Police frequently target religious minorities and communities of color. An investigation by the Electronic Frontier Foundation discovered that Oakland police were disproportionately using ALPR technology in Black and Latino neighborhoods. eff.org/deeplinks/2015…

STPP faculty member Joy Rohde explores the ethical implications of defense funding in social science in an article published in Defense Policy & Posture. @JoyRohde bit.ly/3KiKfR8

“There’s a lot of secrecy about all of these surveillance technologies and the ways that they’re used,” STPP Managing Director @mollyali told the New York Times about the use of automated license plate readers. Read the article: nyti.ms/3Ubile2

“Honest reckoning with that relationship (between social scientists and defense officials) requires a broad and deep contextual analysis that situates it in a broad field of contested moral values and political relationships,” says STPP faculty @JoyRohde. bit.ly/3KiKfR8

One week from today, join us for 2023 the LSI SciComm lecture! Liz Neeley (LizNeeley) & Ed Yong (Ed Yong is not here) will discuss the art & science of sense-making in a time of crisis. myumi.ch/lsi-SciCommSer… Co-hosts: University of Michigan School of Public Health, U-M SEAS, U-M College of Pharmacy, UMich Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, STPP

Can a Toilet Save the World? STPP Director Shobita Parthasarathy (on bsky under same handle) recently gave a talk at Western University Western University Rotman Philosophy on how tech for good initiatives are shaping public order. Read more! bit.ly/3MZwYQr

We are excited to announce the latest policy brief from our Community Partnerships Initiative, “The Risks of Pretrial Risk Assessment Tools: Policy Considerations for Michigan” by research assistant Ember McCoy. Ember McCoy bit.ly/3LtLkps

The Science, Technology, and Public Policy program (STPP) at University of Michigan @FordSchool has analyzed pretrial risk assessment tools and finds serious concerns with their validity and bias, concluding that they should play no role in pretrial release decisions. Ember McCoy

Risk assessment tools are often mischaracterized as objective tech that removes human biases from decision-making processes, but they can replicate the same inequities that bail reform seeks to resolve. Ember McCoy bit.ly/3LtLkps

“By relying on biased data and focusing on negative outcomes, pretrial risk assessment tools do not accurately predict pretrial violence or flight risk,” our recent policy brief determined. Ember McCoy bit.ly/3LtLkps

As we describe in our policy brief, we have serious concerns with the ability of pretrial risk assessment tools to generate accurate, valid, reliable, and unbiased outcomes and to address root causes of pretrial violence and flight risk. Ember McCoy bit.ly/3LtLkps

“Most defendants fail to appear in court due to minor inconveniences: they missed the bus, could not arrange childcare or time off work, or were subject to a clerical error or schedule misunderstanding.” Ember McCoy bit.ly/3LtLkps

Excited to share this new article in Boston Review from Shobita Parthasarathy (on bsky under same handle), "Can Innovation Serve the Public Good?" helping us to imagine more collaborative and equitable processes for technological innovation. bostonreview.net/articles/can-i…