iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Reposted by Jessica Vitak

J. Nathan Matias @natematias.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

Wow. LinkedIn's algorithm really did not want people to see @sarahagilbert.bsky.social's important article on preserving human connection from AI. Out of 10,200 impressions on my posts last week, LinkedIn only showed @sarahagilbert.bsky.social's article to 65. www.techpolicy.press/millions-of-...

techpolicy.press

Millions of Volunteers Are Keeping the Internet Human. For Now.

We’re never going back to the human internet we had. But we can hope for a better internet than the AI-dominated one that is emerging, writes Sarah Gilbert.

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Reposted by Jessica Vitak

Joseph Cox @josephcox.bsky.social · 14/09/2026

New from 404 Media: humans are reading ChatGPT conversations. OpenAI has hired an army of contractors who read real ChatGPT users' chats. I've seen internal docs, the review system, and real user prompts. Sometimes they contain very personal and sensitive information www.404media.co/inside-proje...

404media.co

Inside ‘Project Lily’: The Humans Reading Your ChatGPT Chats

Humans are reading ChatGPT users’ prompts to improve OpenAI’s models, and those chats can include sensitive, personal information, according to leaked internal documents and real prompts seen by 404 M...

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Jessica Vitak @vitak.bsky.social · 25/07/2026

I think I’ve found my perfect side hustle. Charcuterie boards are out. Cookie trays are in!

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WeRateDogs @weratedogs.com · 21/07/2026

This pup has not forgotten about egg prices. Eggs are very important to him. Doesn't matter why, but it took weeks to save for this one. Thought this was a top priority. Starting to wonder if maybe that wasn't true. 12/10 (credit: u/iztek)

a fluffy white dog sits on hardwood flooring in front of a white wall. he has a single brown egg resting upright on top of his noggin. he looks up with only his eyes so as not to drop the egg. in this economy it is potentially his most valuable possession.

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Sean Marshall @seanyyz.bsky.social · 14/07/2026

Why I’m a fan of the Oxford comma.

TORONTO STAR
BOOK REVIEW
Sylvia Plath, a New York vigilante and Shah of Iran featured in latest historical fiction

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Jessica Vitak @vitak.bsky.social · 14/07/2026

I took the advice to at least photograph them all before disposing, and spent some time reflecting on how awesome it is that I have gotten to travel all over the world to share my research over the last 20 years. I also discovered some lanyards are not built to last and I’m now covered in blue dust.

Overhead shot of 60-80name rags and lanyards.

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Jessica Vitak @vitak.bsky.social · 09/07/2026

What does one do with 15+ years of conference name tags and lanyards? It feels oddly painful to just throw them out but I can’t keep them.

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Kate Starbird @katestarbird.bsky.social · 25/06/2026

Everybody needs to go hear Naomi Oreskes explain how Monsanto manipulated the science to obscure health concerns about Roundup — including ghost-writing papers that became touchstones in their denialism.

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Dr. Casey Fiesler @cfiesler.bsky.social · 24/06/2026

... also on Sunday, @vitak.bsky.social and I will be presenting a tutorial on a data ethics decision support tool based on almost a decade of empirical research around research ethics for public/pervasive data! #FAccT2026

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HCIL @hcil-umd.bsky.social · 29/05/2026

While we're celebrating today, we want to give a special shout-out to the six HCIL faculty who were recently promoted: **Associate Prof w/Tenure: Ge Gao, Huaishu Peng, Leo Zhicheng Liu, and Caro Pierce-Wiliams **Full Prof: Sheena Erete & Eun Kyoung Choe Congrats all! 🎉

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HCIL @hcil-umd.bsky.social · 29/05/2026

Today we hold our 43rd annual HCIL symposium to celebrate the amazing research being conducted in the US' oldest HCI lab. Read more and download the program (with abstracts for all the talks) here: hcil.umd.edu/hcil-symposi...

hcil.umd.edu

HCIL's 43rd Annual Symposium | May 29, 2026 - Human-Computer Interaction Lab

Join us Friday, May 29 to learn about the cutting-edge research in happening in the HCIL! In this full-day event (held in the Iribe building on UMD’s campus and on Zoom), we’ll hear from faculty and s...

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Reposted by Jessica Vitak

John Scalzi @scalzi.com · 13/05/2026

"If she has her own house, what will she need me for?" I don't know, dude, maybe be cool and fun to be around and be happy for her success instead being whiny little sad-ass troll about it? www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle...

theguardian.com

Single women are buying more houses. The men they are dating are not responding well

Female home owners report feeling stuck between men’s contradictory expectations – they are told to be independent, but not assume the breadwinner role

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Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 06/05/2026

very normal behavior by KA$H here (gift link) www.theatlantic.com/politics/202...

After my story appeared, I heard from people in Patel’s orbit and people he has met at public functions, who told me that it is not unusual for him to travel with a supply of personalized branded bourbon. The bottles bear the imprint of the Kentucky distillery Woodford Reserve, and are engraved with the words “kash patel fbi director,” as well as a rendering of an FBI shield. Surrounding the shield is a band of text featuring Patel’s director title and his favored spelling of his first name: ka$h. An eagle holds the shield in its talons, along with the number 9, presumably a reference to Patel’s place in the history of FBI directors. In some cases, the 750-milliliter bottles bear Patel’s signature, with “#9” there as well. One such bottle popped up on an online auction site shortly after my story appeared, and The Atlantic later purchased it. (The person who sold it to us did not want to be named, but said that the bottle was a gift from Patel at an event in Las Vegas.)

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Kate Kaye @katekaye.bsky.social · 06/05/2026

Nearly 5 ago while covering AI & data at Protocol, I noticed the massive Infrastructure Act funded controversial surveillance tech inside vehicles - stuff that attempts to detect driver impairment or distraction. It was already closer to reality in the EU at the time.

web.archive.org

Get ready for cars that read your mood

"If you're absolutely upset, well, the car can know that," said one maker of driver-monitoring AI, which could get a boost from the new law.

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Michael Zimmer @michaelzimmer.bsky.social · 27/04/2026

The April 2026 @acm-sigchi.bsky.social research ethics column by @cfiesler.bsky.social, @vitak.bsky.social, and me asks: "is it ever ethical to violate a platform’s Terms of Service to conduct research?" (Spoiler: it's complicated) sigchi.org/news/newslet... 1/3

sigchi.org

Newsletters

ACM SIGCHI is the leading international community of students and professionals interested in research, education, and practical applications of Human Computer Interaction.

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HCIL @hcil-umd.bsky.social · 15/04/2026

HCIL at #chi2026! Read more about the lab’s contributions here: hcil.umd.edu/posts/chi-20...

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Jessica Vitak @vitak.bsky.social · 12/04/2026

I’ll be at #chi2026 this week in Barcelona. Looking forward to chatting with many awesome HCI peeps!

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SOUPS @soupsconference.bsky.social · 23/03/2026

Reminder that the call for workshops is open, with a deadline of this Thursday, March 26th. Workshops are split between Sunday and Monday this year, so you have some options for how to use one or both of those days. soups.page/workshops.html

soups.page

SOUPS - Symposium On Usable Privacy and Security

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George Pearkes @peark.es · 05/03/2026

Azerbaijan just closed airspace "in the south of the country" per Bloomberg macro squawk. Losing that link would have a massive impact on Europe-Asia (incl the Indian subcontinent and ANZ) air travel.

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Reposted by Jessica Vitak

Hypervisible @hypervisible.blacksky.app · 20/02/2026

“The fact that Meta’s legal team appears to have come to this hearing in a trial over the dangers their systems cause equipped with invasive glasses that put jurors and others in the courtroom at risk is a bit on the nose.”

theverge.com

Smart glasses in court are a privacy nightmare

Putting smart glasses on trial.

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Reposted by Jessica Vitak

PERVADE Team @pervade-ethics.bsky.social · 20/02/2026

We enjoyed demoing the PERVADE Data Ethics Decision Support Tool, designed to support reflexive research ethics education, at @sigcse-ts.bsky.social in St. Louis. @vitak.bsky.social and @michaelzimmer.bsky.social got great feedback from #TS2026 attendees.

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Jessica Vitak @vitak.bsky.social · 18/02/2026

I am SHOCKED. Shocked I tell you!

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Jessica Vitak @vitak.bsky.social · 12/02/2026

Just saw the news about James Van Der Beek. Especially disheartening to see another Xennial dying from colorectal cancer far too young. Please pay attention to your body. Get checked out if something changes. Colonoscopies are really not that bad -- I know, I've had seven. Also, fuck cancer.

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Kate McKean @katemckean.bsky.social · 11/02/2026

Over on threads someone just use ai;dr and we all need to adopt that right quick

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Reposted by Jessica Vitak

Marshini @ineffablicious.bsky.social · 09/02/2026

Interested in privacy, law, policy, and technology? Consider submitting to our annual symposium on Contextual Integrity - deadline is Feb 13!

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HCIL @hcil-umd.bsky.social · 09/02/2026

Join us at 12:30pm ET Thursday, 2/12, in the HCIL Lab (HBK 2105) or online for our weekly brown bag speaker series. We'll hear from Dr. Gabriel Kaptchuk on "On Using Differential Privacy" Visit hcil.umd.edu/bbl-speaker-... for more information.

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Reposted by Jessica Vitak

Laurel Krahn @windowseat.bsky.social · 06/02/2026

Want to help people in Minnesota? The best place to start is: www.standwithminnesota.com You can donate money to people who need it, donate airline miles, send supportive messages, & read about other things to do to help or prepare your own community: www.standwithminnesota.com/actions-to-t...

How to Help
Minnesota
in light purple letters with dark purple background
on a glittery background that includes stars

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ProPublica @propublica.org · 09/02/2026

1/ ProPublica collected handwritten letters in mid-January from children held at the Dilley Immigration Processing Center, the same facility where 5-year-old Liam Conejo Ramos was taken. Hundreds of kids are still detained. We’ll let the children’s words speak for themselves. 🧵

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Jessica Vitak @vitak.bsky.social · 08/02/2026

Open your eyes people. Just because they don't have gas chambers doesn't mean these detention centers aren't concentration camps. If you were horrified reading accounts of the Nazis during WW2, you should be horrified now.

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Reposted by Jessica Vitak

Tech Policy Press @techpolicypress.bsky.social · 02/02/2026

In his forthcoming book, Your Data Will Be Used Against You, George Washington University Law School professor Andrew Guthrie Ferguson explores how sensor-driven technologies, social media monitoring, and artificial intelligence can be weaponized against democratic values and personal freedoms.

buff.ly

How to Apply the 'Tyrant Test' to Technology

George Washington University Law School professor Andrew Guthrie Ferguson is the author of the forthcoming book Your Data Will Be Used Against You.

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HCIL @hcil-umd.bsky.social · 02/02/2026

Join us at 12:30pm ET Thursday, 2/5 , in the lab (HBK 2105) or online for our weekly brown bag speaker series. This week we'll hear from two researchers about their UIST papers! Visit hcil.umd.edu/bbl-speaker-... for more information

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Reposted by Jessica Vitak

ACM CSCW @acm-cscw.bsky.social · 29/01/2026

📢 CSCW is piloting a rolling submissions experiment. 🔸 More flexibility for authors 🔸 Emphasis on paper quality over deadline pressure 🧪 Important: Only a small number of papers will be invited to participate, and authors can nominate their work for possible selection. cscw.acm.org/2026/rolling...

cscw.acm.org

CSCW 2026

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Ian Coldwater 🧊🚫 @lookitup.baby · 26/01/2026

Signal will never message you like this. If you get a message like this, SOMEONE IS TRYING TO HACK YOUR SIGNAL. DO NOT GIVE THEM THAT CODE.

Message from "Signal Support"

Dear User, this is Signal Security
Support ChatBot.

Our system has detected a recent login attempt to your account from an unrecognized device or location. As a security measure, we have blocked this attempt and sent a verification code via
SMS to your registered phone number.

If this was NOT you: To secure your account and block this unauthorized access, please reply to this message with the verification code
you just received.

If this WAS you:
You can safely ignore this message. The login attempt will be automatically approved shortly.

Thank you for helping us keep your
account secure.

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Reposted by Jessica Vitak

Don Moynihan @donmoyn.bsky.social · 25/01/2026

From the NY Post. You know they are really scrambling when they are running "The gun was no angel" stories.

Alex Pretti’s Sig handgun has history of accidentally firing — offering possible clue to why Border agent shot him

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Jessica Vitak @vitak.bsky.social · 23/01/2026

I finally returned a book to the university library today after renewing it every six months for the last 7-8 years. It was time. Be free Cambridge Handbook of Consumer Privacy. Be free!

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Dan Greene @dmgreene.bsky.social · 22/01/2026

UMD's College of Information is hiring lecturers in five areas: networking fundamentals, information design, security, programming and databases, and experiential learning. 3-3 load, $95k-$102k. I love working here. Asshole-free environment. Spread the word! Not on the committee but happy to talk.

umd.wd1.myworkdayjobs.com

Lecturer (Open Rank)

Job Description Summary & Additional Information Organization's Summary Statement: Position Summary The College of Information at the University of Maryland, College Park (INFO), invites applicati...

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Jessica Vitak @vitak.bsky.social · 22/01/2026

I'm seriously considering buying this shirt and wearing it to every meeting I'm running from here on out.

Picture of blue t-shirt featuring a woman riding a horse and carrying a lasso. There are several cats running in front of the horse and some cacti. The text on the shirt reads, "Nothing to see here, just herding my cats."

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David Brauer @dbrauer.net · 22/01/2026

Harrowing NY Times expose of the FBI, with some operational details of Minneapolis investigations & comments from ex-agents on the current federal occupation. The FBI is more fucked than you expect, which makes them less effective AND more dangerous. www.nytimes.com/interactive/... (gift link)

nytimes.com

Kash Patel’s FBI Is Making America Less Safe, Current and Former Employees Say (Gift Article)

Forty-five current and former employees on the changes they say are undermining the agency and making America less safe.

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Jessica Vitak @vitak.bsky.social · 20/01/2026

Did you have a qualitative paper rejected from #chi2026? As you're revising for your next submission, check out this crowdsourced document containing common critiques of qualitative research and ideas for responding -- and add any new critiques you've encountered: docs.google.com/document/d/1...

docs.google.com

Reviewer Critiques (Qualitative Methods) and How to Respond to Them

Reviewer Critiques (Qualitative Methods) and How to Respond to Them Author: Jessica Vitak (+ anyone who adds to the document) About This Document (and a disclaimer) Reviewing is a highly subjective pr...

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Andrew Couts @couts.bsky.social · 15/01/2026

NEW: 17 different models of Bluetooth headphones and speakers can be hijacked to play audio, eavesdrop thru mics, and in some cases even track your location—unless you install a patch, which many people don't. @agreenberg.bsky.social & @lhn.bsky.social w/ the scoop: www.wired.com/story/google...

wired.com

Hundreds of Millions of Audio Devices Need a Patch to Prevent Wireless Hacking and Tracking

Flaws in how 17 models of headphones and speakers use Google’s one-tap Fast Pair Bluetooth protocol have left devices open to eavesdroppers and stalkers.

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