no matter where or who you are. See our whitepaper for more!
Great report, great writeup in MIT Tech Review - major questions of control, of permissions, of representation in datasets. These are questions we should be discussing publicly, and making sure diverse stakeholders from top to bottom understand the trade-offs and possible protections
New research reveals a worrying trend: AI's data practices risk concentrating power overwhelmingly in the hands of dominant technology companies. With analysis from
@shaynelongpre.bsky.social @sarahooker.bsky.social @smw.bsky.social @giadapistilli.com www.technologyreview.com/2024/12/18/1...
@shaynelongpre.bsky.social @sarahooker.bsky.social @smw.bsky.social @giadapistilli.com www.technologyreview.com/2024/12/18/1...
This is where the data to build AI comes from
New findings show how the sources of data are concentrating power in the hands of the most powerful tech companies.
www.technologyreview.com
December 18, 2024 at 6:17 PM
Great report, great writeup in MIT Tech Review - major questions of control, of permissions, of representation in datasets. These are questions we should be discussing publicly, and making sure diverse stakeholders from top to bottom understand the trade-offs and possible protections
NZ is in the same forget-relearn cycle every gov't is in with scientific research. Lucrative research will be funded by the market, but ground-shifting breakthroughs come unexpectedly from elsewhere. Government's most effective role is to fund the basic science we need that the market won't chase
Great piece by @nicgaston.bsky.social on just how foolish the NZ government’s defunding of humanities, social sciences, and basic science is:
the-conversation.com/funding-rese...
the-conversation.com/funding-rese...
Funding research for economic return sounds good – but that’s not how science really works
The Marsden Fund was set up to support pure research. Diverting half of it to fund applied research undermines New Zealand’s potential to generate ideas that underpin commercial success.
theconversation.com
December 17, 2024 at 5:04 PM
NZ is in the same forget-relearn cycle every gov't is in with scientific research. Lucrative research will be funded by the market, but ground-shifting breakthroughs come unexpectedly from elsewhere. Government's most effective role is to fund the basic science we need that the market won't chase
Another thoughtful read from @sayash.bsky.social & @randomwalker.bsky.social that's well worth your time - is generative AI really the destabilizer it was expected to be?
More than 60 countries held elections this year. Many researchers and journalists claimed AI misinformation would destabilize democracies. What impact did AI really have?
We analyzed every instance of political AI use this year collected by WIRED. New essay w/@random_walker: 🧵
We analyzed every instance of political AI use this year collected by WIRED. New essay w/@random_walker: 🧵
December 16, 2024 at 7:44 PM
Another thoughtful read from @sayash.bsky.social & @randomwalker.bsky.social that's well worth your time - is generative AI really the destabilizer it was expected to be?
The impermanence of pretty much everything has me thinking/worrying about this question of durable storage and archives a lot, really good piece
Incredible essay about the importance and challenges of digital archival by @maxy.bsky.social, as well as the various imperfect strategies to achieve “century-scale” digital archives.
lil.law.harvard.edu/century-scal...
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lil.law.harvard.edu/century-scal...
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Century-Scale Storage
If you had to store something for 100 years, how would you do it?
lil.law.harvard.edu
December 11, 2024 at 8:50 PM
The impermanence of pretty much everything has me thinking/worrying about this question of durable storage and archives a lot, really good piece
Reposted by Kellee Wicker
Last month, I fell down an absolutely bizarre rabbit hole trying to figure out who was ripping off articles from Oregon journalists.
What I found was identity theft, plagiarism and an absolutely terrifying future for local journalism led by AI scammers.
My latest:
What I found was identity theft, plagiarism and an absolutely terrifying future for local journalism led by AI scammers.
My latest:
AI slop is already invading Oregon’s local journalism
The Ashland Daily Tidings — established as a newspaper in 1876 — ceased operations in 2023, but if you were a local reader, you may not have known because of an elaborate scam using artificial intelli...
www.opb.org
December 9, 2024 at 4:06 PM
Last month, I fell down an absolutely bizarre rabbit hole trying to figure out who was ripping off articles from Oregon journalists.
What I found was identity theft, plagiarism and an absolutely terrifying future for local journalism led by AI scammers.
My latest:
What I found was identity theft, plagiarism and an absolutely terrifying future for local journalism led by AI scammers.
My latest:
We hosted a roundtable of Global South thinkers back in September to talk about opportunities and obstacles with AI ecosystem development. I'm excited to say the whitepaper with topline takeaways from that discussion is now available! www.wilsoncenter.org/publication/...
Developing AI Ecosystems in the Global South
www.wilsoncenter.org
December 10, 2024 at 5:42 PM
We hosted a roundtable of Global South thinkers back in September to talk about opportunities and obstacles with AI ecosystem development. I'm excited to say the whitepaper with topline takeaways from that discussion is now available! www.wilsoncenter.org/publication/...
Joining @wilsoncenter.org colleagues from our Global Europe Program tomorrow to talk about what we might expect from the new EU Commission and how it will impact the transatlantic relationship, RSVP to join in person or virtually: www.wilsoncenter.org/event/brusse...
From Brussels to Washington: Transatlantic Relations Under the New European Commission
www.wilsoncenter.org
December 5, 2024 at 3:18 PM
Joining @wilsoncenter.org colleagues from our Global Europe Program tomorrow to talk about what we might expect from the new EU Commission and how it will impact the transatlantic relationship, RSVP to join in person or virtually: www.wilsoncenter.org/event/brusse...
Very cool, and a tracker that fills a definite gap!
The Africa Technology Policy Tracker (AfTech) is the first-ever continent-wide aggregate of digital economy laws & regulations, launched by the Carnegie Africa Program & the African Telecommunications Union ➡️ https://buff.ly/4eZrj73
December 4, 2024 at 8:46 PM
Very cool, and a tracker that fills a definite gap!
I love reads like this that reveal how people pull off the tech things we take for granted - super interesting
You're not kidding. It's a gigantic Data Engineering project and it amazes me that we pull it off every year. Wrapped is pretty tightly compartmentalized, even on the inside. So I dunno how much this has evolved since 2022, but I enjoyed this read: engineering.atspotify.com/2023/03/load...
Load Testing for 2022 Wrapped - Spotify Engineering
Load Testing for 2022 Wrapped - Spotify Engineering
engineering.atspotify.com
December 4, 2024 at 4:28 PM
I love reads like this that reveal how people pull off the tech things we take for granted - super interesting