JusticeTech DL: Mueller's encryption problem; facial rec everywhere + new jobs
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News
Mueller's report and investigation were in part hampered by end-to-end encryption chat apps, like Whatsapp and Facebook Messenger. (WaPo)
I have a working theory that criminal law's acceptance of junk forensic science portends badly for the coming influx of newer technologies, like AI, which is why it's extra troubling that a leading cause of wrongful convictions is experts overstating forensic results. (NYT)
Facial recognition news, like the technology, is all over the place. In San Francisco, the police are trying to stop the city from banning the tech. (Gizmodo) In China, it's being used to oppress the Uyghurs, a Muslim minority. (NYT) At Amazon, there is a pending shareholder vote to stop selling the company's facial recognition tech to law enforcement, but company leadership likely won't listen. (Inquirer) And if none of this bothered you enough, the New York Times built a $60 facial recognition tool and deployed it in New York, all of which was super easy and totally legal. (NYT)
Meanwhile, the TSA anticipates capturing 97 percent of those flying out of the country with facial recognition. (Verge) And, in what is becoming an all too common refrain of abdication, agency agents say they're not racist, but their body scanners might be. (ProPublica)
Florida passed a law last year to capture more criminal justice data, and implementation is currently being piloted in two counties. (Marshall Project) Meanwhile, the leader of the organization behind the law, Amy Bach, continues to lament the lack of criminal justice system data. (USA Today)
A couple of weeks ago, I moderated a panel on open and free law at Stanford Law's CodeX conference. Now, there's video. (Stanford)
Here's a tool to help with responsible web scraping. (Urban)
Events
Code for America's annual summit is on May 29 in Oakland, CA. (CfA)
Tel Aviv University's Cyberweek conference from June 23-27 will cover a host of topics, including the ethics of AI in criminal justice systems, which I'll be speaking on. (Cyberweek)
The National Network to End Domestic Violence is hosting its Technology Summit in San Francisco, July 29-31. (NNEDV)
The Maintainers are putting on a third conference focused on maintenance, infrastructure and repair in Washington D.C., October 6-9. (Maintainers)
The American Society of Criminology meeting is happening in San Francisco between November 13-16. (ASC)
Jobs & Opportunities
AI Now Institute is looking for a post-doc researcher and an executive assistant. (AI Now)
Arnold Ventures has a bunch of job openings in their various criminal justice tracks. (Arnold)
The California Courts Digital Service has a data scientist position. (CDS)
The Chan Zuckerberg Initiative has a user experience researcher and senior engineer openings in their Justice and Opportunity vertical. (CZI)
The Death Penalty Information Center is hiring a data fellow in Washington D.C. (DPIC)
The Electronic Frontier Foundation is looking for an international policy director. (EFF)
The Lab at D.C. is looking for a data scientist, social scientist and operations analyst. (The Lab)
New York County Defenders Services needs a data scientist. (NNCD) (h/t Rebecca Ackerman)
TechCongress is looking for a Washington D.C. director. (TC)
University of California Irvine has a role open for a digital rights fellow at the law school's International Justice Clinic. (UCI)
Uptrust, a court reminder platform, is looking for a front end engineer and tech lead manager. (Uptrust)