Sign in

jonathan zong

@jonathanzong.com
2.2K followers 578 following 89 posts

information science prof at cu boulder jonathanzong.com www.data-and-design.org @data-and-design.org

PostsRepliesMedia
Reposted by jonathan zong
Maria Antoniak @mariaa.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
I'm recruiting 1-2 PhD students to join our lab in Fall 2027, through either Computer Science or Information Science at the University of Colorado Boulder! Looking for people with interests in NLP plus [healthcare | literary studies | narratives | social media | etc.]. Join us! 🏔️☀️
cls-lab.com
CLS Lab — Culture, Language, & Systems | University of Colorado Boulder
The Culture, Language, & Systems Lab at CU Boulder studies the language systems that transmit and shape modern culture, from internet platforms to literary archives to language models.
06750
Reposted by jonathan zong
Catherine D'Ignazio (she/her/ella) @kanarinka.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
MIT spent $3 million on 500 AI-capable surveillance cameras while laying people off, shutting down libraries, and canceling journal subscriptions. In this article, 4 faculty & I discuss our new arts initiative to celebrate surveillance and repression on college campuses: fnl.mit.edu/how-we-learn...
fnl.mit.edu
How We Learned to Stop Worrying and Love Campus Surveillance – MIT Faculty Newsletter
6357166
Reposted by jonathan zong
jonathan zong @jonathanzong.com · 14/07/2026
Interested in accessibility, visualization, or data ethics? I'm looking for Ph.D. students to join @data-and-design.org in Fall 2027. I've updated this post with additional information about this year's focus area. data-and-design.org/recruiting/phd
data-and-design.org
Recruiting Ph.D. Students for Fall 2027
We are an interdisciplinary research group at the University of Colorado Boulder that uses design to understand and reimagine socio-technical systems.
02621
Reposted by jonathan zong
Sam Cole @samleecole.bsky.social · 14/09/2026
this is so fucking crazy. huge huge huge scoop www.404media.co/inside-proje...
In a dashboard available to the workers, human reviewers are able to select which “task” they want to take on. Once they click that, they are presented with the real ChatGPT user’s prompt. 404 Media has seen multiple real prompts but is not quoting any of them for source protection reasons. Some of the prompts indicate the ChatGPT user does not expect that a human may end up reading their conversation, because they ask ChatGPT to keep the content to themselves.
281654513
Reposted by jonathan zong
Ian Rennie @theangelremiel.bsky.social · 09/09/2026
Nathan Fielder and Elizabeth Holmes doing the "we're just normal men" meme
111116082806
Reposted by jonathan zong
Tom McCoy @rtommccoy.bsky.social · 20/08/2026
Since many are starting grad school soon, let me re-share my One Big Tip™️ for research! Research involves many skills - collaborating, writing, presenting, etc. But many of these skills can be unified under a single overarching ability: theory of mind Blog post link in reply
Illustration of the blog post's main argument, summarized as: "Theory of Mind as a Central Skill for Researchers: Research involves many skills.If each skill is viewed separately, each one takes a long time to learn. These skills can instead be connected via theory of mind – the ability to reason about the mental states of others. This allows you to transfer your abilities across areas, making it easier to gain new skills."
28019
Reposted by jonathan zong
Jessica Hullman @jessicahullman.bsky.social · 11/08/2026
Nice post from @eytan.adar.prof on the cargo cult science of "AI-native" PhD students, who come in super productive because they perform all major parts of research with genAI. No one needs all these quick papers, and they can really hurt students down the road. eytanadar.medium.com/ai-native-ph...
eytanadar.medium.com
AI-Native PhD Students
If you’re a student and just want the tl;dr, feel free to jump to the end.
24312
Reposted by jonathan zong
Carl T. Bergstrom @carlbergstrom.com · 23/07/2026
1. The new Trump / Kratsios plan for US science appears explicitly designed to destroy US universities. Diverting money to tech donors is probably just a bonus. Gift link.
nytimes.com
Trump’s Plan for Science: More Money for A.I., Less for Universities (Gift Article)
Michael Kratsios, President Trump’s science adviser, proposed overhauling how the government funds research. Democrats said Mr. Trump’s actions had weakened science.
5120221139
jonathan zong @jonathanzong.com · 16/07/2026
holy shit www.youtube.com/watch?v=dx15...
youtube.com
What You Know x Xue Hua Piao Piao (Two Door Cinema Club x Fei Yuqing) [EZEKIEL Mashup]
YouTube video by EZEKIEL
000
jonathan zong @jonathanzong.com · 14/07/2026
Interested in accessibility, visualization, or data ethics? I'm looking for Ph.D. students to join @data-and-design.org in Fall 2027. I've updated this post with additional information about this year's focus area. data-and-design.org/recruiting/phd
data-and-design.org
Recruiting Ph.D. Students for Fall 2027
We are an interdisciplinary research group at the University of Colorado Boulder that uses design to understand and reimagine socio-technical systems.
02621
jonathan zong @jonathanzong.com · 14/07/2026
just saw the furious. can't believe more people aren't talking about it. a perfect kung fu movie AND there was a taekwondo guy ...
110
Reposted by jonathan zong
Veerender Singh Jubbal @veerenderjubbal.bsky.social · 11/07/2026
Favourite Ayo Edebiri picture just dropped.
Ayo Edebiri Masking with Shirt “DO NOT TALK TO KR ABOUT AI I WILL KILL MYSELF”.
4647147
jonathan zong @jonathanzong.com · 09/07/2026
Updates to Umwelt, an accessible editor for screen reader users to create multi-modal data representations that include visualization, text, and sonification! New documentation site with example gallery: umwelt-data.github.io/umwelt/ Full writeup: data-and-design.org/blog/2026/07...
data-and-design.org
Umwelt Updates: Example Gallery, Sonification Improvements, Editable Text Structures
Umwelt is an open-source editor for creating accessible, multimodal data representations. From a single specification, Umwelt produces three coordinated views of a dataset: a visualization, a sonifica...
010
jonathan zong @jonathanzong.com · 07/07/2026
jetblue got me stranded in boston for so long i may as well just move back
050
jonathan zong @jonathanzong.com · 02/07/2026
i just signed an open letter in support of workers at Scientific American after the staff recently voted to form a union, Springer Nature sold the company with no warning, laid off union leaders, and cut salaries—3 days before the union election was ratified by NLRB join me? wgaea.st/sciam-letter
wgaea.st
An Open Letter In Support of Scientific American
We are looking for your support by signing the letter below. It calls on Springer Nature to ensure that as part of the sale, LabX Media will rehire laid off union workers, restore staff salaries to pr...
021
Reposted by jonathan zong
Max Kozlov @maxkozlov.bsky.social · 27/06/2026
NIH grants have been under political scrutiny since early 2025. But what does the screening process actually look like? What is being flagged? I spent a month digging into leaked docs and emails. We've published the 235-word list that are being flagged by an internal AI tool. And so much more. 🧵
nature.com
Inside the new political screening that’s stalling NIH grants
Mandatory reviews by top health officials and checks for 235 disfavoured terms have left hundreds of vetted grant applications in administrative limbo.
9541384
jonathan zong @jonathanzong.com · 26/06/2026
who needs therapist when we have mon mothma crashout core playlist
screenshot of spotify playlist "Mon Mothma Crash Out Core" referencing the character from Andor
161
Reposted by jonathan zong
Lori Emerson @loriemerson.net · 22/06/2026
please apply! come do something weird in the Media Archaeology Lab!
02521
Reposted by jonathan zong
Nick Seaver @nickseaver.website · 23/06/2026
If you're an anthropologist of science/tech in the Boston area and want to teach an intro-level class at Tufts on the same this fall, well you're in luck: apply.interfolio.com/188534
027
Reposted by jonathan zong
J. Nathan Matias @natematias.bsky.social · 12/06/2026
@jonathanzong.com I'm still thinking about your article on how tech companies exploit accessibility design in ways that make environments less accessible. Another example is this case of self-driving cars that veer into bike lanes in order to do pickups and drop-offs. futurism.com/future-socie...
futurism.com
Waymo Has a Bike Lane Problem
Waymo has reportedly told traffic safety advocates that avoiding driving in bike lanes is "too high a bar" to pass.
0133
jonathan zong @jonathanzong.com · 09/06/2026
We're over halfway to our funding goal. Yay! But we have more to go before the match deadline on June 30. If you haven’t had a chance to give yet, now is a great time—your gift still counts for 2x. Funds support undergrads facing financial difficulty, senior capstone projects, and student travel.
012
jonathan zong @jonathanzong.com · 07/06/2026
why do they call it road work if road not work while it happen
040
Reposted by jonathan zong
Shannon Mattern @shannonmattern.bsky.social · 01/06/2026
I know this place is no 🐦app when it comes to crowdsourcing creative ideas, but... Might anyone be able to share e.g. of urban exploration-oriented viewfinders — e.g. kits to focus + frame observation in the physical world? Here's my class experimenting w/ Katie Giritlian's photo frames.... [1/2]
7188
jonathan zong @jonathanzong.com · 27/05/2026
super excited to share a big update to olli! olli is a library for converting visualizations into accessible, keyboard-navigable descriptions. in v3, we expand support for new types of charts, introduce support for diagrams, and more data-and-design.org/blog/2026/05...
data-and-design.org
Announcing Olli v3: Diagrams, Choropleths, and Customizable Descriptions
Data visualizations are one of the most common ways information is communicated on the web, and they are frequently inaccessible to blind or low-vision screen reader users. Olli is an open-source Java...
120
jonathan zong @jonathanzong.com · 26/05/2026
I’m helping the CU Information Science department launch a crowdfunding campaign to support undergraduate students through emergency financial assistance, senior capstone projects, conference travel, and visiting speakers. Every dollar matched through June 30! giveto.colorado.edu/double-your-...
giveto.colorado.edu
Double Your Impact: Information Science Student Opportunity Fund
Support CU Boulder Info Science students — every dollar matched through June 30! 🎓
121
Reposted by jonathan zong
Ben Werdmuller @werd.io · 22/05/2026
For years, people have tried hard to get websites to build accessibility affordances. Now developers are willingly building them for AI.
werd.io
Affordances for me, but not for thee
For years, people have tried hard to get websites to build accessibility affordances. Now developers are willingly building them for AI.
0199
Reposted by jonathan zong
ali alkhatib @ali-alkhatib.com · 21/05/2026
i've been thinking about the work we're doing at varying levels to organize against AI, and maybe i've also been in the headspace of gardening and getting rid of weeds. i can't shake the feeling that AI takes up space opportunistically where people's needs are not being met. a little like weeds.
ali-alkhatib.com
Ali Alkhatib: Weeds tend not to grow where they can't take root
112034
Reposted by jonathan zong
Frank Elavsky (he/him) ⌁ @frank.computer · 20/05/2026
New piece out with @jonathanzong.com where we look at how accessible infrastructure has been continually coopted by technological advancements, and both people with disabilities and everyone else now must compete for use of these spaces.
13116
jonathan zong @jonathanzong.com · 20/05/2026
As agentic AI rapidly transforms internet infrastructure, how do we ensure disabled people's needs are not displaced? In a new article by me and @frank.computer, we argue that accessibility must not be treated as an incidental benefit of rapid AI expansion. Read below:
25021
Reposted by jonathan zong
Josh Chafetz @joshchafetz.bsky.social · 19/05/2026
A very interesting and important new piece from Dave Pozen and Daniel Hemel! papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers....
papers.ssrn.com
In Search of University Democracy
<p><span>Virtually all institutions of higher education in the United States share the same basic governance structure. Ultimate authority resides not with facu
04614
Reposted by jonathan zong
The Crane Rider's Tale 🪽 Wishlist on Steam now! @psychickiss.bsky.social · 28/04/2026
From the creator of #ButterflySoup and #PomGetsWiFi, The Crane Rider's Tale is a mystery game inspired by Disco Elysium, Zero Escape, and Chinese folktales. 🪽On Kickstarter now! www.kickstarter.com/projects/psy...
5787362
Reposted by jonathan zong
Nick Seaver @nickseaver.website · 23/04/2026
gotta keep iterating on the STS program shirt design, probably
a complicated diagram from bruno latour, showing nature, society, and a bunch of circles and lines, over meme text:

BORN TO DELEGATE
DETERMINISM IS A FUCK
Situated Knowledges 1988

I am sociotechnical man
410,757,869,530 DEAD FACTS
1211021
Reposted by jonathan zong
Melanie Walsh @mellymeldubs.bsky.social · 20/04/2026
Fun to see that "Bears Will Be Boys," which I wrote with folks from the @puddingviz.bsky.social, won a 2025 Digital Humanities Award! pudding.cool/2025/07/kids...
screenshot of Bears Will Be Boys essay that shows the title and a smiling cartoon bear with thick black glasses
3278
Reposted by jonathan zong
Jed Brown @jedbrown.org · 31/03/2026
A common misconception holds that LLM-based text-to-speech is relevant to accessibility for blind users. This is a great explainer from a blind person working in accessibility tech. The starvation of resources and presumptions made by sighted people are poised to cause regressions in accessibility.
stuff.interfree.ca
Sam's Stuff - The State of Modern AI Text To Speech Systems for Screen Reader Users
033
jonathan zong @jonathanzong.com · 24/03/2026
the top horse girl in all of japan (with the exception of gojo satoru of course)
000
Reposted by jonathan zong
Catsuka @catsuka.bsky.social · 16/03/2026
New trailer for "Sekiro: No Defeat" anime series (based on the game). Directed by Kenichi Kutsuna at Qzil.la studio. Coming to Crunchyroll this year. >> www.youtube.com/watch?v=y5Mi...
5346119
Reposted by jonathan zong
J. Nathan Matias @natematias.bsky.social · 28/02/2026
Amidst overwhelming Epstein revelations, I've heard from many scientists, especially women, about the deafening silence from so many corners. Many ask "how could things be different?" In this post, I answer with three metaphors, grounded in the science he tried to own medium.com/p/61a537ee8e...
medium.com
The Manacle, the Network, and the Tree
New Epstein revelations have many in science asking me “how can things be different?”
13218
Reposted by jonathan zong
Victor Ray @victorerikray.bsky.social · 26/02/2026
Being a Luddite Is Cool and All, but Have You Seen the Hilarious Tapestries These New Looms Are Making? @mcsweeneys.net
mcsweeneys.net
Being a Luddite Is Cool and All, but Have You Seen the Hilarious Tapestries These New Looms Are Making?
Don’t get me wrong, I’m as invested in keeping my job as the next weaver. When the boss brought in that big new power loom, I was pretty skeptical....
1123
Reposted by jonathan zong
sisi jiang @six6jiang.bsky.social · 10/02/2026
feels weird to go to chinese museums, see an ancient artifact, and go “oh i recognize that from genshin” or “that’s where the star rail codex entry is from” 😂
nuo masks from the tujia minority groupjade funerary items
0111
Reposted by jonathan zong
Shannon Mattern @shannonmattern.bsky.social · 02/02/2026
"I don’t know what school was like before all of these tools, but I don’t necessarily feel like any of them really help me learn... [I like to do 🎨 assgnmts by hand, yet] these analog methods are completely ignored in favor of modern, technological approaches... It almost feels 'over-engineered.'"
micahblachman.beehiiv.com
Is Educational Technology All It's Cracked Up to Be?
A seventh-grader's perspective, part 2
04211
Reposted by jonathan zong
Justin Hendrix @justinhendrix.bsky.social · 30/01/2026
A Minnesota woman observing ICE agents in her car was cornered on one-way streets. An agent approached, called her by name—citing facial recognition. Days later, her Global Entry and TSA privileges were revoked, with no explanation.
nytimes.com
How ICE Already Knows Who Minneapolis Protesters Are
819162899897
Reposted by jonathan zong
Maria Antoniak @mariaa.bsky.social · 29/01/2026
CS ArXiv recently banned “review and position” papers, but what are those? Do they include more generated content? Who is most affected by this change? @yanai.bsky.social and I dug into the data to find out! Nearly 50% of Computers & Society papers might be censored, vs 3% of Computer Vision ‼️
24319
Reposted by jonathan zong
sarah jeong @sarahjeong.bsky.social · 29/01/2026
me, emotionally writing an essay on the use of force by federal agents: ok but what if i packaged this in the most insane way possible www.theverge.com/policy/86857...
theverge.com
Best gas masks
“How did these people go out and get gas masks?” AG Bondi asked.
1072770925
jonathan zong @jonathanzong.com · 27/01/2026
"The secret fear of the morally depraved is that virtue is actually common, and that they’re the ones who are alone." www.theatlantic.com/ideas/2026/0...
theatlantic.com
Minnesota Proved MAGA Wrong
The pushback against ICE exposed a series of mistaken assumptions.
030
Reposted by jonathan zong
Eileen Clancy 🧿 @clancyny.bsky.social · 26/01/2026
Here's a regular white guy (literally "Chad") not a protester. because, "It seemed pointless, or just a way for people to expiate their sense of guilt." Chad witnessed something shattering. And, that all changed in a moment. Excellent article!
One of those latecomers was a 46-year-old documentary filmmaker named Chad Knutson. On the morning after Good was killed, he was at home with his two hound dogs, watching a live feed from the Whipple Building, where ICE is based, a five-minute drive from his house. A protester had laid a rose on a makeshift memorial to Good. As Knutson watched, an ICE agent took the rose, put it in his lapel, and then mockingly gave it to a female ICE agent. They both laughed.

Knutson told me he had never been a protester. It seemed pointless, or just a way for people to expiate their sense of guilt. But when he saw those ICE agents laughing, something broke inside him.

“I grab my keys, I grab a coat, and drive over,” Knutson told me. “I barely park my car and I’m running out screaming and crying, ‘You stole a fucking flower from a dead woman. Like, are any of you human anymore?
64101833484
Reposted by jonathan zong
Becca Ricks @baricks.bsky.social · 25/01/2026
"Boredom feels like a trap not because it is a static experience, but because it is an all-encompassing way of being; a fog that dissipates attention and dissolves meaning." I liked this essay on boredom (and where it leads us) from @emptysetmagazine.bsky.social www.emptysetmag.com/articles/ent...
emptysetmag.com
Entropic Boredom
How did the internet get this boring? And where is boredom leading us?
022
Reposted by jonathan zong
Hypervisible @hypervisible.blacksky.app · 21/01/2026
“Safety experts and tech critics have long condemned the Ring devices for security risks and privacy violations, not to mention their role in building the largest civilian surveillance network in US history.”
futurism.com
Fury as Amazon Ring Cameras Are Hooked Up to ICE System
Online activists are telling owners of Ring Doorbell cameras that it's time to get rid of their devices, which can be used by ICE.
7317179
Reposted by jonathan zong
austin_walker @austinwalker.bsky.social · 20/01/2026
You cannot overstate how startling it is to see a politician just say the thing with clarity and poise. No fearful hemming. No overwrought qualifying down til it’s meaningless. No lingering sense that there is a loyalty to a donor class or an ideology of stasis that they’d never admit to.
3994762050
jonathan zong @jonathanzong.com · 05/01/2026
you're telling me there's a SECOND semester???
060
jonathan zong @jonathanzong.com · 23/12/2025
front splits progress!
i'm giving a thumbs up while doing a front split stretch at my taekwondo studio. it's not all the way down but getting there? the angle is fairly obtuse. certainly a personal best!
020