Harmful Speech Online: At the Intersection of Algorithms and Human ...

Harmful Speech Online: At the Intersection of Algorithms  and Human Behavior  June 29-30, 2017  Thursday, June 29, 2017 8:30-9:00 am

Continental Breakfast

9:00-9:15

Welcome Unique problems and harms arise at the intersection of algorithms and human behavior. So why are we here? Understanding the contours of how algorithms and humans interact and affect each other is key to enabling stakeholders from across sectors to more fully comprehend the challenges of harmful speech online. The goal of this event is to identify ways a small, diverse set of experts and practitioners can together advance our collective learning and design higher quality and more effective interventions. Rob Faris, Research Director, Berkman Klein Center Sasha Havlicek, Executive Director, Institute for Strategic Dialogue Nicco Mele, Faculty Chair, Shorenstein Center

9:15-9:30

Group Introductions This group represents a wide range of academic disciplines, as well as practitioners and leaders from civil society organizations, journalists and media experts, technologists, and representatives from industry. What is one thing you want to learn from someone else in a different sector? What outcomes are we seeking and what do we hope to achieve?

9:30-10:30

Definitions: Exploring Human vs. Machine-based Understandings of Harm ​Moderated Discussion Despite increasing attention to the topic, full understanding of the reach and influence of algorithms and related opportunities for human invention are not well understood. What do we--academics, CSOs, private sector actors, and public sector representatives--mean by “harmful speech” online? Where are definitions clear, where do they differ, and in what contexts or cases do we need more clarity? And how does the interplay between algorithms and human behavior help us to understand the dynamics of harmful speech online, particularly in contexts that are increasingly being managed by autonomous technologies? Stage Setters Amanda Lenhart, AP-NORC Soraya Chemali, Women’s Media Center

Tarleton Gillespie, Microsoft Research Moderator​: Aarti Shahani, NPR 10:30-10:45

Break

10:45-11:45

Discovery, Identification, and Measurement of Online Harms ​Moderated Discussion The intersection of algorithms and human behavior offers new opportunities and challenges for understanding harmful speech online, and also raises many new questions. How can we better discover, identify, and classify “harms” enabled or amplified by digital technologies? What is the scope and scale of the problem? What are the key knowledge gaps? And how do we improve measures of impact, better track outcomes, and refine or further develop metrics, indicators, and measurements? Stage Setters ​Carl Miller, Demos Kenny Joseph, Carnegie Mellon University Chinmayi Arun, CCG Delhi Moderator: ​Rob Faris, Research Director, Berkman Klein Center

11:45-12:00 pm

Humans (Not) in the Loop ​Lightning Talk Algorithms, automated mechanisms, and advances in machine learning/artificial intelligence increasingly (and less visibly) impact Internet users’ online experiences, and can both contribute to the propagation of harmful speech online as well as reduce its proliferation. In what ways are humans outside the loop of these systems? Speaker: ​Zeynep Tufekci, University of North Carolina

12:00-1:00

Lunch

1:00-2:15

Human Dynamics in Algorithm-Driven Online Spaces Lessons from Practice: Case Studies ​5 Minute Case Study Presentations + Moderated Discussion Content moderators, users, designers, developers, advocates and activists: humans are central to both the propagation and the mitigation of harmful speech online. Human behavior intersects with algorithms to drive these dynamics, and so understanding these meeting points is key to developing better solutions and interventions to harmful speech online.

This session will engage participants to critically assess how algorithms and machine learning are changing the dynamics between humans and the technology they use. We’ll also analyze how much influence in this dynamic humans truly have, and how much is in the hands of political, economic, or other forces. The case study approach is intended to bring together theory and application, and identifying unifying or common themes/challenges, as well as participants’ unique skills and perspectives. Cases selected are ones that may benefit from comparison or more recent developments. Case Studies ● Non-Consensual Pornography: (Sara Baker, Association for Progressive Communications) ● Countering Violent Extremism (Henry Tuck and/or Amar Amarasingam, Institute for Strategic Dialogue) ● Cyberbullying & Online Harassment (Sameer Hinduja, Cyberbullying Research Center) ● Fake News & Disinformation (Nicco Mele, Shorenstein Center) Discussion questions: ● How do advances in algorithms and machine learning affect relationships between humans and technology? ● Is the role of human agency blunted or enhanced by the development of more sophisticated technologies? How about the role of social, political, and cultural forces? ● Where do gaps exist in solutions as a result of this dynamic (for example, in the field of law)? ● How can algorithmic and human forces interact with legal and market forces to counter the spread of harmful speech online? ● Are there common and cross-cutting approaches, themes, or challenges across this wide range of cases and topics? What are the asymmetries?

2:15-3:30

Breakout Sessions Participants will break out into sessions where they may not have primary expertise, but can contribute insight or learning from their discipline or perspective on a topic less familiar to them. ● ● ● ● ●

Racist and xenophobic speech/violence (Desmond Patton, Columbia University) Gender-related speech/violence (Sara Baker, APC) Youth issues (Kate Pawelczyk, UNICEF) Countering Violent Extremism (Jacob Davey, Institute for Strategic Dialogue) News and Online Comments (Anke Sterzing, University of Magdeburg)

Discussion questions: ● What new dynamics do algorithms bring to your focus area? ● How can they be used to develop solutions, and how do they exacerbate or create new problems?

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How does cross-sectoral collaboration play a role in your topic? What are the key knowledge gaps and challenges? How do different approaches, interventions and research work together? How can we improve measures of impact, and how can we better track outcomes?

3:30-3:45

Break

3:45-4:15

Platform Perspectives Perspectives ​Camille Francois, Jigsaw/Google Monika Bickert, Facebook Jacqueline Beauchere, Microsoft

4:00-5:15

Approaches, Interventions, Solutions Stage Setters ​Kevin Munger, NYU Michelle Haq, Twitter Susan Benesch, Dangerous Speech Project Brittan Heller, Anti-Defamation League ​Moderator​ : Nathan Matias, MIT Discussion will focus on what we already know about harmful speech online, how this currently informs our approaches, interventions, and research, and what new dynamics algorithms are introducing to the conversation. Discussion Questions ● How is a commitment to free speech balanced with preventing violence, harassment, and recruiting for hate groups, and how is that balanced with good institutional stewardship? ● How do harms associated with harmful speech online as we know it shift with the increasing use of algorithms in many online platforms? ● What do we know already about the nature of harmful speech online that can help inform how we use, or don’t use, machine learning and algorithms? ● What is the state of approaches, interventions, and research in relation to harmful speech online, and how should these shift in consideration of algorithmic environments? Are there benefits to top down vs. bottom up approaches and vice versa?

5:15-5:30

From Learning and Baseline-setting to Action

6:00

Reception/Dinner

Friday, June 30, 2017 8:30 - 9:00

Continental Breakfast

9:00 - 9:15

Human-Machine Systems Design: AI, Governance, and Developing Algorithms for the Common Good ​Speaker​: Urs Gasser, Executive Director, Berkman Klein Center

9:15 - 10:30

Birds of a Feather: Sector-based Breakout Sessions Participants will gather in groups based on sector or expertise to discuss particular approaches within the areas noted below, and to develop action-oriented roadmaps that identify immediate opportunities for steps towards progress. Groups will also discuss where concrete collaboration may increase the effectiveness of interventions, approaches, and research and otherwise fill gaps and/or mitigate challenges. Breakout options: 1. Legislation and policy (Vivek Krishnamurthy, Cyberlaw Clinic) 2. Civil society (Paulo Rogerio, Midia Etnica) 3. Platform-oriented (Sydney Poore, Wikimedia) 4. Academia and research (Cornelius Puschmann, HIIG)

10:30 - 10:45

Break

10:45 - 12:00

Connecting the Dots: Activating Networks and Collaborations What is needed to continue the work begun here today? Are there answers that are legislative? Technical? Economic? Or a combination? And what roles do humans play in these? What roles do platforms/tech companies play in these? Finally, what research still needs to be done and what topics are in need of further exploration? How can approaches which work at the intersection of different skill and knowledge sets be most effectively established and adopted? This session will summarize discussion and major takeaways from the workshop. Overall, it will seek to identify how we can continue to develop new algorithmically-driven technologies that encourage development while minimizing harm. ​Moderator​: Amar Ashar, Senior Researcher, Berkman Klein Center

12:00

Final Notes