November 21, 2017

Privacy in Online Dating

How do you manage your privacy in online dating? Chances are that if you use online dating or have considered using it, this is an issue you’ve given some thought. And you wouldn’t be alone, as privacy issues in online dating have appeared in the media—two summers ago, during the Rio Olympics, privacy in online […]

October 19, 2017

Tech Policy Lab Joins Partnership on Artificial Intelligence

TPL News

The Tech Policy Lab is delighted to be joining the Partnership on AI to Benefit People and Society, a non-profit organization charged with exploring and developing best practices for AI. The Lab, which aims to position policymakers, broadly defined, to make wiser and more inclusive tech policy, joins a diverse range of voices from academia, industry […]

October 18, 2017

Exploring ADINT: Using Ad Targeting for Surveillance on a Budget

New research by former CSE Ph.D. student Paul Vines, Lab Faculty Associate Franzi Roesner, and Faculty Co-Director Yoshi Kohno demonstrates how targeted advertising can be used for personal surveillance. From “Exploring ADINT: Using Ad Targeting for Surveillance on a Budget – or – How Alice Can Buy Ads to Track Bob” The online advertising ecosystem […]

September 15, 2017

Securing Augmented Reality Output

A year ago, Pokemon Go became immensely popular as players explored their surroundings for Pokemon in the smartphone-based augmented reality (AR) app. This hyper-popular game, which barely scratched the surface of AR’s potential, led to increased interest in the technology. The AR industry is expected to grow to $100 billion by 2020, and with increasing interest in AR automotive windshields and head-mounted displays (HMDs), we could soon be able to experience immersive AR environments like the one depicted by designer and film-maker Keiichi Matsuda in Hyper Reality.

August 10, 2017

DNA Sequencing Tools Lack Robust Protections Against Cybersecurity Risks

In first, UW team infects computer using synthetic DNA molecules Rapid improvement in DNA sequencing has sparked a proliferation of medical and genetic tests that promise to reveal everything from one’s ancestry to fitness levels to microorganisms that live in your gut. A new study from University of Washington researchers that analyzed the security hygiene […]

August 4, 2017

Diverse Voices: A How-To Guide for Creating More Inclusive Tech Policy Documents

All too often, policy development for emerging technology neglects under-represented populations. In response to this challenge, the UW Tech Policy Lab developed the Diverse Voices method in 2015. The method uses short, targeted conversations about emerging technology with “experiential experts” from under-represented groups to provide feedback on draft tech policy documents.

March 1, 2017

Driverless Seattle: How Cities Can Prepare For Automated Vehicles | Key Findings and Recommendations

“Driverless Seattle: How Cities Can Plan for Automated Vehicles,” is a new report from the Tech Policy Lab at the University of Washington, put together in partnership with Challenge Seattle, a private sector initiative led by regional CEOs, and the Mobility Innovation Center at the University of Washington. The advent of automated vehicles (AVs)—also known […]

February 28, 2017

Toys That Listen — CHI 2017

What do teddy bears, My Friend Cayla and Barbie have in common? They are all toys connected to the internet that can listen, overhearing what goes on in the home. Security breaches and the privacy challenges of these devices are regularly in the news. During the holiday season of 2015 Hello Barbie faced significant pushback […]

Driverless Seattle: How Cities Can Plan for Automated Vehicles

 Driverless Seattle: How the City Can Plan for Automated Vehicles New Report from the University of Washington’s Tech Policy Lab and the Mobility Innovation Center Touts Need for Readiness, Tackles Costs and Benefits of Automated Vehicles SEATTLE, Wash., Feb. 28, 2017—Automated vehicles (AVs) are coming to Seattle, and now is the time for government officials […]

December 1, 2016

Global Summit on Grand Challenges for Tech Policy

Today we have an opportunity to put in place global strategies for making progress on grand challenges for tech policy. Well-selected grand challenges convey a sense of vision and push a field forward. At the same time, they must be tractable—that is, consist of actual projects of reasonable scale and ambition—for meaningful progress to be […]