Dima Epstein
@thinkmacro.bsky.social
Thinking about information, technology, policy, and society.
@HUJI: Communication, Public Policy and Governance, Cybersecurity
www.thinkmacro.org | www.comparativeprivacy.org
Also at: @thinkmacro@fediscience.org
@HUJI: Communication, Public Policy and Governance, Cybersecurity
www.thinkmacro.org | www.comparativeprivacy.org
Also at: @thinkmacro@fediscience.org
Reposted by Dima Epstein
I wrote an updated guide on which AIs to use right now, & some tips on how to use them (and how to avoid falling into some common traps)
A lot has changed since I last wrote a guide like this in the spring, and AI has gotten much more useful as a result. open.substack.com/pub/oneusefu...
A lot has changed since I last wrote a guide like this in the spring, and AI has gotten much more useful as a result. open.substack.com/pub/oneusefu...
An Opinionated Guide to Using AI Right Now
What AI to use in late 2025
open.substack.com
October 19, 2025 at 6:48 PM
I wrote an updated guide on which AIs to use right now, & some tips on how to use them (and how to avoid falling into some common traps)
A lot has changed since I last wrote a guide like this in the spring, and AI has gotten much more useful as a result. open.substack.com/pub/oneusefu...
A lot has changed since I last wrote a guide like this in the spring, and AI has gotten much more useful as a result. open.substack.com/pub/oneusefu...
Reposted by Dima Epstein
A median of 72% of adults across 25 nations say the spread of false information online is a major threat to their country. Concern about this issue is widespread in both high- and middle-income countries, and it has remained relatively stable over time.
August 20, 2025 at 7:00 PM
A median of 72% of adults across 25 nations say the spread of false information online is a major threat to their country. Concern about this issue is widespread in both high- and middle-income countries, and it has remained relatively stable over time.
Reposted by Dima Epstein
🌐 Want to understand how countries are prioritizing key issues ahead of WSIS+20? GNI and @gpdigital.bsky.social have published a new summary infographic offering a quick visual guide to where countries stand on key WSIS+20 issues.
globalnetworkinitiative.org/gni-and-gpd-...
globalnetworkinitiative.org/gni-and-gpd-...
GNI and GPD Launch New Summary Infographic on WSIS+20 Country Positions - Global Network Initiative
Understand country approaches to internet governance and stakeholder engagement at a glance.
globalnetworkinitiative.org
August 12, 2025 at 12:44 PM
🌐 Want to understand how countries are prioritizing key issues ahead of WSIS+20? GNI and @gpdigital.bsky.social have published a new summary infographic offering a quick visual guide to where countries stand on key WSIS+20 issues.
globalnetworkinitiative.org/gni-and-gpd-...
globalnetworkinitiative.org/gni-and-gpd-...
Reposted by Dima Epstein
These 2 stellar pieces from @techpolicypress.bsky.social are essential for educators thinking through the profoundly new internet our students are experiencing.
techpolicy.press/how-ai-drive...
techpolicy.press/how-ai-drive...
August 11, 2025 at 10:46 PM
These 2 stellar pieces from @techpolicypress.bsky.social are essential for educators thinking through the profoundly new internet our students are experiencing.
techpolicy.press/how-ai-drive...
techpolicy.press/how-ai-drive...
Reposted by Dima Epstein
July roundup on tech policy litigation from Tech Justice Law Project’s Melodi Dinçer! This month covers key legal discussions in generative AI and “digital replicas,” section 230 protections, privacy law enforcement, demise of FTC’s click to cancel, and a resolution in Cambridge Analytica.
July 2025 Tech Litigation Roundup | TechPolicy.Press
Melodi Dinçer, Policy Counsel for the Tech Justice Law Project, highlights key developments in tech litigation.
www.techpolicy.press
August 8, 2025 at 6:04 PM
July roundup on tech policy litigation from Tech Justice Law Project’s Melodi Dinçer! This month covers key legal discussions in generative AI and “digital replicas,” section 230 protections, privacy law enforcement, demise of FTC’s click to cancel, and a resolution in Cambridge Analytica.
Reposted by Dima Epstein
🚨 New publication! 🚨 Do people really trust the government? It depends on how you ask.
Happy to share that our paper on why Question Form Matters with KatharinaPfaff (@stawi-univie.bsky.social) is now out in @jssam.bsky.social 📊🇦🇹
🔗 academic.oup.com/jssam/advanc...
Happy to share that our paper on why Question Form Matters with KatharinaPfaff (@stawi-univie.bsky.social) is now out in @jssam.bsky.social 📊🇦🇹
🔗 academic.oup.com/jssam/advanc...
Question Form Matters: Examining Trust in Government through Open and Closed Survey Items
Abstract. How we ask questions in surveys significantly impacts the answers. While previous research has examined differences between open-ended and closed
academic.oup.com
August 8, 2025 at 10:30 AM
🚨 New publication! 🚨 Do people really trust the government? It depends on how you ask.
Happy to share that our paper on why Question Form Matters with KatharinaPfaff (@stawi-univie.bsky.social) is now out in @jssam.bsky.social 📊🇦🇹
🔗 academic.oup.com/jssam/advanc...
Happy to share that our paper on why Question Form Matters with KatharinaPfaff (@stawi-univie.bsky.social) is now out in @jssam.bsky.social 📊🇦🇹
🔗 academic.oup.com/jssam/advanc...
New special issue, "Comparative Approaches to Studying Privacy," edited by #CPRN is now published in Social Media + Society!
journals.sagepub.com/topic/collec...
w/ @lutzid.bsky.social, Lemi Baruh, Kelly Quinn, @masurphil.bsky.social, Carsten Wilhelm (comparativeprivacy.org)
journals.sagepub.com/topic/collec...
w/ @lutzid.bsky.social, Lemi Baruh, Kelly Quinn, @masurphil.bsky.social, Carsten Wilhelm (comparativeprivacy.org)
journals.sagepub.com
August 7, 2025 at 1:30 PM
New special issue, "Comparative Approaches to Studying Privacy," edited by #CPRN is now published in Social Media + Society!
journals.sagepub.com/topic/collec...
w/ @lutzid.bsky.social, Lemi Baruh, Kelly Quinn, @masurphil.bsky.social, Carsten Wilhelm (comparativeprivacy.org)
journals.sagepub.com/topic/collec...
w/ @lutzid.bsky.social, Lemi Baruh, Kelly Quinn, @masurphil.bsky.social, Carsten Wilhelm (comparativeprivacy.org)
Judgitbu the abstract, this seems like an interesting read..
@davidthewid.bsky.social, postdoctoral fellow at Cornell Tech, released a new report on how “Big Cloud” companies — Google, Microsoft, and Amazon — are quietly reshaping the tech ecosystem through strategic investments.
Read the full report here: papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers....
Read the full report here: papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers....
August 6, 2025 at 7:20 PM
Judgitbu the abstract, this seems like an interesting read..
On politics and policy preferences of tech workers: In a preprint of a study lead by Gilad Be'ery and co-authored with @raanan-sk.bsky.social we show that, despite some similarities, techies do not have a universal policy agenda; developers are particularly distinct.
osf.io/preprints/os...
osf.io/preprints/os...
OSF
osf.io
August 6, 2025 at 1:12 PM
On politics and policy preferences of tech workers: In a preprint of a study lead by Gilad Be'ery and co-authored with @raanan-sk.bsky.social we show that, despite some similarities, techies do not have a universal policy agenda; developers are particularly distinct.
osf.io/preprints/os...
osf.io/preprints/os...
Reposted by Dima Epstein
The immense political influence possessed by the tech elite perfectly demonstrates how free and fair elections may coexist with and even foster a political system that privileges the policy preferences of a select few, writes Surya Gowda.
What Makes A Democracy A Democracy? | TechPolicy.Press
Tech elites' political clout shows how free elections can still favor the policy preferences of a powerful few, writes Surya Gowda.
www.techpolicy.press
May 20, 2025 at 1:07 PM
The immense political influence possessed by the tech elite perfectly demonstrates how free and fair elections may coexist with and even foster a political system that privileges the policy preferences of a select few, writes Surya Gowda.
Reposted by Dima Epstein
Grok’s “sudden ideological reorientation” underscores that the “anodyne political character” of other chatbots is also a construction, @jwherrman.bsky.social writes. It's a reminder that all chatbots are the product of "people deciding what they should and shouldn’t say.” nymag.com/intelligence...
How Grok Learned to Be a Nazi
The chatbot’s sudden turn to antisemitism and Hitler fandom came from the data — and, maybe, from the top.
nymag.com
July 10, 2025 at 7:16 PM
Grok’s “sudden ideological reorientation” underscores that the “anodyne political character” of other chatbots is also a construction, @jwherrman.bsky.social writes. It's a reminder that all chatbots are the product of "people deciding what they should and shouldn’t say.” nymag.com/intelligence...
Reposted by Dima Epstein
If the power grid around St. Petersburg and Moscow went down for a while, we imagine many "Western" social media accounts would suddenly go quiet, too.
Dozens of anonymous X accounts advocating Scottish independence abruptly went silent after a major Israeli airstrike campaign against Iranian military and cyber infrastructure on June 12. #ForeignInfluenceOperation ukdefencejournal.org.uk/dozens-of-pr...
Dozens of pro-Indy accounts go dark after Israeli strikes
The sudden silence of dozens of pro-independence X accounts on 12 June 2025 coincided with Israeli air and cyber strikes targeting Iranian military and communications infrastructure.
ukdefencejournal.org.uk
June 29, 2025 at 8:39 PM
If the power grid around St. Petersburg and Moscow went down for a while, we imagine many "Western" social media accounts would suddenly go quiet, too.
Reposted by Dima Epstein
Our free Computational Social Science (CSS) Summer School is open to graduate students, researchers, journalists, and analysts interested in CSS, textual, and network analysis of social media data — no prior experience is needed! socialmedialab.ca/2025/06/28/2...
2025 Social Media Lab - Computational Social Science Summer School - Online [July 14-16, 2025 via Zoom] - Social Media Lab
Where: online (via Zoom) When: July 14-16, 2024 Contact Info info@socialmedialab.caBsky @SMLabTO INSTRUCTORS Join us for the Social Media Lab’s 2025 Computational Social Science (CSS) Summer School. E...
socialmedialab.ca
June 28, 2025 at 4:56 PM
Our free Computational Social Science (CSS) Summer School is open to graduate students, researchers, journalists, and analysts interested in CSS, textual, and network analysis of social media data — no prior experience is needed! socialmedialab.ca/2025/06/28/2...
Reposted by Dima Epstein
Working on platform governance?
Join for PlatGovNet 2025
Free online conference Dec 1-2
Extended abstracts (800-1000 words) due Sep 2
Amazing community, opportunity to share work, get feedback, meet others working in this area.
Glad to be part of organizing it
Details: platgov.net/conferences/...
Join for PlatGovNet 2025
Free online conference Dec 1-2
Extended abstracts (800-1000 words) due Sep 2
Amazing community, opportunity to share work, get feedback, meet others working in this area.
Glad to be part of organizing it
Details: platgov.net/conferences/...
2025 Conference Call for Submissions — PlatGovOpen MenuClose Menu
2025 Conference Call for Submissions
platgov.net
June 24, 2025 at 12:10 PM
Working on platform governance?
Join for PlatGovNet 2025
Free online conference Dec 1-2
Extended abstracts (800-1000 words) due Sep 2
Amazing community, opportunity to share work, get feedback, meet others working in this area.
Glad to be part of organizing it
Details: platgov.net/conferences/...
Join for PlatGovNet 2025
Free online conference Dec 1-2
Extended abstracts (800-1000 words) due Sep 2
Amazing community, opportunity to share work, get feedback, meet others working in this area.
Glad to be part of organizing it
Details: platgov.net/conferences/...
Reposted by Dima Epstein
🎉 Excited to share the APSA Technology & Politics Section Award winners! 🏆
📚 Best Book
The Illiberal Public Sphere: Media in Polarized Societies
by @sabinamihelj.bsky.social & @vstetka.bsky.social. You can access it, it is in open access!
link.springer.com/book/10.1007...
🧵
📚 Best Book
The Illiberal Public Sphere: Media in Polarized Societies
by @sabinamihelj.bsky.social & @vstetka.bsky.social. You can access it, it is in open access!
link.springer.com/book/10.1007...
🧵
The Illiberal Public Sphere
This book uncovers the media's role in global illiberalism through cutting-edge analysis of recent developments in Eastern Europe.
link.springer.com
June 5, 2025 at 7:55 AM
🎉 Excited to share the APSA Technology & Politics Section Award winners! 🏆
📚 Best Book
The Illiberal Public Sphere: Media in Polarized Societies
by @sabinamihelj.bsky.social & @vstetka.bsky.social. You can access it, it is in open access!
link.springer.com/book/10.1007...
🧵
📚 Best Book
The Illiberal Public Sphere: Media in Polarized Societies
by @sabinamihelj.bsky.social & @vstetka.bsky.social. You can access it, it is in open access!
link.springer.com/book/10.1007...
🧵
Reposted by Dima Epstein
This is no longer a contest over AI models alone, but over standards, adoption, and the architecture of global digital ecosystems. buff.ly/WrOKnN9
May 20, 2025 at 2:29 AM
This is no longer a contest over AI models alone, but over standards, adoption, and the architecture of global digital ecosystems. buff.ly/WrOKnN9
Reposted by Dima Epstein
Trump fires Copyright Office director after report raises questions about AI training
Trump fires Copyright Office director after report raises questions about AI training | TechCrunch
President Donald Trump has fired Shira Perlmutter, who leads the U.S. Copyright Office. The firing was reported by CBS News and Politico, and seemingly
techcrunch.com
May 11, 2025 at 6:19 PM
Trump fires Copyright Office director after report raises questions about AI training
Reposted by Dima Epstein
#ICA25 ICA CAT panel: Building Bridges in Privacy Research: Comparative Perspectives and Collaborative Insights - 14-Jun-25, 10:30 AM in Mineral G (Regency 3).
April 22, 2025 at 1:04 PM
#ICA25 ICA CAT panel: Building Bridges in Privacy Research: Comparative Perspectives and Collaborative Insights - 14-Jun-25, 10:30 AM in Mineral G (Regency 3).
Reposted by Dima Epstein
Reposted by Dima Epstein
Canadians are split on GenAI’s net societal impact (39% positive, 34% negative, 27% neutral), but unite around key concerns—security and privacy (72%), reliability of information (68%), job displacement (68%), and effects on higher education (68%). socialmedialab.ca/2025/04/08/n...
[New Report] The State of Generative AI Use in Canada 2025: Exploring Public Attitudes and Adoption Trends - Social Media Lab
TORONTO — April 2025 — A majority of Canadians (66%) have experimented with Generative Artificial Intelligence (GenAI) tools less than three years after ChatGPT’s public debut, according to a new repo...
socialmedialab.ca
April 9, 2025 at 11:15 AM
Canadians are split on GenAI’s net societal impact (39% positive, 34% negative, 27% neutral), but unite around key concerns—security and privacy (72%), reliability of information (68%), job displacement (68%), and effects on higher education (68%). socialmedialab.ca/2025/04/08/n...
Reposted by Dima Epstein
I am really pleased to see our meta-analysis of media literacy interventions (160 studies!) has been published in HCR. Unsurprisingly, there is a lot of nuance. One piece of good news is that the interventions work longitudinally.
Free download here:
academic.oup.com/hcr/advance-...
Free download here:
academic.oup.com/hcr/advance-...
Media literacy interventions: meta-analytic review of 40 years of research
Abstract. We conducted a comprehensive meta-analysis of 160 media literacy interventions from 1983 to 2023, finding overall positive effects. Effects were
academic.oup.com
March 30, 2025 at 9:31 PM
I am really pleased to see our meta-analysis of media literacy interventions (160 studies!) has been published in HCR. Unsurprisingly, there is a lot of nuance. One piece of good news is that the interventions work longitudinally.
Free download here:
academic.oup.com/hcr/advance-...
Free download here:
academic.oup.com/hcr/advance-...
Reposted by Dima Epstein
Already fed up with AI in Google search?
"Forget AI. Google just created a version of its search engine free of all the extra junk it has added over the past decade-plus."
tedium.co/2024/05/17/g...
"Forget AI. Google just created a version of its search engine free of all the extra junk it has added over the past decade-plus."
tedium.co/2024/05/17/g...
How I Made Google’s “Web” View My Default Search
Forget AI. Google just created a version of its search engine free of the extra junk it has added over the past decade-plus. You just need one URL parameter.
tedium.co
March 27, 2025 at 8:00 AM
Already fed up with AI in Google search?
"Forget AI. Google just created a version of its search engine free of all the extra junk it has added over the past decade-plus."
tedium.co/2024/05/17/g...
"Forget AI. Google just created a version of its search engine free of all the extra junk it has added over the past decade-plus."
tedium.co/2024/05/17/g...
Reposted by Dima Epstein
🚨 More than 1,400 people have signed up to watch our free conference on AI and the future of news
Our day-long event features presentations and panel discussions with experts from @ox.ac.uk and journalists from around the world
Sign up now
Our day-long event features presentations and panel discussions with experts from @ox.ac.uk and journalists from around the world
Sign up now
AI and the Future of News 2025
A one-day conference with speakers from journalism and academia.
buff.ly
March 22, 2025 at 9:00 AM
🚨 More than 1,400 people have signed up to watch our free conference on AI and the future of news
Our day-long event features presentations and panel discussions with experts from @ox.ac.uk and journalists from around the world
Sign up now
Our day-long event features presentations and panel discussions with experts from @ox.ac.uk and journalists from around the world
Sign up now
Reposted by Dima Epstein
Webinar - State Privacy Legislation 2.0: New Directions and Legislative Challenges (Tues, Mar 18, 12 PM ET) – Daniel Solove chats with Monique Priestley (VT Legislature). Register free: teachprivacy.com/webinar-stat...
Webinar - State Privacy Legislation 2.0: New Directions and Legislative Challenges
State Privacy Legislation 2.0: New Directions and Legislative Challenges Tues, March 18, 2025, at 12 PM ET In this webinar, Professor Daniel Solove
teachprivacy.com
March 5, 2025 at 8:58 PM
Webinar - State Privacy Legislation 2.0: New Directions and Legislative Challenges (Tues, Mar 18, 12 PM ET) – Daniel Solove chats with Monique Priestley (VT Legislature). Register free: teachprivacy.com/webinar-stat...
Reposted by Dima Epstein
I'm hiring! I'm looking for 1️⃣ pre-doc and 2️⃣ post-docs.
If you're fascinated by media effects, quantitative methods, and open science, please consider applying 🙂
International applications welcome!
Application Pre-doc: jobs.uzh.ch/job-vacancie...
Application Post-doc: jobs.uzh.ch/job-vacancie...
If you're fascinated by media effects, quantitative methods, and open science, please consider applying 🙂
International applications welcome!
Application Pre-doc: jobs.uzh.ch/job-vacancie...
Application Post-doc: jobs.uzh.ch/job-vacancie...
March 3, 2025 at 5:26 PM
I'm hiring! I'm looking for 1️⃣ pre-doc and 2️⃣ post-docs.
If you're fascinated by media effects, quantitative methods, and open science, please consider applying 🙂
International applications welcome!
Application Pre-doc: jobs.uzh.ch/job-vacancie...
Application Post-doc: jobs.uzh.ch/job-vacancie...
If you're fascinated by media effects, quantitative methods, and open science, please consider applying 🙂
International applications welcome!
Application Pre-doc: jobs.uzh.ch/job-vacancie...
Application Post-doc: jobs.uzh.ch/job-vacancie...