Avery Sen

@averysen
32 Followers
90 Following
72 Posts
Cofounder, Strategist, and Social Scientist at Sen Sound. Advocate for responsible research and innovation (#RRI), especially though the humanities, arts, and social sciences (#HASS). #Strategy geek, #SciPol wonk, #STS nerd, #ScienceFiction buff, and #audiophile.
Sen Soundhttp://www.sensound.space/
Sentripetalhttps://www.sentripetal.co/
ORCIDhttps://orcid.org/0000-0002-1303-7449
Avery SenOct 30, 2023

"It is tempting to view physical violence as the ultimate harm, doing so makes it easy to forget pernicious ways our societies perpetuate #structuralviolence."

MIT Technology Review: We need to focus on the AI harms that already exist
https://www.technologyreview.com/2023/10/30/1082656/focus-on-existing-ai-harms/

We need to focus on the AI harms that already exist

Fears about potential future existential risk are blinding us to the fact AI systems are already hurting people here and now.

MIT Technology Review
Avery SenAug 18, 2023

"One essential area for #innovation is in finance. #ARPA-H should find ways to ensure that publicly funded science generates better, more equitable public returns."

ARPA-H Could Offer Taxpayers a Fairer Shake
https://issues.org/arpa-h-taxpayers-finance-innovation-whitfill-mazzucato/?utm_source=Issues.org&utm_campaign=9aff1ae650-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2019_04_12_02_16_COPY_01&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_741884f373-9aff1ae650-211864661&mc_cid=9aff1ae650&mc_eid=200129289b

ARPA-H Could Offer Taxpayers a Fairer Shake

A new agency focused on health innovation could shift the rewards of medical advances to benefit public health.

Issues in Science and Technology
Avery SenJul 29, 2023

"Are we doing the right kinds of #engineering? How should we invite the public in to discuss it? And how willing are we engineers to be provoked?"

Creative Intolerance
https://issues.org/creative-intolerance-venice-biennale-madhavan/?utm_source=Issues.org&utm_campaign=b70c379f01-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2019_04_12_02_16_COPY_01&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_741884f373-b70c379f01-211864661

Creative Intolerance

The Venice Biennale Architettura 2023 offers age-old and avant-garde insights into engineering design and duty.

Issues in Science and Technology
Avery SenJul 26, 2023

"By creating a regulatory body at which the biggest players get seats at the table, they can develop legal hurdles that effectively block new, less capitalized players from participating at all."

#AI Panic = AI #Hype.
Tech Bro warnings feel more like a coordinated money grab
by Douglas Rushkoff

https://rushkoff.medium.com/ai-panic-ai-hype-b76b399b4a96

Avery SenJul 25, 2023
PLOS BiologyJul 18, 2023
What is the cost of science being conducted in English? @tatsuya_amano &co reveal that non-native English speakers spend more effort than native speakers in conducting scientific activities (reading, writing, preparing presentations...) #PLOSBiology https://plos.io/46Rfptc
The manifold costs of being a non-native English speaker in science

This study reveals that non-native English speakers, especially early in their careers, spend more effort than native English speakers in conducting scientific activities, from reading and writing papers and preparing presentations in English, to disseminating research in multiple languages.

Avery SenJul 9, 2023

“Whoever controls #language controls #politics.”

ChatGPT Is an Ideology Machine
https://jacobin.com/2023/04/chatgpt-ai-language-models-ideology-media-production?fbclid=IwAR1wPE6VxRKGNMs3GlJJPIIgnZtQac-x4xSSn12dcJrVDKp0rcaEO11HkNc

ChatGPT Is an Ideology Machine

Debates about the new AI focus on “intelligence.” But something more interesting is going on: AI is a culture machine.

Avery SenJul 9, 2023

On the #enshitification and disenshitification of our digital media.

https://youtu.be/Yn47ptAtVH0

Peter Kirstein Lecture 2023 with Cory Doctorow

YouTube
Avery SenMay 23, 2023

"The more we focus on how smart #AI could be someday, the less we focus on all the ways it falls short today."

How the AI Senate Hearing Missed the Mark | On the Media | WNYC Studios
https://www.wnycstudios.org/podcasts/otm/segments/how-the-ai-senate-hearing-missed-mark-on-the-media

How the AI Senate Hearing Missed the Mark | On the Media | WNYC Studios

Longterm, speculative fears of AI's ability to outsmart us are obscuring current issues.

WNYC Studios
Avery SenMar 27, 2023
HT: @norbertmorvan
Avery SenFeb 18, 2023
Prof. Emily M. Bender(she/her)Feb 16, 2023

Meanwhile, here is some actually good coverage about the current generation of chatbots, from @kharijohnson

https://www.wired.com/story/chatbots-got-big-and-their-ethical-red-flags-got-bigger/

AI Chatbots Got Big—and Their Ethical Red Flags Got Bigger

Researchers have spent years warning that text-generation algorithms can spew bias and falsehoods. Tech giants are rushing them into products anyway.

WIRED