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Digital Superheroes Call for Papers
by Sarah Young 24 Sep '21

24 Sep '21

Hi All, This call for chapters might be of interest to some on this list. The Digital Age of Superheroes: Superheroes and Data Superhumans have long been leading stars of popular culture, from their inception as the masked vigilantes of the early 1900s to the recent blockbuster Marvel and DC film series and accompanying media. With the recent closure of Marvel’s Phase 3, and the seemingly unavoidable permeation of superhero genre elements to a variety of visual media, it is an apt time to look back on the genre’s explosion to prominence over the last decade. Following Peter Coogan’s proposal that superhero texts constituted a genre of its own, the superhero’s connection to nationalism (Dittmer, 2013; Murray, 2011), identity (Robbins, 1996; Brown, 2011; Easthope, 1990), mythology (Reynolds, 1992; Eco, 1972), and fan culture (Jenkins, Shresthova, Kligler-Vilenchik, and Gamber-Thompson, 2016. Brown, 2012) has been explored. The development of the superhero may be charted through its engagement in different posthuman expressions (Jeffery, 2016), and focus on social developments (Gibson, Ormrod, and Huxley, 2015). In reacting to the zeitgeist, or prevailing focus, of an era, the superhero has previously fought Nazis, participated in Cold War tensions, and addressed the careful balance of government oversight and civilian independence following acts of terrorism and subsequent legislation. How, though, are superheroes reacting to our zeitgeist, the age of digital media? How have superheroes adapted to this new world, and how might they help us understand it and our place within it? While superheroes as depicted in comics, film, and television are popular scholarly areas of inquiry, less attention has been paid to the intersection of the digital and the superhuman. Digital elements not only provide the tools or backdrops for the superhero, digital pieces can also permeate and compose the superhuman body. Superhumans can be digital themselves, their stories are increasingly delivered in digitized ways, and their use of technology can be prominent features of their superhero identity (e.g. Iron Man, Batman). We invite article abstracts on the theme of digital superheroes and their relationship with the internet and data to form a collection of essays addressing this unexplored intersection. We are particularly interested in topics that explore: - Digital superhumans - Transmedia/platform superhuman storytelling - Superhero video games - Digital distribution of superhuman genres - Importance and use of new/digital media and digital media aesthetics in superhuman genres (how do these effects change the ethos of the super?) - Superhero fan cultures and the internet - Surveillance and/or privacy and the superhuman. - Hauntology of the web and its expression in superhero texts. - Connection, community, and crisis We encourage contributions from all disciplines and interdisciplinary approaches as we aim to address a wide spectrum of angles on this intersection. Article abstracts of 300 words and a short author biography should be submitted to freyja.mccreery(a)york.ac.uk and sarahyoung(a)arizona.edu by 5pm GMT on Friday 19th November 2021 with the subject line “SuperData”. Manuscripts of approximately 5000 words will be due the following June 2022. Many thanks, Sarah Young Adjunct Instructor, University of Arizona School of Information

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Twitter Space 10 AM EST Friday September 24 - "Bots deletions trolls suspensions etc"
by Stuart Shulman 23 Sep '21

23 Sep '21

Are you interested in "Bots deletions trolls suspensions etc"? If so, use the Twitter app to join Marcelo Santos (https://twitter.com/celoo) and Stuart Shulman (https://twitter.com/stuartwshulman) who will co-host a small group of interesting guest speakers as we launch a new Twitter Space on this topic. If you study Twitter data, you will definitely want to listen in at 10 AM EST Friday September 24. https://twitter.com/i/spaces/1kvJpoMmQjPGE Some cool things about Twitter Spaces. It's like a radio show you can have on in the background. No typing is required, so you can just listen while doing other things. There are chances to ask questions and dialogue. You can connect to other listeners and speakers via Twitter during the show. There are moments of serious chemistry and learning. With the exception of Spaces devoted to cryptocurrency, I have found the random connections and conversations in the Spaces I have dabbled in to be really interesting. Please join us if you have an interest and email me directly if you want to be a guest in a future iteration of this Space devoted to Twitter research. ~Stu

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CFP: Source Code Criticism: The Hermeneutics, Philology, and Didactics of Algorithms
by Hannes Bajohr 23 Sep '21

23 Sep '21

*CFP: Source Code Criticism: The Hermeneutics, Philology, and Didactics of Algorithms* Algorithms determine our situation. From bubble sort to Google’s Page Rank, credit scores, and predictive policing, the logic of algorithms intervenes at every step in our lives. Some operate opaquely, shielding their inner workings from curious eyes. Others strive to be transparent, are shared on repositories like GitHub, and follow an ethics of open source accountability. In both cases, however, a more than trivial effort is required to understand the source codes in which algorithms are usually written. The workshop “Source Code Criticism: Hermeneutics, Philology, and Didactics of Algorithms” examines the various ways in which code can be read, interpreted, and made accessible to current and future readers, and investigates its role both as often impenetrable societal force as well as a very particular type of text. In the widest sense, any chain of operation including human and non-human elements requiring symbolic operations is an algorithm. In a narrower sense, however, when we speak of algorithms, we usually mean the texts of higher-level programming languages like Python, Java, or C++. As text, source code is anything but ordinary. It acts as an agent in complex chains of operations and its effects are not confined to the computer alone but impact social, legal, and economic relations in the real world. Algorithms are thus social constructs functioning at the interfaces between humans and machines, implemented in concrete platforms and written by actual humans. A hermeneutics of algorithms has to take this social reality of source codes into account in addressing such questions as: What is the ontological status of algorithms? What is their social, legal, and economic agency? And in what constellations is their apparent objectivity at odds with their cultural embeddedness? Codes are peculiar texts in other ways as well. They perform actions when executed, reducing expressive language to pure imperatives applied to otherwise inert data structures. They are thus at the same time more than and less than ordinary language, requiring a philology that is equally at home in computer science as in textual criticism. However, source code is by its very nature already deeply philological: If philologists contextualise and enrich the source text through commentary, programmers habitually integrate such commentary into their source code. As non-executable lines that are skipped by the compiler, comments are used to elucidate the workings of the code to their current or future readers. Computer scientist Donald Knuth first formulated the idea of software development as a kind of philological critique and proposed that source code should be as intensely documented as possible, thus rendering algorithms self-explanatory, transparent, and comprehensible not only for their authors but also for later readers and editors. The workshop wants to ask what it would mean to take Knuth’s challenge seriously as a philological practice. What could such a “source code criticism” look like? And can we imagine it as a retrospective task for researchers to actively intervene in the source code and add extensive commentary to it? Finally, unlike ordinary text, the performative element of source code also invites us to intervene in it and explore its scope, possibilities, and affordances. Textual criticism and hermeneutics thus become practical and interactive. Such interaction addresses one of the main tasks of the current humanities – to develop a familiarity with coding as such that bridges the gap between the computer sciences and the interpretative disciplines. Code literacy is sorely needed in the humanities. At the very least, as a passive skill: You don’t have to be a literary critic in order to read a novel. Nor do you need to be a computer scientist in order to understand and critically read software code. Yet digital literacy is a critical faculty necessary to understand, disclose, classify, contextualise, and explain code in order to counter the much-invoked power of algorithms. In order to recognise how exactly a user is used by software, it is necessary to decipher, comprehend and critically uncover the design and construction of an algorithm. The workshop addresses scholars within and outside fields such as Critical Code Studies, Software and Platform Studies and media studies, and it invites contributors to comment on the hermeneutics, philology, and didactics of code. The papers should not exceed 30 minutes and should be delivered in English. Please send an *abstract* *of no more than 300 words* and a *brief biographical note* to hannes.bajohr(a)unibas.ch by *October 31st*. The workshop will be held on *March 25, 2022* as a hybrid conference in person in Basel, Switzerland, as well as over Zoom.

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Texas Tech Open Rank Professor in Composition/Writing Studies
by Michael Faris 22 Sep '21

22 Sep '21

Texas Tech’s Technical Communication & Rhetoric program is pleased to announce the following job opening: Open Rank Professor of Technical Communication & Rhetoric in Composition/Writing Studies Texas Tech University’s Technical Communication & Rhetoric program in the Department of English invites applications for an open-rank position in composition/writing studies to begin August 2022. This is a 9-month appointment. We are especially interested in applicants who specialize in composition/writing studies with research and teaching focuses in Latinx studies, cultural rhetorics, writing in the disciplines, multilingualism, and/or antiracist pedagogies/assessment. Preference will be given to applicants with a PhD in Rhetoric and Composition. Applicants with administrative experience, online teaching experience, and a record of scholarship supported by funding are strongly encouraged to apply. Service to the department, college, and university is expected, including program-building as well as graduate teaching. The teaching load is 2-2, with further teaching reductions possible for administrative or national service. With around 120 students in our robust graduate program, our fifteen faculty have opportunities to teach graduate courses in our areas of interest, and we all serve on dissertation committees. We offer the BA in Technical Communication, the MA in Technical Communication, and the PhD in Technical Communication & Rhetoric in onsite, hybrid, and online delivery modalities. We also offer graduate certificates in Grants & Proposals and in Teaching Technical Communication. Our program affords excellent facilities, including communication-rich computer classrooms, and opportunities to conduct research through the Usability Research Lab, the Media Lab, and the Letterpress Studio. The English department also houses the university’s recently revitalized First-Year Writing Program, which serves roughly 3,500-4,000 students a semester. Our university’s strategic plan emphasizes educating and empowering a diverse student body, enabling innovative research and creative activities, and transforming lives and communities through outreach and engaged scholarship. Experience working with diverse student populations and first-generation students is highly desirable. Texas Tech University is designated a Carnegie Tier One (Highest Research Activity) institution and a Hispanic-Serving Institution (HSI). It has a law school, a medical school, and colleges of Arts and Sciences, Agriculture, Architecture, Business Administration, Engineering, Human Sciences, Media and Communication, and Visual and Performing Arts. The College of Arts and Sciences is the largest of these, representing approximately 29% of the total enrollment of 40,000. The university is located in Lubbock, a rapidly growing city of more than 300,000 on the high plains. Lubbock enjoys 260 days of sunshine every year, little traffic, and a relatively low cost of living. As an Equal Employment Opportunity/Affirmative Action employer, Texas Tech University is dedicated to the goal of building a culturally diverse faculty committed to teaching and working in a multicultural environment. We actively encourage applications from all those who can contribute, through their research, teaching, and/or service, to the diversity and excellence of the academic community at Texas Tech University. The university welcomes applications from minoritized candidates, women, protected veterans, persons with disabilities, and dual-career couples. See https://www.depts.ttu.edu/english/programs_degrees/programs/tcr <https://www.depts.ttu.edu/english/programs_degrees/programs/tcr/index.php> for more information. If you are interested in working with passionate, productive colleagues and motivated, talented students, please apply for one of these positions through https://www.depts.ttu.edu/hr/workattexastech <https://www.depts.ttu.edu/hr/workattexastech/> (25650BR) with a letter of application and vita. Dossiers solicited later from exceptionally qualified candidates. Candidates must apply by October 22, 2021. Direct inquiries to the search committee chair, Dr. Michael J. Faris (michael.faris(a)ttu.edu <mailto:michael.faris@ttu.edu>). https://sjobs.brassring.com/TGnewUI/Search/Home/Home?partnerid=25898&siteid… <https://sjobs.brassring.com/TGnewUI/Search/Home/Home?partnerid=25898&siteid…> Dr. Michael J. Faris Associate Professor, Technical Communication and Rhetoric Acting Associate Chair, Department of English Texas Tech University Co-editor, Kairos, http://kairos.technorhetoric.net/

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Call for Papers: 2022 International Conference on Social Media and Society (#SMSociety)
by Weller, Katrin 22 Sep '21

22 Sep '21

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2022 International Conference on Social Media and Society (#SMSociety) held virtually on July 18-19, 2022 https://socialmediaandsociety.org/2021/smsociety-2022-cfp/ ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- IMPORTANT DATES Conference Date: July 18-19, 2022 Papers (Extended Abstracts) Due: Jan. 31, 2022 Workshops & Tutorials Due: Mar. 14, 2022 Panels Due: Mar. 14, 2022 Notification Due: Mar. 31, 2022 We are pleased to announce the Call for Papers for the 2022 International Conference on Social Media & Society<https://socialmediaandsociety.org/> (#SMSociety)! #SMSociety will be held virtually on July 18th & 19th, 2022. The conference's two-day program will feature live panels and paper presentations, tutorials, and networking events. In keeping with the conference's inter- and transdisciplinary focus, we welcome both quantitative and qualitative scholarly and original submissions that crosses disciplinary boundaries and expands our understanding of current and future trends in social media research across many fields including (but not limited to): Communication, Computer Science, Education, Journalism, Information Science, Law, Management, Political Science, Psychology and Sociology. ABOUT THE CONFERENCE #SMSociety is a gathering of leading social media researchers from around the world. It is the premier venue for sharing and discovering new peer-reviewed interdisciplinary research on how social media affects society. Organized by the Social Media Lab at Ted Rogers School of Management at Ryerson University, #SMSociety provides participants with opportunities to exchange ideas, present original research, learn about recent and ongoing studies, and network with peers. NEW FOR 2022 · #SMSociety will switch from being an annual conference to a biennial conference. After 2022, the next iteration of #SMSociety will be in the summer of 2024 (exact date, location and format TBD). · The Program Committee for #SMSociety will be authors who have submitted their papers to the conference for consideration. For a submission to be considered, one author from each submission is required to peer review (double blind) three other conference submissions. · Instead of Full and WIP paper submissions, #SMSociety will now be inviting authors to submit extended abstracts with a 1k-1.5K word limit. · The program will be organized in a way to support attendance across multiple time zones and will allow our authors to safely connect. All presentations will also be recorded and made available to registered attendees for a limited time after the conference. TOPICS OF INTEREST 1. Cyberbullying, Trolling and Antisocial Behavior 2. Digital Methods 3. Discourse and Public Opinion 4. Health and Wellbeing 5. Marketing and Outreach 6. Misinformation and Disinformation 7. Online and Offline Communities 8. Platform Governance and Regulation 9. Politics and Policy 10. Privacy, Security and Trust 11. Use and Users SUBMISSION DETAILS · https://socialmediaandsociety.org/submit/ PUBLICATIONS: · Publication of Pre-prints and Datasets: To promote your work during and after the conference, authors of accepted papers (extended abstracts) are encouraged to share their work as a pre-print via EasyChair Preprint. Preprint will be accessible via the conference online program and other channels. If you have a dataset to share, you can also upload it to one of many data repositories such as Dataverse<https://dataverse.org/researchers> or figshare<https://figshare.com/>. Authors of accepted papers will then have an opportunity to provide a link to their pre-print and/or dataset for inclusion in the conference program. · Journal Publications: We will circulate CFP to relevant journal special issues as they become available in 2022. (We hope that feedback received from other scholars during the review process and the Q&A part of your presentation will help you refine your ideas and develop your work into a full paper after the conference. Once ready, you are encouraged to submit your full paper to a journal of your choice.) ORGANIZING COMMITTEE · Anatoliy Gruzd, Ryerson University · Philip Mai, Ryerson University · James Cook, University of Maine at Augusta · Zoetanya Sujon, London College of Communication · Chei Sian Lee, Nanyang Technological University · Jenna Drenten, Loyola University Chicago · Céline Yunya Song, Hong Kong Baptist University · Katrin Weller, GESIS - Leibniz Institute for Social Sciences · Felipe Soares, Ryerson University

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CALL FOR CONTRIBUTORS
by Seungahn Nah 22 Sep '21

22 Sep '21

*CALL FOR CONTRIBUTORS * *RESEARCH HANDBOOK ON * *ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE AND COMMUNICATION * *Publisher: Edward Elgar* Artificial intelligence (AI) has garnered growing scholarly attention in the communication field and beyond as AI becomes omnipresent in everyday lives from search engine through voice recognition technology to mobile news apps. Although research on the intersection between AI and communication is plethora, this emerging field remains unexplored in terms of conceptual, theoretical, methodological approaches as well as ethical, legal, practical, and policy issues. This research handbook epitomizes a rich body of studies concerning “communicating of, by, and with AI” from interdisciplinary perspectives and international scopes. Specifically, the research handbook deals with a wide range of the following topics and issues but are not limited to: - Meta-analysis or systematic review of studies regarding the intersection between AI and communication -Conceptual and theoretical essays concerning the interrelationship between AI and communication -Methodological approaches to analyzing artificial intelligence and communication -News media coverage of artificial intelligence (single, multiple, and cross-country comparison) -Online discourse concerning artificial intelligence across the digital communication platforms -Public opinion, attitude, perception, and behavior -Public adoption and use -Public trust and credibility -Public knowledge and literacy -Public discussion and news use -Diffusion of AI -AI-Mediated Communication -Human-AI Interaction, Human-Robot Interaction -Human-Virtual and Augmented Reality -AI in Education *-*Ethical (e.g., algorithmic bias), legal (e.g., privacy), and policy issues -Practical Issues (e.g., AI design) *Please send a title, 150 words abstract, 6 key words, and 80 words author bio to Dr. Seungahn Nah (snah(a)uoregon.edu <snah(a)uoregon.edu>). * -Final submission (APA 7th edition) with 6,500 words in WORD due by June 30, 2022 -Final manuscripts due by November 30, 2022 -Anticipated publication 2023 Editor: Dr. Seungahn Nah (University of Oregon), snah(a)uoregon.edu ********************************************* *SEUNGAHN NAH, Ph.D.* Professor School of Journalism & Communication University of Oregon journalism.uoregon.edu snah(a)uoregon.edu || 541-346-2101 (office) ********************************************* <seungahn.nah(a)uky.edu>

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Professorships in RACIAL JUSTICE AND TECH at the University of Michigan (next deadline 10/15)
by Christian Sandvig 22 Sep '21

22 Sep '21

Dear AIR-L colleagues, I am excited to share or possibly re-share that the University of Michigan is hiring three faculty this year in the area of "Racial Justice and Technology." If you think it is appropriate, can you forward this announcement to your colleagues who might be a good fit with these positions? Here is the link describing all of the positions: Professorships in Racial Justice & Technology https://esc.umich.edu/profs-in-racial-justice-tech/ Note the two remaining deadlines: UM Professor of Anti-Racist Data Justice -- Deadline October 15, 2021 School of Information rank is OPEN UM Professor of Anti-Racism by Design -- Deadline October 31, 2021 Stamps School of Art & Design rank is ASSOCIATE or FULL with tenure Also we have one deadline that has passed: UM Professor of Racial Justice in Science & Technology Policy -- Deadline July 1, 2021 Ford School of Public Policy Note: This deadline has passed, but applications will be accepted until the position has been filled. rank is OPEN Click the "APPLY NOW" links to jump to the job ads. Sincerely, Christian -- Christian Sandvig Director and H. Marshall McLuhan Collegiate Professor Center for Ethics, Society, and Computing (ESC) School of Information and Dept. of Communication and Media University of Michigan http://esc.umich.edu/ - http://umich.edu/~csandvig/

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WEBCAST SEP 17: Goma Internet Exchange Point Launch / Lancement du point d’échange Internet de Goma #GOMIX
by Joly MacFie 22 Sep '21

22 Sep '21

Every new IXP brings fresh resilience to the Internet and is a cause for celebration. In the case of GOMIX, in our 'Fear to Peer' session <https://isoc.live/14405/> back in August, ISPA-DRC Operation Manager Nico Tshintu detailed the struggle to bring it to fruition, despite the twin perils of a local volcano (see today's graphic) and COVID. But the happy day is here! Chaque nouvel IXP apporte une nouvelle résilience à Internet et est un motif de célébration. Dans le cas de GOMIX, lors de notre session « Fear to Peer » en août, <https://isoc.live/14405/> le directeur des opérations ISPA-RDC, Nico Tshintu, a détaillé la lutte pour la mener à bien, malgré les deux périls d'un volcan local (voir le graphique d'aujourd'hui) et COVID . Mais le jour heureux est là ! ISOC Live posted: "On Friday 17th September at 11:00 CAT (09:00 UTC) the Internet Service Providers Association of the Democratic Republic of Congo (ISPA-DRC) in collaboration with the Internet Society will launch of the Goma Internet Exchange (GOMIX). This new IXP is the " [image: LIVESTREAM EN] <http://livestream.com/internetsociety/gomix>On *Friday 17th September* at *11:00 CAT* (09:00 UTC) the *Internet Service Providers Association of the Democratic Republic of Congo <http://www.ispa-drc.cd/>* (ISPA-DRC) in collaboration with the *Internet Society <https://internetsociety.org/>* will launch of the *Goma Internet Exchange <https://whois.ipip.net/AS328796>* (GOMIX). This new IXP is the result of continuous collaborative efforts among the local internet community players. GOMIX is the 3rd IXP in DRC, after the launch of the Lubumbashi Internet eXchange point (LUBIX) in Lubumbashi and the existing KINIX in Kinshasa. GOMIX will play a major role in enabling exchange of Internet traffic and help bring faster and more reliable Internet access in the eastern part of DRC, where the 4 million people in towns of Beni, Bukavu, Butembo and Kindu are served. The event will be held onsite but will host online participants on the zoom platform and will take place in French with simultaneous interpretation in English. *SPEAKERS* *Laurent Ntumba*, President – ISPA-DRC *Mwangi Michuki*, Senior Director, Internet Technology and Development, Internet Society *Ben Ryall*, Edge Strategy Manager, Facebook *Christian Katende*, President, ARPTC (Regulatory Authority) *Tony Mulongo*, Principal Advisor to the Minister in charge of PTNTIC *LIVESTREAM ENGLISH http://livestream.com/internetsociety/gomix <http://livestream.com/internetsociety/gomix>* [image: LIVESTREAM FR] <http://livestream.com/internetsociety2/gomix>Le *vendredi 17 septembre* à *11h00 CAT* (09h00 UTC), l’*Association des fournisseurs d’accès Internet de la République démocratique du Congo <http://www.ispa-drc.cd/>* (ISPA-RDC) en collaboration avec l’*Internet Society <https://internetsociety.org/>* lancera le *Goma Internet Exchange <https://whois.ipip.net/AS328796>* (GOMIX). Ce nouveau IXP est le résultat d’efforts continus de collaboration entre les acteurs de la communauté Internet locale. GOMIX est le 3ème IXP en RDC, après le lancement du Lubumbashi Internet eXchange point (LUBIX) à Lubumbashi et le KINIX existant à Kinshasa. GOMIX jouera un rôle majeur en permettant l’échange de trafic Internet et contribuera à apporter un accès Internet plus rapide et plus fiable dans la partie orientale de la RDC, où sont desservis les 4 millions d’habitants des villes de Beni, Bukavu, Butembo et Kindu. L’événement se tiendra en présentiel, ainsi qu’en ligne sur la plateforme zoom et se déroulera en français avec une interprétation simultanée en anglais. *LES INTERVENANTS* *Laurent Ntumba*, Président – ISPA-DRC *Mwangi Michuki*, Directeur Principal, Technologie Internet et développement, Internet Society *Ben Ryall*, Responsable Stratégie Edge, Facebook *M. Christian Katende*, Président, ARPTC (Autorité de Régulation) *M. Tony Mulongo*, Conseiller Principal du Ministre en charge de PTNTIC *LIVESTREAM (FRANÇAIS) http://livestream.com/internetsociety2/gomix <http://livestream.com/internetsociety2/gomix>* *PARTICIPATE VIA ZOOM https://bit.ly/3zYNyGK <https://bit.ly/3zYNyGK> *(EN/FR) (EN Closed Captions) *REAL TIME TEXT * <https://www.streamtext.net/player?event=CFI-ISOC>*https://www.streamtext.net/player?event=CFI-ISOC <https://www.streamtext.net/player?event=CFI-ISOC>* (EN) *TWITTER #GOMIX <http://bit.ly/GOMIX> @IspaDrc @ISOC_Africa #Goma #RDC #GOMIX #IXPs #JePeerEnAfrique #IPeerinAfrica* *SIMULCASTS* *https://www.twitter.com/ISOC_Live/ <https://www.twitter.com/ISOC_Live/>* <https://www.twitch.tv/isoclive>*https://www.twitch.tv/isoclive <https://www.twitch.tv/isoclive>* (EN) *https://www.facebook.com/liveisoc <https://www.facebook.com/liveisoc>* *https://www.facebook.com/InternetSociety/ <https://www.facebook.com/InternetSociety/>* *https://www.facebook.com/ISOCAfrica/ <https://www.facebook.com/ISOCAfrica/>* *ARCHIVE* *https://archive.org/details/gomix <https://archive.org/details/gomix>* *Permalink* https://isoc.live/14495/ - -- -------------------------------------- Joly MacFie +12185659365 -------------------------------------- -

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Truth and Trust Online 2021: Early bird registration ends Sept 23rd. Program announced
by Elena Kochkina 21 Sep '21

21 Sep '21

Dear colleagues, I am writing to tell you about program and registration updates about TTO 2021. Early bird pricing for Truth and Trust Online will end on September 23rd! Only a few days left, make sure to register at lower price. Register Here: https://truthandtrustonline.com/register/ Program Update Full program description: https://truthandtrustonline.com/programme-2021-2/ Panels • REGULATION AND PLATFORMS: HOW CAN PRACTICE INFORM POLICY? • with Jillian York (Electronic Frontiers Foundation), Yoel Roth (Twitter), Farah Lalani (The World Economic Forum) and Susan Ness (The German Marshall Fund of the US). • COMPUTATIONAL FACT-CHECKING TOOLS: ARE THEY READY FOR THE REAL WORLD? • with Jonathan Spangenberg (Deutsche Welle), Jennifer Mathieu(Graphika), David Corney (Full Fact), Shalini Joshi (Meedan) and Preslav Nakov (Qatar Computing Research Institute). Feel free to message us in advance with questions you want to be discussed in these panels via email admin(a)truthandtrustonline.com<mailto:admin@truthandtrustonline.com> or Twitter @TTOConference. Interactive Fact-checking workshop François D’Astier (AFP Check) will show the process behind video/photo verification, geolocation and others, with help from specific tools and a smart use of resources freely available online. The audience will be actively involved with exercises and live interaction. Keynotes • Kalina Bontcheva (University of Sheffield), AI-driven disinformation analysis and moderation: Are we there yet? • Gianluca Stringhini (Boston University), A Large-Scale, Multi-Platform, and Multi-Modal Look at Online Disinformation • Lyric Jain (Logically), Experiences from the frontline: Winning, losing and learning in the fight against misinformation Accepted submissions announced! Congratulations to authors of accepted submissions! Check out the full list: https://truthandtrustonline.com/accepted-talks-and-papers-2021/ Special issue of the ACM Journal of Data and Information Quality You can submit your technical papers to a special issue of the ACM Journal of Data and Information Quality, which will also open to other submissions (deadline: November 15, 2021). More information about the call for the JDIQ special issue can be found here: https://truthandtrustonline.com/call-for-special-issue-papers-on-trust-and-… Fee Waiver Program We have a fee waiver program in place for those who do not have the financial resources that permit registration. Fill out the form if you would like to apply for the fee waiver program to attend the Truth and Trust Online 2021 (deadline to apply is October 4th, 2021). Please use your professional or student email address and affiliation to fill out this form. https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdfKlquWRahjRPY0kyoinH8L1_irZXu712… About The Conference on Truth and Trust Online The Conference on Truth and Trust Online is an annual forum for academia, industry, non-profit organizations, and other stakeholders to discuss the problems facing (social) media platforms and technical solutions to understand and address them. TTO’s mission is to bring together all parties working toward improving the truthfulness and trustworthiness of online communications. More information about the conference is on the TTO website. Contact us if you have any questions at admin(a)truthandtrustonline.com<mailto:admin@truthandtrustonline.com> Feel free to pass this email on to anyone you think might be interested! Yours sincerely, Elena Kochkina on behalf of the Truth and Trust Online Organising committee — Dr. Elena Kochkina, Postdoctoral Research Assistant, Queen Mary University of London, The Alan Turing Institute Email: e.kochkina(a)qmul.ac.uk<mailto:e.kochkina@qmul.ac.uk>, ekochkina(a)turing.ac.uk<mailto:ekochkina@turing.ac.uk> Twitter: @Elena_Kochkina

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Fwd: Aiki Wiki - NSF funded online consensus building digital project looking for academic partner
by Joly MacFie 21 Sep '21

21 Sep '21

This is from another list (Pho) and after I suggested AoIR to Rome, he asked if I might forward. ---------- Forwarded message --------- From: Rome Viharo <rome.viharo(a)gmail.com> Some of you have become friends over the years, but I could use some advice from ya'll if you feel so kind. One of those projects from back then continued to evolve, and this year just received acceptance into Phase 1 for the National Science Foundation, endorsed by Lucas Dixon from Google Jigsaw. For the grant, I need to acquire an academic research partner, hence the request to this forum. Full grant is $2M for the project. The project is researching a unique algorithm highly relevant in today's media, especially around online disinformation, fact checking, and harassment. The project is a whole system of "non-dual" consensus building using computer/human interaction. I demonstrate a very unique algorithm that, in theory, will allow large-scale mutually resolving consensus building on the world wide web. The algorithm, in theory, will only allow one mathematical and psychological outcome, resolution, and the consensus process allows for the publication of an article or contract, without a third party, that reflects this resolution, to the web. Ideally, I am looking for someone with strong academic connections who can join the project and mentor through the NSF process with an academic partner (UCLA, Columbia University, Washington University, MIT current contenders). I've never had to work within academia before so this next step is proving to be a challenge. Can help? Attached is a summary of the project, and if anyone is curious to see how it works, I do a zoom presentation and its fun too! The project is NOT LOOKING for investment, my intentions here are pure :) Thanks for the consideration, I could use all the help I can get Cheers Rome *Aiki Wiki ™* *Non-Dual Consensus Building Platform* Human-Computer Interaction Summary By Rome Viharo, 2021 “Aiki Wiki” is the designated name for a whole system of non-dual consensus building and methodology; a combination of a unique algorithm along with a methodology for human-computer interaction that theoretically allows for mutually resolving consensus building at scale on the world wide web. The algorithm guides an online discussion into a very subtle form of gamification in such a way that will only allow for one mathematical and psychological outcome, a “win-win” publishable resolution. The whole system brings Psychology and Game Theory programmatically into online discussion on the web and in theory, through this very practical and demonstrable “non-dual” approach, the whole system transmutes arguments, disagreements, conflicts, any type of negotiation into a “win-win” collaborative discussion that publishes an article to the web that can be verifiably trusted. The project has received endorsement from Lucas Dixon, Chief Science Officer from Google Jigsaw (2010-2019) and has received acceptance in the National Science Foundation Phase 1. For the full grant, $2M, we wish to prove a whole system of consensus building, summarized below. *What?* In Theory, Aiki Wiki is designed on a simple set of assumptions about underlying causes of conflict and disagreement, especially psychological forces, and identifies a naturally occurring psychological process that is continually resolving, expressed in behaviors that can be measured and mapped mathematically, theoretically allowing for a surprising programmatic ability to compliment and capture what are historically considered elusive human properties as data points. These assumptions were based upon observation, not theory. They are derived from patterns discovered in “critical mass consensus” events that occur in online media, from social media to discussion forums to Wikipedia. This “pattern” in critical mass consensus on the internet was first observed almost twenty years ago, and from this observation evolved a theory and an interface that could capture and repeat this dynamic programmatically. With the full research grant, I wish to prove and test resolution across many sectors, from interpersonal to institutional, including both legal dispute resolution as well as conflict resolution as a social psychology, to educational and academic applications. The research can test and prove that the whole system, as a form of human-computer interaction which would provide a digital platform and library, Aiki Wiki can potentially offer profound digital solutions and software to eradicate misinformation from internet publishing, and even solutions for things like online harassment or toxic web activity. With the full research grant we can test and prove a system of consensus building that can potentially scale to the thousands, potentially even millions, creating a pathway for a large consensus to form quickly, overcoming the hurdle of world autocracies giving social democracies the current ability to build a consensus. With the research grant, we can test and prove that the whole system will be able to offer new and unique methods to measure things like honesty, rationality, and collaboration on the world wide web. *The implications of a global win-win social media superhighway on the world wide web.* Imagine the impact of tens of thousands, hundreds of thousands, or even millions of individuals comprised of ideological divides spread across the cultural, political and social spectrum arriving at critical resolutions to key issues or even intractable problems such as Covid19 or climate change, in rapidly shorts amount of time, weeks, days even? Imagine law and court systems processing dispute resolution at scale through such an algorithm? Next, imagine the implications of the global scale of such a process? At first, such a thing does not even seem possible, yet it is indeed what this project predicts within its scope, laying out a practical pathway in which these improbable outcomes become the only possible outcome. >From the algorithm an AI can be derived that guides all conversation in the system towards a fully rational and mutually resolving consensus which can be built between ideological divides of any kind, at scale and most impressively without the requirement of a third party. Within the system voting is unable to produce a rational consensus process, from thumbs up or down to likes or dislikes. While voting is rejected as reliable in the system, consensus theory still reflects the highest “possible” democratic ideal for consensus building; openness, transparency, freedom of discourse and equal access to process while allowing all forms of communication to participate without censorship. *Current status of the project* Demonstrably, the project can currently show two users successfully editing a contract or a “consensus point” from a disagreement into a resolution as the only possible outcome. We assume the algorithm can scale beyond 1 to 1 and all theory will be falsifiable at various levels of scaling to hundreds, to thousands, to hundreds of thousands even to millions of users applying non dualistic consensus building simultaneously around one singular consensus article. This white paper lists the basics of the algorithm while offering a scope of the potential scale of such an algorithm on the internet, as well as details the methodology to online consensus building. A demonstration is available upon request. *About Rome Viharo* Rome Viharo has a 25 year history in media and technology as an entrepreneur, developer, media strategist and consultant and is considered a vertical expert in online media, viral media, social media, digital marketing technology, media buying marketplaces, and ad-tech. In 2005 he was producing “digital content” for Anonymous Content, working alongside Boing Boing developing pioneering new types of digital content. >From 2007 - 2012 he was a leading viral marketing and social media content strategist, pioneering and launching some of the largest viral campaigns in the world, including five SuperBowl campaigns and running media campaigns for brands such as VISA, AUDI, FORD, Google and over a dozen others, and working alongside some of the biggest agencies in the world. He helped consult and pioneer “influencer” media, developing and advising celebrities and influencers on strategies campaigns. >From 2013 - present, he has been funded to develop technology platforms for content management and distribution, designing financial marketplaces for supply and demand architectures, developing two startups from research, funding, development and piloting. -- -------------------------------------- Joly MacFie +12185659365 -------------------------------------- -

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