Cutting NSF Is Like Liquidating Your Finest Investment
Look closely at your mobile phone or tablet. Touch-screen technology, speech recognition, digital sound recording and the internet were all developed using […]
Behavioral Science Can Be Used to Win War with Fake News
Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg recently acknowledged his company’s responsibility in helping create the enormous amount of fake news that plagued the 2016 election – after earlier denials. Yet he offered no concrete details on what Facebook could do about it. Fortunately, there’s a way to fight fake news that already exists and has behavioral science on its side: the Pro-Truth Pledge project.
Humans Broke the Internet. Understanding Them Better Might Help Fix It
This stark contrast between the internet’s light and dark sides has become a defining characteristic of the digital age, writes Timo Hannay founder SchoolDash, but is not an inevitable consequence of the mostly innocuous technologies on which it’s built. Rather, it is the product of their bewilderingly diverse and eccentric user base – otherwise known as humanity.
Facebook, SSRC Bravely Reinvigorate Research Collaboration
We spoke with social-science ethicists about how well Facebook’s initiative appears to protect users’ privacy. They’re skeptical, but still eager to see Facebook data studied.
Connect With Human Resource Development Review!
Ever wondered who’s behind the work at Human Resource Development Review (HRDR)? Or perhaps anticipate what will be in the next issue? Human […]
A Social Science Audit for Facebook’s News Feed?
How can the public learn the role of algorithms in their daily lives, evaluating the law and ethicality of systems like the Facebook News Feed, search engines, or airline booking systems? Earlier this month Harvard University’s Berkman Center for Internet and Society hosted a conversation about the idea of social science audits of algorithms, and J. Nathan Matias reports on the discourse.
No Longer the Age of Consent: Facebook’s Emotional Manipulation Study
Facebook’s unannounced study using its users’ newsfeeds offers a case study in research ethics: where did it lie of the spectrum from ‘ho harm, no foul’ or to an unacceptable violation of participants’ rights? Ethicist David Hunter examines.
Recruiters Beware: Facebook Information May Not Predict Future Performance
[Editor’s Note: We are pleased to welcome Chad H. Van Iddekinge who collaborated with Stephen E. Lanivich, Philip L. Roth, and Elliott […]
The Use (or Is It Abuse?) of Social Media in Social Science
A new study of an admittedly small group suggests the public may be getting a little twitchy about the use of their personal messages for public investigation.
