May 14, 2026

TPL PhD student named a 2026 Apple Scholar in AIML

Tech Policy Lab

TPL PhD student Kyra Wilson has been named a 2026 Apple Scholar in AIML PhD fellowship. The award is “part of Apple’s ongoing commitment to fostering the next generation of leaders in machine learning and artificial intelligence.” Wilson, a second year PhD student within the Information School advised by TPL Co-Director Aylin Caliskan, was recognized […]

AI companies distracting with fear-mongering, Faculty Associate says

BBC

AI companies are marketing their products as powerful and potentially problematic to “humanity,” which critics say is a distraction from the harm they’re actually doing. In the BBC article “Why AI companies want you to be afraid of them,” experts say that there may some psychology at play. “It’s just part of this pattern of […]

April 15, 2026

TPL joins UW partners in hosting journalists to discuss risks, realities of AI chatbots

Tech Policy Lab

Seattle community members, students and professionals gathered at the Seattle Central Library on April 7 to hear from two of the country’s leading journalists about the potential perils that lie in adoption of AI. “The Risks and Realities of AI Chatbots” attracted over 100 people to a conversation moderated by Monica Nickelsburg of KUOW and […]

April 2, 2026

Co-Director receives Schmidt Sciences award

Tech Policy Lab

Co-Director Aylin Caliskan has been named a recipient of the 2025 Science of Trustworthy AI award from Schmidt Sciences to further explore large language models. Caliskan’s project, “Towards Understanding Motivated Reasoning in LLMs,” will investigate when, why, and how large language models (LLMs) exhibit human-like motivated reasoning. The goal is to make LLMs’ reasoning more […]

March 3, 2026

Tech Policy Lab hosts international leaders and scholars

Tech Policy Lab

In November, the Lab hosted an international group with representatives from four South Central Asian countries as part of a larger U.S. visit of leaders exploring various areas of tech policy. They discussed a wide variety of tech policy issues with the Lab, as well as how different legislative processes in different countries can present […]

February 27, 2026

If chatbots are therapists, what are obligations? Co-Director asks

A recent New York Times article considers the questions surrounding use of AI that endangers public safety, including instances where individuals built bombs or planned large-scale attacks. “When Chatbots Are Used to Plan Violence, Is There a Duty to Warn?” brings forward issues of privacy vs. safety, including questions around when to report to law enforcement […]

February 7, 2026

Co-Director named 2025 ACM Fellow

Tech Policy Lab

Co-Director Tadayoshi Kohno was named a 2025 Association for Computing Machinery Fellow. He is being recognized for leadership in cybersecurity for emerging technologies, security ethics, and sociotechnical security. ACM Fellows were selected by their peers for achieving remarkable results through their technical innovations and/or service to the field. “These men and women represent the top […]

February 1, 2026

Society + Tech initiative leads lively talk on privacy, surveillance

UW Information School

The University of Washington Society + Technology initiative convened a panel discussion on Jan. 12 to discuss “Who’s Watching? Privacy and Urban Surveillance.” The after-hours event at Halcyon Brewing Co. in Seattle was hosted by Society + Technology Director of Strategy and Operations Monika Sengul-Jones and moderated by Information School and School of Law Professor Ryan […]

January 18, 2026

Fake sexualized images create real harm, TPL student says

CNET

xAI’s Grok is now under formal investigation in California for the tool’s creation of nonconsensual sexualized images. In addition to being potentially illegal these altered photos can inflict deep damage, according to Natalie Grace Brigham, Tech Policy Lab Ph.D. student who studies sociotechnical harms. “Although these images are fake, the harm is incredibly real,” Brigham […]

January 3, 2026

Co-Director joins Electronic Privacy Information Center board

Tech Policy Lab

On Jan. 2, Co-Director Ryan Calo joined the Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC) Board of Directors, alongside Kathrine Strandburg of the NYU School of Law and David Brody of the Digital Justice Initiative at the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law. EPIC’s work is guided by leading scholars, practitioners and advocates in the fields […]