Is tech enabling or hindering multiracial democracy?

Talking AI, race, and elections

“When we're thinking about new technological affordances… they seem like new problems, but we have a whole lot of old problems that we never fixed.”

- Danielle Brown

I’ve now been lucky enough to sit down and talk about information integrity, race, AI, and U.S. elections with Danielle Brown, Brandi Collin’s-Dexter, and Spencer Overton twice—first at Knight Foundation’s Informed conference back in January, and then again for the Tech Policy Press podcast for an episode released this past weekend.

We got to talk about the disproportionate impact of these tools on already-marginalized communities through what Brandi called “targeted chaos” and pointed out that generative AI tools help to scale. We considered the limitations of current law and policy to address those harms, especially where they’re deeply rooted in privacy violations and surveillance technology. And we got into trusted messengers and the importance of deep, local, financially-supported work to distribute reliable information.

Any conversation where I feel like I’m just tagging along with the all-stars is a delight. It’s good luck to be listening to and learning from any of these three researchers and scholars, let alone joining in.

When we're talking about these new technologies… will they help uphold multiracial functioning democracy or will they continue to thwart that promise?

If you’d like to listen to, or read a transcript of, the complete discussion, it’s available over on Tech Policy Press or wherever you get your podcasts.

Building new paths as Type II fun

In my not-democracy life (is there such a thing?) and especially in my pre-kid days, I enjoyed a good outdoor adventure and time in the mountains. There—probably on a disproportionately wet, overlong, or unexpectedly vertical day—I learned that there are classifications of fun. Type I fun is classic, ordinary fun outdoors: blue skies, perfect scenery, just the right amount of challenge. Type II fun is not always fun in the moment: the route may be harder than planned, the weather might go sideways, you might feel pushed to an uncomfortable degree or experience pain along the way, but if you step back and assess the situation, you realize that getting through it is going to feel good after the fact. It will become fun in retrospect.

I keep thinking of Type II fun these days in my work life, too. Sometimes I’m getting to record a podcast with some of the smartest thinkers on a topic and it’s simple, obvious fun. Sometimes I’m trying to draft a strategy kernel and wondering if I’m on the right track of if the reason no one is doing this project is that it’s actually a bad idea. Building new things is deeply rewarding work, even on the days when it’s a one-step-at-a-time slog. And reminding myself of that helps with those periods of being a bit stuck or isolated. Having community very much helps, so I’ll end this brief foray into LinkedIn “thought leadership” with a thank you to this group and your role in the support network that makes it even possible.

Weeknight dinner wins

Everyone in our house liked this salmon with peas and radishes, and I especially liked how easy and quick it was even after adding a few diced potatoes and a little cooking time to the mix.