December 14, 2024

Paper by Co-Director receives NSA award

National Science Foundation

Research by Co-Director Yoshi Kohno was awarded by the NSA’s 2024 Best Scientific Cybersecurity Paper Competition. The NSA Research Directorate recently selected “Ethical Frameworks and Computer Security Trolley Problems: Foundations for Conversations,” by professors Tadayoshi Kohno, University of Washington; Yasemin Acar, Paderborn University (Germany)/The George Washington University; and Wulf Loh, University of Tübingen (Germany) for […]

Co-Director notes consumer tracking may have unequal impact

KUOW

Whether you’re doing most of your shopping online or in-person, your habits may be tracked, according to a new KUOW article. Surveillance technology can glean a lot of information about consumers, and Co-Director Ryan Calo worries its impact is disproportionate. “Systemically speaking, when companies study consumers for their own benefit, consumers can get harmed by […]

December 11, 2024

TPL Co-Founder Receives Future of Life Award

UW Information School

Tech Policy Lab Co-Founder and Information School Professor Batya Friedman was named one of three Future of Life Award Recipients for her pioneering work on Value Sensitive Design by the Future of Life Institute.

December 8, 2024

In new paper, TPL post-doc imagines design beyond humans

Tech Policy Lab post-doctoral scholar Nick Logler recently published research that highlights how design intersects with a more-than-human world. “Learning in place: Reimagining design practice as ecological literacy” chronicles Logler’s time spent in a coastal wildlife refuge and attempts to foreground a more-than-human experience. His reflections and conclusions offer five interrelated considerations for designers and […]

November 11, 2024

Politics will have mixed impact on tech, Co-Director says

KUOW

Co-Director Ryan Calo encouraged caution when examining the future political climate in a new KUOW piece. Tech leaders have seemed optimistic about the Trump administration in recent statements but Calo urged caution. “The benefits of a Trump administration for the tech sector will not be evenly distributed.” He said that while Trump policies could benefit […]

‘Bot or Not?’ series highlights Co-Director’s work

GeekWire

GeekWire recently highlighted a study by Co-Director Aylin Caliskan showing critical bias in resume screening technology. “Gender, Race, and Intersectional Bias in Resume Screening via Language Model Retrieval” is discussed as part of GeekWire’s “Bot or Not?” series exploring the relationship between humans and machines. Caliskan worked with Information School Ph.D. student Kyra Wilson on […]

October 8, 2024

‘Conversations’ interview series takes on questions of society, technology

Premiere interview welcomes Professor Leah Ceccarelli

Society + Technology at UW, a new cross-campus program hosted by the Tech Policy Lab, has released the first episode of Conversations with Society + Technology, an interview series that seeks to make sense of big questions around emerging technologies and their social impact through interviews with Society + Technology at UW’s network of Affiliates. […]

October 7, 2024

New program hosted by Tech Policy Lab launches website

Society + Technology at UW will strengthen ties between campuses

Society + Technology at UW, the new cross-campus program hosted by the Tech Policy Lab, has launched the program website at www.societyandtechnology.uw.edu. The program is the outcome of the Technology & Society Task Force (TSTF), charged by the University of Washington President and Provost, and chaired by Tech Policy Lab Co-Director Ryan Calo. Last winter, […]

October 6, 2024

TPL alumnus Katell passes away in London

Tech Policy Lab alumnus Mike Katell passed away recently in London. Katell was a valuable member of the Lab, contributing to projects including “Designing Tech Policy” and publishing papers on privacy and value sensitive design. Co-Director Ryan Calo partnered with Katell during his time at the Lab. “I worked with Mike Katell on several projects […]

September 18, 2024

TikTok ban is constitutionally complex, TPL Program Manager says

Global News

The TikTok ban currently being discussed in federal appeals court is complex, said TPL Program Manager Alex Bolton. Bolton told Global News that there is not a straightforward constitutional answer. “You have these two constitutional principles butting up against each other … and I don’t think you can necessarily say that one always trumps the […]