I’m very grateful to the Electronic Frontier Foundation for naming me as one of the four recipients of its 2010 Pioneer Awards, which are intended “to recognize leaders on the electronic frontier who are extending freedom and innovation in the realm of information technology.”
EFF is not only a prominent voice of online freedom, but is itself a pioneer in confronting unlawful domestic surveillance, the use of the state secrets privilege by the Bush and Obama Administrations to foreclose litigation, and other difficult issues. So it’s an honor to be recognized by this outstanding organization.
The EFF Pioneer Awards ceremony will be held November 8 in San Francisco and is open to the public. For ticket information and other background see here.
The clearinghouse will also neutrally mediate the assignment of auditors to audits—strengthening independence, trust, and ethical governance across the AI ecosystem.
The potential implication of these evidence gaps becomes more consequential when you look at how institutions actually make decisions day to day.
Every new institution inherits something – existing incentives, existing staff, decades of prior investment that shaped what’s possible.
This is not the first time Google has agreed to censor imagery at the behest of governments, but be warned: obfuscation at this broad level poses a direct threat to the public’s ability to monitor and scrutinize government operations.