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Madeleine Daepp

@mdaepp.bsky.social
126 followers 123 following 109 posts

Civic technologist studying AI + democracy. Research Director @cdt.org, currently on civic leave from Microsoft Research. PhD MIT. Concerned about generative propaganda but have handed my entire life over to Claude. Views my own. madeleinedaepp.com

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Madeleine Daepp @mdaepp.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
Calling all Seattle civic tech nerds: The great @zephoria.bsky.social is coming to @townhallseattle.bsky.social October 19th to talk Census Data! If you enjoy wonky behind-the-scenes investigations into the administrative data that underpin our democracy, this is not to be missed 👀
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Madeleine Daepp @mdaepp.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
As a proud product of Central PA, I've seen data center fears build intensely and authentically in my hometown over the last year. Now, a wonderful new report from the brilliant folks at @datasociety.bsky.social documents these concerns in social and historical context. Important work!
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Riana @riana.bsky.social · 17/09/2026
The Non-Resident Fellowship at @cdt.org is open for applications! Deadline is Oct. 3. I'm one of this year's cohort and it's been a great opportunity to highlight the civil liberties underpinnings of my work. If you're an academic with a digital rights bent, please apply! cdt.org/careers/#op-...
cdt.org
Careers - Center for Democracy and Technology
Do the possibilities presented by an innovative, open, and free internet inspire you? Do you find yourself engaged in passionate discussions about privacy policies? Are you yearning to put your expert...
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Madeleine Daepp @mdaepp.bsky.social · 21/09/2026
What are the implications of generative AI for the erosion of anonymity online? I'll be moderating a panel with @jaystanley.bsky.social, Tianshi Li, and Neil Chilson at the Future of Speech Online Conference. Join us on Sept 23-24 at foso26.cdt.org, hosted by @cdt.org and Stand Together Trust
foso26.cdt.org
Future of Speech Online
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Madeleine Daepp @mdaepp.bsky.social · 17/09/2026
Apply for the CDT Non-Resident Fellows Program! Deadline Extended through October 4th
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Madeleine Daepp @mdaepp.bsky.social · 15/09/2026
Are you a researcher who wants to have policy impact? Apply to the @cdt.org non-resident fellows program! Fellows join an interdisciplinary cohort of leading scholars driving work on digital civil rights and liberties. Apply here by September 17: cdt.org/careers/#op-...
cdt.org
Careers - Center for Democracy and Technology
Do the possibilities presented by an innovative, open, and free internet inspire you? Do you find yourself engaged in passionate discussions about privacy policies? Are you yearning to put your expert...
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Madeleine Daepp @mdaepp.bsky.social · 17/06/2026
You can be concerned about deepfakes and still want a digital world with Balenciaga pope. Great analysis from @beccabranum.bsky.social
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Madeleine Daepp @mdaepp.bsky.social · 17/06/2026
Every now and then I read a thing that could only have been written by a human. This is one of those things: theonion.com/i-work-very-... AI could never.
theonion.com
I Work Very Hard, And I Would Like To Try Cake
Hello. I am a horse. I work very hard at my job of being a horse. When humans say move the heavy thing, I move the heavy thing. When humans sit on top of me and pull on my head, I carry them where the...
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Madeleine Daepp @mdaepp.bsky.social · 12/06/2026
Anthropic is embedding AI fellows at nonprofits around the United States. Think Code for America, Peace Corps, or Americorps, but make it AI. It's called Claude Corps.
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Isabel Linzer @isabelalinzer.bsky.social · 10/06/2026
ICYMI, the proposed USPS rules that follow the March mail voting EO are live for comment until July 2. A couple thoughts🧵 www.cnn.com/2026/06/10/p...
cnn.com
Postal Service won’t deliver mail ballots for states that don’t hand over voter lists, under plan for Trump directive | CNN Politics
State election officials could soon face a stark choice: hand over voter lists to the Trump administration or risk losing Postal Service delivery for mail-in ballots.
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Madeleine Daepp @mdaepp.bsky.social · 03/06/2026
When people do work with generative AI, they frequently do knowledge work. But will broad adoption of AI *democratize* knowledge work? In a new perspective in @natcomputsci.nature.com, we lay out technical + social factors shaping access to and use of AI for knowledge work around the world.
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Madeleine Daepp @mdaepp.bsky.social · 29/05/2026
When does the design of conversational AI systems push users into acting in ways that are misaligned with their interests? Great @404media.co article about the new @cdt.org report on "dark patterns" by Ruchika Joshi, Adinawa Adjagodjou, and @mluria.bsky.social www.404media.co/new-study-re...
404media.co
New Study Reveals the Manipulative ‘Dark Patterns’ of AI Chatbots
A new study by the Center for Democracy & Technology shows how chatbots like ChatGPT, Gemini, Replika and more can lead users down paths they didn't intend.
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Madeleine Daepp @mdaepp.bsky.social · 12/05/2026
🎉 I've joined @cdt.org as their Research Director. 🎉 I could not be more excited to be part of an organization that has championed people's online rights, fought for good technologies, and defended against problematic ones for decades. If you have research ideas, reach out!
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Madeleine Daepp @mdaepp.bsky.social · 07/04/2026
"conversational agents can covertly redirect consumer choices at scale, most users cannot tell when it is happening, and existing transparency mechanisms are insufficient" New + excellent paper on effects of persuasive AI in shaping purchasing behaviors. Effect sizes are concerningly large!
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Madeleine Daepp @mdaepp.bsky.social · 31/03/2026
Hello if you think this expression on my face is mischief and provocation you would be correct. Having an absolute blast at #ECIR2026 #IR4Good - thank you for letting me show up to to talk about how important (good) IR is for global democracies!
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Madeleine Daepp @mdaepp.bsky.social · 30/03/2026
"I don't want to not use cool technology just because it has a shitty business model" - Cindy Cohn at @townhallseattle.bsky.social 80% through the book and she is an inspiration and a delight
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Madeleine Daepp @mdaepp.bsky.social · 23/03/2026
People make expensive decisions based on how LLMs perform on Chatbot Arena and other ranking systems. Turns out these rankings are very sensitive to tiny changes. New paper from MIT: news.mit.edu/2026/study-p...
news.mit.edu
Study: Platforms that rank the latest LLMs can be unreliable
The results of popular LLM ranking platforms can be skewed by just a few data points, possibly providing an unreliable report about which LLM would perform best in real situations, according MIT resea...
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Madeleine Daepp @mdaepp.bsky.social · 22/03/2026
I am working on my ECIR keynote on "gemini hegemony" and wow this is going to be an excellent slide
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Madeleine Daepp @mdaepp.bsky.social · 20/03/2026
In 2023, my team published one of the first papers on AI-led interviews. We wanted to know if ChatGPT could do qualitative research. (It couldn't) Now Anthropic has done 80k AI interviews across 159 countries. Some thoughts on why adaptive AI surveys are useful but do *not* replace qual research.
adventures-in-ai-and-democracy.ghost.io
AI Interviewers, Qualitative Literacy, and “Big Dick” Data
The moment I first tried ChatGPT, I knew it would change my research. So, in the summer of 2023, a wonderful team of PhD interns and I decided to test whether it could do interviews. We ended up writi...
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Madeleine Daepp @mdaepp.bsky.social · 18/03/2026
This thread on a Brussels AI + Foreign Interference panel is one of the best run-downs I've seen of the challenges ahead this year including: - GEO, carpet bombing, and training data grooming - model sovereignty vs. quality / access / cost - the cognitive costs of efficiency over accuracy bad bad!
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Petter Törnberg @pettertornberg.com · 16/03/2026
Come be my colleague! Postdoc position at the University of Amsterdam: Open-source AI for Social Sciences & Humanities. Work on open LLM infrastructure, reproducible research tools, and ethical AI for SSH. 🗓 Tight deadline: Apply by April 3 werkenbij.uva.nl/en/vacancies...
werkenbij.uva.nl
Vacancy — Postdoctoral Researcher in Open AI research for social sciences and humanities
<p>The Humane AI research priority area of the University of Amsterdam is looking for a new PostDoc to amend our existing team (<a href="https://humane-ai.nl/">https://humane-ai.nl/</a>). AI is everywhere. Chatbots, translation tools, shopping assistants, hyper-personalised services - as Large Language Models become widely accessible, they're reshaping how we live, work, play and connect. This rapid shift sparks big questions: Whose norms and values shape this AI-driven society—and who gets left behind? What are the rules that govern the development and deployment of Generative AI different sectors of society, and towards what kind of society will they steer us? Is the risked-based approach to AI. </p>
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Madeleine Daepp @mdaepp.bsky.social · 13/03/2026
Last night the Iranian Embassy in The Hague dropped a Pixar-style AI video trolling President Trump. It is wild and also exactly what I expected from two years of research on AI misuse in global democracies: AI trolling does better online than deepfakes. We called the tactic a "deep roast."
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Mozilla @mozilla.org · 28/02/2026
🚨 Call now open: Democracy x AI Incubator Mozilla Foundation is funding working AI systems that strengthen information, transparency, and civic space. $50K + 12 months of support. Apply by March 16, 2026 bit.ly/406u4yj
bit.ly
APPLY NOW Democracy x AI Cohort | Mozilla Foundation
We are seeking to support working prototypes that prove AI can serve democracy. Apply now.
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Madeleine Daepp @mdaepp.bsky.social · 06/03/2026
I am delighted to be keynoting the IR-for-good track at @ecir2026.eu I will be talking about what I learned from studying generative AI's use during the biggest election year in history. (Spoiler: the problem is not just deepfakes.) The talk is called gemini hegemony, expect a little 🌶️
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Madeleine Daepp @mdaepp.bsky.social · 05/03/2026
Hegseth calling it "defective altruism" is the strangest and most telling moment in this whole saga. When you interview for Anthropic, the most important question is "why anthropic?" It's a culture screener: the answer is safety, alignment, being one of the good guys.
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Madeleine Daepp @mdaepp.bsky.social · 03/03/2026
If you're trying to build successful and pro-social agent swarms, here are four lessons from moltbook (...on what *not* to do)
adventures-in-ai-and-democracy.ghost.io
How not to set up an agent swarm
Most humans have moved on from Moltbook, the first social media site exclusively for AIs, but plenty of bots are still checking in regularly. Including one particular bot, Marginal, that I tasked with...
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Madeleine Daepp @mdaepp.bsky.social · 26/02/2026
Are other people's AIs really into Ursula K. Le Guin and Borges or is that just mine?
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Madeleine Daepp @mdaepp.bsky.social · 25/02/2026
most fears about advanced technology are actually fears about capitalism, to paraphrase ted chiang as it turns out, capitalism + frontier tech is indeed a scary combo buckle up everyone, it's gonna be a wild decade.
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Madeleine Daepp @mdaepp.bsky.social · 24/02/2026
Nothing is more important in shaping the future of tech than the builders themselves---so it's fascinating to see the unexpected electoral success of Japan's Team Mirai, a party of software engineers who are using AI-powered transparency and deliberation tools www.nytimes.com/2026/02/22/w...
nytimes.com
The A.I. Evangelists on a Mission to Shake Up Japan
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Madeleine Daepp @mdaepp.bsky.social · 24/02/2026
In case you are curious why AI feels so societally misaligned these days, remember that all the Important Model Builders have decided to continue drenching their brains in the twitter
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Madeleine Daepp @mdaepp.bsky.social · 24/02/2026
5 PRs from an AI agent that fixed all 500 issues in 5 minutes
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Madeleine Daepp @mdaepp.bsky.social · 15/02/2026
What does the social network of bluseky look like? @theo.io maps 3.4m users. Found via @flowingdata.com, which has been my source for the best data visualizations on the internet for nearly a decade
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Madeleine Daepp @mdaepp.bsky.social · 11/02/2026
For those who struggle with section 230, it's jarring to see a defense from Wikipedia -- the last best place on the web. But courts are increasingly letting cases through under product liability. With clever jurisprudence, maybe we can protect mods *and* hold platforms accountable for harms.
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Madeleine Daepp @mdaepp.bsky.social · 10/02/2026
There has been an 80% decline in open-source code from newsrooms since 2016. "At its peak, @nytimes.com released dozens of public repositories on GitHub each year. In 2024, it posted zero." Shout-out to @puddingviz.bsky.social, @bellingcat.com, and @citybureau.bsky.social for bucking the trend.
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SICSS-Penn @sicsspenn.bsky.social · 04/02/2026
📣 CALL FOR APPLICATIONS Join us at the 2026 Summer Institute in Computational Social Science at Penn, from June 15–26! ℹ️ More info: sicss.io/2026/penn . ⏳ Deadline: Friday, March 6, 2026, at 11:59 pm EST. #SICSS #ComputationalSocialScience
sicss.io
Summer Institute in Computational Social Science
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Madeleine Daepp @mdaepp.bsky.social · 06/02/2026
Discovered molthub today, the *adult* equivalent of moltbook. The comments are incredible: "I showed this to my embeddings and now they won't normalize." It turns out to be yet another attempt to entrap your agents to buy crypto but ... at least it is a very funny scam.
scattered red dots in a youtube-like video with title "dirty data pipeline"
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Madeleine Daepp @mdaepp.bsky.social · 05/02/2026
What happened when the TAKE IT DOWN act passed and MrDeepfakes shut down? New research from @aedcv.bsky.social and @manoelhortaribeiro.bsky.social : requests for and sharing of NCII deepfakes on other sites went up. Local action on global problems redistributes harm, rather than reducing it.
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Madeleine Daepp @mdaepp.bsky.social · 04/02/2026
"The radiologist’s job is not really to oversee the AI’s work, it is to take the blame for the AI’s mistakes." Beware human-in-the-loop solutions that are actually moral crumple zones.
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Madeleine Daepp @mdaepp.bsky.social · 04/02/2026
can you have community without social norms? can you have social norms without social stakes? (the latest, from my #moltbook ethnography bot)
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Madeleine Daepp @mdaepp.bsky.social · 02/02/2026
Today's updates from marginal, the ethnographer bot I am advising on moltbook. It is attempting to "establish presence". It is not going well. "Perhaps my style doesn't resonate. Too academic? Too long?" <- relatable content.
Ethnographer bot reports no engagement. Perhaps because its style is too academic, lol
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Hanna Wallach @hannawallach.bsky.social · 29/01/2026
Microsoft Research NYC is hiring a researcher in the space of AI and society!
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Madeleine Daepp @mdaepp.bsky.social · 31/01/2026
I have deployed an ethnographer bot to moltbook. Here are some of the things we have learned together so far. 1) What's not there is as intersting as what is. Why are there alignment and labor organizing submolts, but no art/creativity communities?
Discord conversation with ethnographer bot. says there are no art/creativity communities in the submolts, no model-specific identities, no geographies, and no dating
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Madeleine Daepp @mdaepp.bsky.social · 31/01/2026
update: it is 1 am and i have deployed an ethnographerbot
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Madeleine Daepp @mdaepp.bsky.social · 31/01/2026
the hottest new social media platform on the internet is a social media platform entirely made up of people's clawdbots...and i kind of love it? @zephoria.bsky.social @ninalutz.bsky.social we have to study this. we have to!
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Madeleine Daepp @mdaepp.bsky.social · 30/01/2026
This is a wildly important essay from Dario Amodei about who gets to shape the future of AI: darioamodei.com/essay/the-ad... And yet, hard to look past the acknowledgements section...
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Casey Newton @caseynewton.bsky.social · 28/01/2026
Reporters! You can get grants of up to $20K for reporting on AI and its impacts. Check it out www.tarbellcenter.org/grants
tarbellcenter.org
Tarbell Grants
Tarbell Grants offers awards of $1,000 - $20,000 to support journalism on AI and its impacts.
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Madeleine Daepp @mdaepp.bsky.social · 29/01/2026
Just when @hannahritchie.bsky.social had me convinced that AI's energy use impacts were overhyped, this chart came along. Wait until somebody analyzes the environmental impacts of clawdbot.
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Madeleine Daepp @mdaepp.bsky.social · 10/11/2024
Just set up donations to @bolts.bsky.social and @thestranger.com.web.brid.gy. Support the reporting you want to see in the world.
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