Theodora Skeadas

Today we are launching the Accessibility in Digital Conferencing Facilities Bias Bounty Challenge in partnership with the CoNA Lab at Virginia State University and Valence AI.

- Design and Data Science tracks
- $6,000 prize pool

Submissions close 11/7

humane-intelligence.org/programs-ser...

Why The Cloud Should Be a Public Utility | TechPolicy.Press Given that cloud computing has become such a central part of our lives, it should be regulated as a public utility, Michelle Nie and others write.

🗞️ @techpolicypress.bsky.social featured our Nonprofit and Public Interest Fellowship alum @theodoraskeadas.bsky.social on why cloud computing should be considered a public utility.

🔎 Read the full article here: techpolicy.press/why-the-clou...

Thank you for sharing our piece, Craig!

Red Teaming Generative AI in Classrooms and Beyond | TechPolicy.Press Jen Weedon, Theodora Skeadas, and Sarah Amos explore AI in classrooms, and leanings from red-teaming to build safer, more trustworthy chatbots for students.

@aspenpolicyacademy.bsky.social alum @theodoraskeadas.bsky.social is testing classroom chatbots to reveal safety vulnerabilities. Learn more about her collaborative efforts to ensure safe and secure AI tools in this Tech Policy Press article👇: www.techpolicy.press/red-teaming-...

Control for Whom? Keeping an Eye on the Dark Side of America’s New Wearables Campaign. | TechPolicy.Press Nada Salem and Theodora Skeadas discuss the government push for health data tracking and the privacy and surveillance concerns for the public.

As the federal government partners with private technology companies on what could be the largest health data exchange to date, the line between protected medical data and unprotected wellness data is likely to blur,” write Nada Salem and Theodora Skeadas.

We’re planning something very cool during UNGA with @theodoraskeadas.bsky.social @meowtree.bsky.social @authormala.bsky.social @ruchowdh.bsky.social and more. Save this date and follow @compiler.news for more details coming soon.

Authored a piece with @theodoraskeadas.bsky.social, @nickgarcia.bsky.social, and @elisephillips.bsky.social on the urgent need for the cloud to be a public utility. We're forming a coalition of state legislators who won't let such crucial infrastructure remain under Big Tech control - join us today!

Given that cloud computing has become such a central part of our lives — and the serious harms already caused by concentration in this sector — it should be regulated as a public utility, Michelle Nie, Theodora Skeadas, Nick Garcia, and Elise Phillips write.
buff.ly/ohdJrBM

Red Teaming Generative AI in Classrooms and Beyond | TechPolicy.Press Jen Weedon, Theodora Skeadas, and Sarah Amos explore AI in classrooms, and leanings from red-teaming to build safer, more trustworthy chatbots for students.

“AI safety requires more than just preventing obviously harmful outputs. Systems must be capable of understanding context, maintaining consistency across languages… and navigating the subtle boundary between helpful and harmful assistance,” write Jen Weedon, Theodora Skeadas, and Sarah Amos.

We’ve teamed up with UNESCO to release a Red Teaming Playbook—a practical guide to help communities test AI systems for social good.
The playbook offers real-world strategies to spot and address AI harms—before they scale.
Read and share: unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/p...

A new resource for responsible AI just dropped—and it matters.
The General-Purpose AI Code of Practice is a voluntary framework to help model developers meet key requirements under the EU AI Act—covering transparency and systemic risk.
digital-strategy.ec.europa.eu/en/policies/...
@ec.europa.eu

After a robust nomination process, we are excited to welcome two of our members, @vaishnavi.bsky.social and @theodoraskeadas.bsky.social , to the Integrity Institute’s Board of Directors!

Learn more about them here:
🔗 integrityinstitute.org/vaishnavi-j
🔗 integrityinstitute.org/theo-skeadas

🎙️ Featured speakers include:

▶️ @gabefreeman.bsky.social, Integrity Institute
▶️ Sarah Amos, @humaneintelligence.bsky.social
▶️ @theodoraskeadas.bsky.social , Integrity Institute
▶️ Dharini Priscilla (Independent Consultant)
▶️ Elodie Valle (Independent Consultant)

What a beautiful suggestion to show solidarity on this critical issue!

The photo above was taken in Erbil in 2013, as I conducted my research on the barriers to employment for Syrian refugee youth in southeast Turkey and Kurdish Iraq. Shortly after, ISIS launched its offensive in Iraq, where fighting subsequently displaced millions of Iraqis from their homes.

As in Turkey, the government is leveraging "national security" arguments to crack down on political dissidents, control universities, and fire federal government staff. This authoritarianism distorts truth, facilitates human rights abuses under the guise of preventing harm, and undermines democracy.

I also observed Elon Musk pressure his critics into silence during the 2022 acquisition and layoffs.

The parallels to our current moment are unnerving.

In 2017, I researched Turkey's constitutional referendum, which significantly impacted the country's political landscape and substantially increased presidential powers. Later, while I worked at Twitter, I witnessed the continued crackdown of free expression and growing authoritarianism in Turkey.

This crackdown marked a significant deterioration in Turkey's freedom of expression, assembly, and judicial independence, setting the stage for increased authoritarianism.

Turkey's president Erdoğan leveraged broadly-defined anti-terror laws and insult charges to prosecute opposition leaders, activists, and individuals associated with protests. Erdoğan pledged to purge state bodies of the “virus” that had spread throughout state structures. His purge was extensive.

That year was pivotal for Turkey. In 2013, the Gezi Park protests saw people expressing widespread discontent with government policies. The rise of ISIS in neighboring Syria and Iraq in 2014 gave the government the national security argument needed to crack down on opposition figures.

I participated in the Fulbright program in 2013-2014 in Turkey, where I taught at Akdeniz University in Antalya and researched the barriers to employment for Syrian refugee youth in southeast Turkey and Kurdish Iraq.

However, the government has labeled her free expression an act of terrorism and taken her on national security grounds. This event has deeply chilled us in the Boston area, and I can only imagine the paralyzing fear and uncertainty her family is now experiencing.

A few days ago, Rumeysa Ozturk, a PhD student at Tufts, was arrested in Somerville near my home, because she wrote an op-ed a year ago that the government disagrees with. Her op-ed peacefully advocated the resolution of a violent conflict that has killed thousands of civilians, including children.

Organizing and Mobilization during Democratic Backsliding – Ash Center In this webinar, panelists will draw upon lessons from around the world about how civil society groups can protect and promote democracy and the rule of law during episodes of democratic backsliding.

Sharing this event: Organizing & Mobilization during Democratic Backsliding.

Panelists will draw upon lessons from around the world about how civil society groups can protect & promote democracy & the rule of law during episodes of democratic backsliding.

RSVP here: ash.harvard.edu/events/organ...

Thank you for joining our conversation on trust and safety tooling at Trustworthy Innovation for a Connected World, @laurabartley13.bsky.social!

Don't Look Up Notes from the inaccurately-named 'AI Action Summit' in Paris

At a time when women's voices are needed more than ever, I observe fewer women in key decision-making roles, both in government and industry. Our voices are needed at these tables, and not just at side events.

You can read Billy's piece here: billyperrigo.substack.com/p/dont-look-up

"Even the AI companies themselves, for all their incentives to race ahead, kept their side of the bargain made in Seoul: they came to Paris with detailed risk mitigation frameworks that they’d drawn up as agreed...But in Paris, governments abdicated that responsibility."

"It didn’t have to be this way. The first AI Safety Summit was...a watershed moment for AI governance. It looked like world leaders...recognized that AI could go badly wrong, and that global cooperation would be needed....There was no attempt in Paris to follow through on that commitment."

However, as @billyperrigo.bsky.social noted in his piece, "Don't Look Up," the third global summit on artificial intelligence...was a farce. Before the summit had even started, French organizers dismissed...AI risks as “science fiction.”....The tone of the event had already been set: Don’t look up."

This productive, collaborative, & action-oriented event stands in stark contrast to the overall Summit tone. We are driving public impact on T&S teams in AI companies, conveners driving collaboration, regulators thinking carefully about government-imposed guardrails, & civil society advocates.