Nitasha Tiku

@nitashatiku
5.4K Followers
157 Following
59 Posts
tech culture reporter at The Washington Post
Signal: nitasha.10
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Twitterhttps://twitter.com/nitashatiku
verifiedhttps://www.washingtonpost.com/people/nitasha-tiku/
Nitasha TikuJul 2, 2025
Paris MarxJun 26, 2025

The harms arising from chatbots are escalating, and not nearly enough is being done to address them before they become a big problem.

On #TechWontSaveUs, I spoke with @nitashatiku to discuss how chatbots are speedrunning the social media harm cycle.

Listen to the full episode: https://techwontsave.us/episode/282_chatbots_are_repeating_social_medias_harms_w_nitasha_tiku

#tech #socialmedia #chatgpt #characterai #openai #ai #artificialintelligence #genai #chatbots

Nitasha TikuJun 1, 2024
Show threadRobert W. GehlMay 31, 2024

@nitashatiku This is not surprising to me. In 2016, some colleagues and I surveyed the entirety of the academic literature on porn detection via computer vision and found that the algorithms that were built were heavily biased towards images of thin, white women:

https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/1527476416680453

So it's not surprising to hear the process works the same in reverse.

Nitasha TikuMay 31, 2024
My latest (and greatest??) data visualization with Szu Yu Chen looks at how generative AI models interpret female beauty. We found that prompted to show a “beautiful woman," DALL-E, Midjourney, & Stable Diffusion generated 100% thin women and only 9 percent had dark skin tones https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/interactive/2024/ai-bias-beautiful-women-ugly-images
What AI thinks a beautiful woman looks like: Mostly white and thin

Despite the growing profusion of AI image generators, they all had remarkably similar responses when The Post directed them to portray a beautiful woman.

The Washington Post
Nitasha TikuApr 16, 2024
you have to read this new feature from @pranshuverma threats to freedom of expression and the evolution of social media as a weapon https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2024/04/16/stop-antisemitism-twitter-zionism-israel/
They criticized Israel. This Twitter account upended their lives.

Since Oct. 7, StopAntisemitism’s Twitter account has flagged hundreds of people who have criticized Israel’s actions in Gaza. Many were swiftly fired.

The Washington Post
Nitasha TikuMar 28, 2024

Carrie Williams had given up looking for the deepfake video of herself she knew was out there. Then the Post called... It was worse than she thought

New from @pranshuverma and I:
Real (non-celebrity) women are having their likeness stolen and deepfaked to push tawdry online ads and propaganda as AI tools get easier to use
https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2024/03/28/ai-women-clone-ads/

AI hustlers stole women’s faces to put in ads. The law can’t help them.

Artificial intelligence is spurring a new type of identity theft, altering people’s social media posts to sell erectile dysfunction pills or praise Russia’s Vladimir Putin.

The Washington Post
Nitasha TikuMar 28, 2024
Will OremusMar 28, 2024

First they (the creeps and grifters who make AI deepfakes) came for the celebs and politicians.

Now they're coming for ordinary women. Disturbing story about non-famous women increasingly finding their likenesses stolen and turned into deepfake ads for everything from Putin to erectile dysfunction. https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2024/03/28/ai-women-clone-ads/ by @nitashatiku & @pranshuverma

AI hustlers stole women’s faces to put in ads. The law can’t help them.

Artificial intelligence is spurring a new type of identity theft, altering people’s social media posts to sell erectile dysfunction pills or praise Russia’s Vladimir Putin.

The Washington Post
Show threadNitasha TikuFeb 17, 2024

"After a decade of pushing a utopian vision of the future, tech’s most optimistic pitch is a return to America’s past. Connecting the world is out. Rearming the arsenal of democracy is in."

Hope you'll give it a read. Thx!

https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2024/02/17/silicon-valley-military-tech-defense-contractors

How Silicon Valley learned to love America, drones and glory

After a decade of building the future, tech’s new guard is going back to the American past, spurring a funding frenzy in defense technology

The Washington Post
Nitasha TikuFeb 17, 2024
New feature from me and Lizza Dwoskin on the cultural shift behind the rise of money, attention, and social currency around building tech for war in Silicon Valley. It ties together "techno-optimism," VC uncertainty around the next big thing, tech accelerationism, and the pitch to young people about why they should join
https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2024/02/17/silicon-valley-military-tech-defense-contractors/
How Silicon Valley learned to love America, drones and glory

After a decade of building the future, tech’s new guard is going back to the American past, spurring a funding frenzy in defense technology

The Washington Post
Nitasha TikuDec 9, 2023

New from me for @washingtonpost
This fall, a small number of senior leaders approached the board of OpenAI with concerns about chief executive Sam Altman.

Altman — a revered mentor, prodigious start-up investor and avatar of the AI revolution — had been psychologically abusive, the employees alleged.

..The new complaints triggered the review of Altman’s conduct, and were a major factor that led to his firing

https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2023/12/08/open-ai-sam-altman-complaints

OpenAI leaders warned of abusive behavior before Sam Altman’s ouster

Some senior employees described Sam Altman as psychologically abusive, creating chaos at OpenAI. The complaints were a major factor in the board’s decision to fire the CEO.

The Washington Post
Nitasha TikuDec 9, 2023
Aaron PressmanDec 8, 2023
Warning from OpenAI leaders helped trigger Sam Altman’s ouster. The senior employees described Altman as psychologically abusive, creating chaos at the artificial-intelligence start-up — complaints that were a major factor in the board’s abrupt decision to fire the CEO. @nitashatiku reports. https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2023/12/08/open-ai-sam-altman-complaints/
OpenAI leaders warned of abusive behavior before Sam Altman’s ouster

Some senior employees described Sam Altman as psychologically abusive, creating chaos at OpenAI. The complaints were a major factor in the board’s decision to fire the CEO.

The Washington Post