Benjamin Laufer

I think this technology is radically changing the practice of research. There are a billion research ethics questions it raises!

I used to think that AI prompting had no place in the research process and I was afraid to use AI for anything. Now, AI has permeated my paper-writing process, from brainstorming to code writing (eg, tab on cursor) to proof strategizing to LaTeX formatting to grammar checking and beyond.

I am finding that AI chatbots and language models are rapidly changing my own personal research practices – and my own ethical judgments about the appropriateness of the use of AI.

Algorithmic Displacement of Social Trust

In case useful… Helen Nissenbaum and I argue in this piece that AI can undermine the foundations of sound knowledge production, not just by offering a shallow vision of research, but by contaminating the process even for those who avoid it: knightcolumbia.org/content/algo...

Excited to speak at Princeton @princetoncitp.bsky.social next week!

I'm hiring for a machine learning data scientist & research assistant for summer 2025! Join me in working on a project on invasive species management, by predicting species risk and planning capture strategies. This work will be in partnership with an innovative startup that is working directly to capture environmentally destructive invasive species in the US. This project will be working with a US-based conservation partner to build predictive machine learning models and design harvest strategies for the removal of invasive animal species. The primary goal is to develop usable ML models and optimization tools to inform practical environmental decision-making on the ground. There will also be opportunities to extend this work into a research publication for a top-tier AI venue. The project would be: Paid, full-time internship for summer 2025 Possibility of extension beyond the summer (part-time or full-time) Remote, but candidates should be authorized to work in the US Supervised by Lily Xu, assistant professor at Columbia University Ideal candidate background will include: Strong background in CS, data science, and/or applied math Experience developing machine learning models Excellent coding skills in Python Excellent writing and interpersonal communication skills Genuine interest in conservation/sustainability Nice to have: background in optimization methods Nice to have: experience with GIS and geospatial data Candidates would ideally have already completed an undergraduate degree, but exceptional undergrads will also be considered. How to apply: Please send a CV and 3–5 paragraphs of your background/interests via email to <lily.x@columbia.edu> with the subject line "Application: ML for invasive species management". Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis.

I'm hiring for a machine learning data scientist & research assistant for summer 2025!

Join me on a project on invasive species management with an innovative startup doing on-the-ground removal of environmentally destructive invasive animals.

Paid, full-time w/ possibility to extend.

4) The “most common dog” in NYC is a Yorkshire Terrier named Bella. Jack Russel Terriers are often “Jack” and Charles Spaniels “Charlie.” Huskies are always named Luna—the reason for which is unclear (?).

This was a lot of fun

Talks at NetSI | Ben Laufer Regulation along the AI Development Pipeline for Fairness, Safety and Related Goals

More details: www.networkscienceinstitute.org/talks/ben-la...

I am in Boston, excited to give a talk at northeastern tomorrow 11am!

“Regulation along the AI Development Pipeline for Fairness, Safety and Related Goals”

(1/n) New paper/code! Sparse Autoencoders for Hypothesis Generation

HypotheSAEs generates interpretable features of text data that predict a target variable: What features predict clicks from headlines / party from congressional speech / rating from Yelp review?

arxiv.org/abs/2502.04382

Please repost to get the word out! @nkgarg.bsky.social and I are excited to present a personalized feed for academics! It shows posts about papers from accounts you’re following bsky.app/profile/pape...

We have a new review on generative AI in medicine, to appear in the Annual Review of Biomedical Data Science! We cover over 250 papers in the recent literature to provide an updated overview of use cases and challenges for generative AI in medicine.

Thank you for the support, David! It means a lot. :)

AFME2024 - Accepted Papers Oral Presentations

Here is a link with the spotlight designation for our work at the Algorithmic Fairness workshop, as well as the fantastic set of other papers appearing there: www.afciworkshop.org/accepted-pap...

Check out our paper, “Fundamental Limits in the Search for Less Discriminatory Algorithms —and How to Avoid Them” and come to our spotlight talk, this Saturday at 5:50pm.

Paper preprint (WIP): mraghavan.github.io/files/LDA_wo...

🪩New paper🪩 (WIP) appearing at @neuripsconf.bsky.social Regulatable ML and Algorithmic Fairness AFME workshop (oral spotlight).

In collaboration with @s010n.bsky.social and Manish Raghavan, we explore strategies and fundamental limits in searching for less discriminatory algorithms.

* Emerging scholars — a 2-year staff position in tech policy for candidates who have Bachelor’s degrees. It's an unusual program that combines classes, 1-on-1 mentoring, and work experience with real-world impact. Apply by Jan 10.
citp.princeton.edu/programs/cit...

📢NEW: 'Open' AI systems aren't open. The vague term, combined w frothy AI hype is (mis)shaping policy & practice, assuming 'open source' AI democratizes access & addresses power concentration. It doesn't.

@smw.bsky.social, @davidthewid.bsky.social & I correct the record👇
nature.com/articles/s41...

howdy!

the Georgetown Law Journal has published "Less Discriminatory Algorithms." it's been very fun to work on this w/ Emily Black, Pauline Kim, Solon Barocas, and Ming Hsu.

i hope you give it a read — the article is just the beginning of this line of work.

www.law.georgetown.edu/georgetown-l...

genAI has made us more suspicious that emails, cover letters, artworks, etc. are produced by AI. this shift forces us to change our behavior in order to prove our human-ness: a "burden of authenticity".
waking my account up to share a recent blog post on the subject: rajivmovva.com/2024/11/08/g...

Thank you Seth! :D

I passed my “A Exam” yesterday meaning I am officially a “PhD Candidate” rather than a “PhD Student.” (Huge title change, I know.)

Thanks to everybody who has supported me along the way!

I’d love to be added!

I’d love to be included!

Hey! @friedler.net made a FAccT starter pack: bsky.app/starter-pack...

Hi to my new connections. Is Bluesky taking off? I’m excited!!

In a new essay for @knightcolumbia.org with Helen Nissenbaum, we offer an account of what's wrong with social media, and what's at stake.

We also discuss generative AI and, broadly, the problems posed by untrustworthy algorithmic systems.

Great paper!
"…algorithmic amplification is problematic because...it chokes out trustworthy processes that we have relied on for guiding valued societal practices and for selecting, elevating, and amplifying content” via @laufer.bsky.social, Helen Nissenbaum
knightcolumbia.org/content/algo...

I am in Boston giving a talk tomorrow at Harvard’s EconCS seminar (1:30pm).

The talk is on genAI/ML technologies billed as "general-purpose". I'll discuss: which purposes, why and how? It's ongoing work with Hoda Heidari and Jon Kleinberg.

HMU if you're around to meet, etc!