Information Disorder, New Media Ecosystems and Democracy: From Dysfunction to Resilience
Date and time
Location
Description
Public communication is increasingly distorted by disinformation, manipulation, and divisive rhetoric. And as digital systems become inseparable from all aspects of our lives, we urgently need better ways of identifying and responding to information disorder, to ensure that we can build thriving, trustworthy democratic institutions. To (re)build public life, we need the skill and strength of multidisciplinary communities that understand these challenges and can tackle them through short- and long-term action.
Join us for a special invitation-only symposium as we build a diverse community of research and practice, and strategize about how to ensure that technology and media work for people, and toward justice. This two-day event will bring together researchers, practitioners, technologists, journalists, policymakers, and funders—curated by Colin Maclay of the USC Annenberg Innovation Lab in collaboration with technologist Ashkan Soltani; Nicco Mele of the Shorenstein Center on Media, Politics and Public Policy; Claire Wardle of the Shorenstein Center’s First Draft project; Joan Donovan of Data & Society Research Institute; Ethan Zuckerman of the MIT Center for Civic Media; and Rob Faris of Harvard’s Berkman Klein Center for Internet & Society.
Drawing on the recent surge of convenings focused on disinformation, this gathering will harness diverse perspectives to challenge our thinking and create fresh understandings of what we know—and don’t know. Together, we will identify interventions we can advance now, and develop a shared infrastructure for responding to future challenges. This will require acknowledging the limits of our varied institutional practices, and a willingness to upset our normal modes of operation. We’ll seize on the current momentum to pursue real progress in June and beyond.
Supported by the Ford Foundation, Knight Foundation and Craig Newmark Philanthropies.
Nearby hotels include the Porter Square Hotel.
Even if you replied to the Save the Date, please also be sure to register for additional information and access.
Agenda
Wednesday, June 6
5:30 pm to 7:30pm
Join us for an opening night reception at the Loeb House.
Loeb House is situated within the walls surrounding historic Harvard Yard directly across the street from the Faculty Club. See directions and parking information here.
Thursday, June 7
*June 7-8 programming will take place on Harvard Law School campus in Wasserstein Hall located at 1585
Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, MA 02138. A map of and directions to campus can be found here.
Day One aims to discuss, explore, and create a shared understanding of the complex topics and ambitious solutions our elds are grappling with surrounding information disorder. Taking into account the diverse expertise and lived experience of the attendees, we invite spirited engagement around the challenges faced, interdependencies between problems and their interventions, and our vision for a future media environment
8:30am-6:00pm
Wasserstein Hall; Milstein West AB space (Room 2019, second floor)
8:00am Breakfast
8:30am WELCOME
Colin Maclay, Research Professor and Executive Director, Annenberg Innovation Lab, USC
Lawrence Bacow, President-elect, Harvard University
9:00am LIGHTNING TALKS AND GROUP DISCUSSION
Old Forces and New Dynamics Create Wicked Problems
Disinformation, emerging technologies, polarization, and challenges in journalism are not new, but in our current sociotechnical environment, the interactions among them are novel and powerful. Beyond each element’s own dynamics, they comprise a complex system, which requires us to understand both the perceived problems and potential responses in relationship to each other.
Joy Buolamwini on AI, Ain’t I a Woman?
Tristan Harris on The Attention Economy: Time Well Spent
Sam Gregory on Deepfakes (and other AI-manipulated Media): What Should We Fear, What Could We Do Caroline Jack on Business as Usual: Persuasion and Pro t in Historical Perspective
Kjerstin Thorson on Changing Technologies and the Visibility of Politics in Everyday Life
Moderator Claire Wardle
10am COFFEE
10:30am CONVERSATION
How Platforms Change ... and Change Us
Everything from personal relationships to labor markets, from political contests to social justice movements, is organized on social media platforms. What priorities guide what Tarleton Gillespie calls “custodians of the Internet”? How do they evolve? And what power do they have over society and democracy?
Julia Angwin, Journalist
Tarleton Gillespie, Principal Researcher, Microsoft Research New England
Moderator Mike Ananny Assistant Professor, Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism, USC
11:00 am LIGHTNING TALKS AND GROUP DISCUSSION
Out of Context and Out of Control
While much public attention has focused on news and politics, the problem space is more complex. Disinformation campaigns are designed to impact social institutions by striking at the foundations of society. When disinformation is repeatedly shared using platforms, marginalized and at-risk populations experience a loss of control over representation.
danah boyd on Undermining Data Infrastructure
Cherian George on Hate Merchants’ Resilient Supply Chains Need a Demand-Side Response An Xiao Mina on Disinformation and Social Movements: A Global Perspective
Aaron Rieke on Ad-Tech and Civil Rights
Moderator Joan Donovan
12:00 pm LUNCH
1:15 pm PERFORMANCE
What It’s Like to Live in This World
Regie Gibson Lecturer, Literary Performer, Educator
1:30 pm LIGHTNING TALKS AND GROUP DISCUSSION
Recognizing and Addressing the Limitations of Practical Interventions
In addressing information disorder, there is no silver bullet. Instead, the solution might look more like silver buckshot. Recently, an array of interventions— powered by the commitment, creativity and investment of technologists, platforms, researchers, academics and more—are starting to show promise. Yet, their potential success is threatened by the need for speed, scale and acceleration. How do sectoral collaboration, systemic approaches and human idiosyncrasies factor into the solution?
Kate Klonick on The New Governors and the Free Speech Triangle
Rebecca Mackinnon on Carrots and Sticks: Incentivizing Corporate Change Talia Stroud on The Problem of Partisanship
Moderator Rob Faris
2:30pm CONVERSATION
Research-Industry Relationships and Data Diversity
Much attention—and tension—around understanding the power of technology companies has centered on accessing, analyzing, and tracing the signi cance of quantitative data. While such data tell a key part of the story, they are also complicated and contingent products of human culture and practices. How can we tell more nuanced stories about technology companies and data-drenched societies through long-standing traditions of critical ethnography, science and technology studies, and value-driven design?
Mary Gray Senior Researcher, Microsoft Research
Nick Seaver Assistant Professor of Anthropology, Tufts University
Moderator Mike Ananny Assistant Professor, Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism, USC
3:00 pm BREAK
3:30 pm LIGHTNING TALKS AND GROUP DISCUSSION
Policy Interventions and Considerations
After years of modest public policy progress, Europe and countries around the world are creating and considering new legislation—without fully understanding the implications, interdependcies and consequences of such policies. We will discuss what policy interventions are possible, what’s been proposed so far (both in the US and internationally), and what we think will ultimately work.
Heather West on What’s in Play in the US? Proposed Regulatory and Technical Interventions Taylor Owen on International Approach (CA and Overseas)
Faiza Patel on Unexpected Impacts: Regulation, Free Speech, and Privacy
Andrew McLaughlin on What’s Likely, What’s Effective?
Moderator Ashkan Soltani
4:30 pm BREAK
4:45 pm CONVERSATION
Research Agendas and Infrastructures
While we have made signi cant progress in documenting and understanding elements of our media ecosystems, there remain far more questions than answers. As we consider interventions to a changing information landscape, high-quality and up-to-date insights are essential. Our questions, methods and supports must anticipate that dynamics will continue to shift over time. What are the cross-cutting research questions in this eld? What data and tools do we need? What do we need to build so these questions become answerable?
David Lazer Professor, Political Science and Computer and Information Science, Northeastern University Claire Wardle Research Fellow, Shorenstein Center on Media, Politics and Public Policy
Moderator Ethan Zuckerman Director, Center for Civic Media, MIT
5:15 pm REFLECTIONS
6:00pm CLOSE AND RECEPTION
Friday, June 8
9:00am - 3:00pm
Wasserstein Hall; Milstein West AB space (Room 2019, second floor)
Expanding on the discussions and learnings from Day One, Day Two will focus on a series of working sessions, designed to re ne our insights, identify opportunities for interdisciplinary interventions, and outline tangible steps that challenge our organizations, institutions, and personal assumptions, as well as support resilient media and democracy.
Topics for the Working Sessions.
8:30am BREAKFAST
9:00 am WELCOME
9:15 am PLENARY 1
New Infrastructures: Research Collaborations and Resources
10:15am WORKING SESSIONS OVERVIEW
10:30am WORKING SESSION 1
11:45am LUNCH
12:45-m WORKING SESSION 2
2:00 pm PLENARY 2
Institutional Change: Work in Emerging Domains and Spaces
2:45 pm REFLECTIONS AND NEXT STEPS
3:00pm CLOSE