Michael Zimmer
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michaelzimmer.bsky.social
Michael Zimmer
@michaelzimmer.bsky.social
2.6K followers 420 following 480 posts

Privacy & data ethics scholar. Professor in Computer Science and Director of @MUDataEthics.bsky.social at Marquette University. I also curate @ZuckerbergFiles.bsky.social

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Michael Zimmer is a privacy and data ethics scholar. He currently is a professor in the Department of Computer Science at Marquette University and Director of the Center for Data, Ethics, and Society. Previously, he was on the faculty at the School of Information Studies at the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee, and director of the Center for Information Policy Research. Zimmer is on the advisory board of the Future of Privacy Forum, and was on the executive committee of the Association of Internet Researchers from 2009-2016. He was the Microsoft Resident Fellow at the Information Society Project at Yale Law School from 2007-2008. .. more

Computer science 32%
Political science 22%
Posts Replies Media Videos

michaelzimmer.bsky.social
Michael Zimmer @michaelzimmer.bsky.social · 12h
*IF* we think AI models are capable of conducting scoping/structured literature reviews, then let’s just do that. But then we should *NOT* pretend clever prompt engineering and formatting the results into a manuscript should be a “publication” in any traditional scholarly sense. #OldManYellsAtCloud

Reposted by Michael Zimmer, Michael D. McDonald, Ann Bartow , and 1 more

hypervisible.blacksky.app
Hypervisible @hypervisible.blacksky.app · 14h
“Researchers from Johns Hopkins, Georgetown and Yale universities recently found that 60 FDA-authorized medical devices using AI were linked to 182 product recalls, according to a research letter published in the JAMA Health Forum in August.”
As AI enters the operating room, reports arise of botched surgeries and misidentified body parts
Medical device makers have been rushing to add AI to their products. While proponents say the new technology will revolutionize medicine, regulators are receiving a rising number of claims of patient ...
www.reuters.com

Reposted by Ashish Arora, Jon Green, Michael Zimmer , and 1 more

yungdreyfusard.bsky.social
teleri dockworkers union @yungdreyfusard.bsky.social · 1d
i forget who made it but it cracks me up lol

Reposted by Michael Zimmer

ruxiecat121.bsky.social
۞ Heather B. ۞ @ruxiecat121.bsky.social · 2d
Back into my binge-watch of #DS9. I'm up to the 2-part Bell Riots episode. It's scary AF just how well they predicted where we'd be... and this was in the 90s. Three decades later and we haven't learned a goddamned thing.

Reposted by Jonathan Wolff, Rosemary A. Joyce, Michael Zimmer , and 6 more

neimanmarxist.bsky.social
Scott Patrick, PhD @neimanmarxist.bsky.social · 3d
This is bleak: Jes Staley, currently CEO of Barclays, reassuring Epstein that popular revolt against financial elites is unlikely because capitalism and pop culture have defanged social movements, leaving people more invested in consumption than justice.

michaelzimmer.bsky.social
Michael Zimmer @michaelzimmer.bsky.social · 3d
Really sad to hear that First Monday is shutting down after 30 years. It was one of the first journals devoted to internet research & fully open access: no fees, no paywalls, and authors retained copyright.

My very first publication was there in 2004. End of an era.

firstmonday.org/ojs/index.ph...
First Monday @ 30 | First Monday
firstmonday.org

michaelzimmer.bsky.social
Michael Zimmer @michaelzimmer.bsky.social · 3d
Was it Scovino? I hope it was Scovino.
axios.com Axios @axios.com · 3d
NEW: Racist video of Obamas removed from Trump social account

A White House official blamed a staffer for erroneously posting the video.
Racist video of Obamas removed from Trump's social account
The post was up on Trump's Truth Social account for about 12 hours.
www.axios.com

michaelzimmer.bsky.social
Michael Zimmer @michaelzimmer.bsky.social · 3d
Working on a little re-branding and re-focusing of the @mudataethics.bsky.social. So far, campus leadership has declined my proposal for the Center for the Butlerian Jihad.

Back to the drawing board.

Reposted by Michael Zimmer

axios.com
Axios @axios.com · 3d
NEW: Racist video of Obamas removed from Trump social account

A White House official blamed a staffer for erroneously posting the video.
Racist video of Obamas removed from Trump's social account
The post was up on Trump's Truth Social account for about 12 hours.
www.axios.com

michaelzimmer.bsky.social
Michael Zimmer @michaelzimmer.bsky.social · 5d
Some real top-notch age verification tech over at DOJ. #click
Screenshot from a US Department of Justice website Age Verification screen that has a question "Are you 18 years of age or older?" and options for Yes or No.

Reposted by Will Jennings, Steve Peers, Silvia Secchi , and 3 more

rmac.bsky.social
Ryan Mac 🙃 @rmac.bsky.social · 5d
That Jeff Bezos's Amazon gave Brett Ratner, someone photographed with Jeffrey Epstein and in the Epstein Files, $75 million to make a doc about Melania Trump, while he chooses to destroy The Washington Post, says about all you need to know.

Reposted by Will Jennings, Steve Peers, Rosemary A. Joyce , and 5 more

dell.bsky.social
dell cameron @dell.bsky.social · 5d
I don’t like this
Letter from Senator Ron Wyden: Dear CIA Director Ratcliffe, I write to alert you to a classified letter I sent you earlier today in which I express deep concerns about CIA activities. Thank you for your attention to this important matter. Sincerely, Ron Wyden U.S. Senator

Reposted by Kim L. Scheppele, Matthew Bunn, Brigitte Nerlich , and 23 more

alexip718.com
Alex Ip 葉清霖 @alexip718.com · 5d
INBOX: Washington Post Ukraine Correspondent Lizzie Johnson announces that she has been laid off in the middle of a below-freezing war zone without power, heat, or running water.
lizzie johnson @lizziejohnsonnn · 49m I was just laid off by The Washington Post in the middle of a warzone. I have no words. I'm devastated. Quote lizzie johnson @lizziejohnsonnn · Jan 25 Waking up without power, heat, or running water. (Again.) But the work here in Kyiv continues. Warming up in the car, writing in pencil — pen ink freezes — by headlamp.

Reposted by Ben H. Ansell, Dorothy Bishop, Scott L. Greer , and 14 more

azrww.bsky.social
Arizona Right Watch @azrww.bsky.social · 5d
Highlighting the speaker who stood in front of the Surprise mayor and told him to consider what the Mayor of Ohrdruf must’ve thought before he died by suicide: “He might have thought ‘how is this my fault I had no jurisdiction over this’ maybe he said ‘this site was not subject to local zoning.’”

michaelzimmer.bsky.social
Michael Zimmer @michaelzimmer.bsky.social · 7d
Hmmm
www.vktr.com/ai-ethics-la...
'Right-to-Compute' Laws May Be Coming to Your State This Year
Montana passed the first “right-to-compute” law shielding AI from regulation. Now similar bills are spreading.
www.vktr.com

Reposted by Michael Zimmer

robertscotthorton.bsky.social
Scott Horton @robertscotthorton.bsky.social · 7d
Healthcare fraud in Minnesota, sensationalized by Trump and Rupert Murdoch, is trivial compared to healthcare fraud in Texas and Florida, which lead the nation in this category. News you'll never see on Rupert Murdoch TV. www.startribune.com/trump-claims...
Trump claims Minnesota lost billions to fraud. The evidence to date isn’t close.
The fraud allegations have been used as a justification for federal immigration enforcement against Minnesota’s Somali population.
www.startribune.com

Reposted by Michael Zimmer, Greg Linden, Jack Stilgoe

rmac.bsky.social
Ryan Mac 🙃 @rmac.bsky.social · 7d
A memo just went out to employees at two of Musk's companies: SpaceX has acquired xAI.

Reposted by Anna O. Law, Tom Clark, Steve Peers , and 5 more

chrisgeidner.bsky.social
Chris Geidner @chrisgeidner.bsky.social · 7d
BREAKING: Judge Jia Cobb issues a TRO blocking DHS Sec Noem's Jan 8 memo purporting to require 7-day notices by members of Congress to perform oversight visits to immigration detention facilities.

The effect is that congressional oversight visits are allowed on request, as is required by Sec. 527.
Case 1:25-cv-02463-JMC Document 52 Filed 02/02/26 Page 1 of 9 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA JOE NEGUSE, in his capacity as a Member of the U.S. House of Representatives, et al., Plaintiffs, Case No. 25-cv-2463 (JMC) V. U.S. IMMIGRATION AND CUSTOMS ENFORCEMENT, et al., Defendants. ORDER Pending before the Court is Plaintiffs' motion for a temporary restraining order, or in the alternative, for a stay under 5 U.S.C. § 705. ECF 49' For the reasons discussed below, the Court GRANTS the motion for a temporary restraining order pending further proceedings on Plaintiffs' request for a Section 705 stay. ORDERED that Defendants are TEMPORARILY ENJOINED from enforcing against the Plaintiffs the oversight visit policy as announced on January 8, 2026, or otherwise requiring any Plaintiff to provide advance notice before conducting oversight visits at any facility operated by or for DHS used to detain or otherwise house aliens; and it is further ORDERED that this Order shall apply to the maximum extent provided for by Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 65(d)(2); and it is further ORDERED that, pursuant to Rule 65(b)(2), this Order shall expire in 14 days, subject to any further order from the Court; and it is further ORDERED that, should Defendants intend to file a supplemental brief in support of their opposition to Plaintiffs' request for a Section 705 stay, they shall have until February 8, 2026, to do so. Plaintiffs shall have until February 11, 2026, to file any additional reply in support of their request for a Section 705 stay. The Court will shortly contact the Parties regarding a hearing. Should the Parties confer and agree on an alternative briefing schedule, they may request alternative dates by submitting a joint status report. SO ORDERED. ЛА М. СОВВ United States District Judge

Reposted by Michael Zimmer, Sarah Roberts, Peter Jacobs

404media.co
404 Media @404media.co · 8d
404 Media is publishing a version of the user guide for the Palantir-made tool called ELITE, which lets ICE bring up dossiers on individual people and provides a “confidence score” of their address.
www.404media.co/here-is-the-...
Here is the User Guide for ELITE, the Tool Palantir Made for ICE
404 Media is publishing a version of the user guide for ELITE, which lets ICE bring up dossiers on individual people and provides a “confidence score” of their address.
www.404media.co

Reposted by Nandita Sharma, Aaron Sojourner, Michael Zimmer , and 1 more

kellymorrisonmn.bsky.social
Rep. Kelly Morrison @kellymorrisonmn.bsky.social · 8d
My office has been flooded with reports of the cruel, unsafe, unlawful conditions inside of the Whipple detention facility in Minneapolis.

This weekend, I was finally granted access to perform oversight of the facility. youtu.be/0SxPn8n2Bfg
Rep. Morrison details her oversight of the federal Whipple building
YouTube video by Rep. Kelly Morrison
youtu.be

michaelzimmer.bsky.social
Michael Zimmer @michaelzimmer.bsky.social · 8d
This needs to be a bigger story: $500 million investment for 49% of World Liberty came months before U.A.E. won access to tightly guarded American AI chips
www.wsj.com/politics/pol...
‘Spy Sheikh’ Bought Secret Stake in Trump Company
$500 million investment for 49% of World Liberty came months before U.A.E. won access to tightly guarded American AI chips.
www.wsj.com

Reposted by Joanna Bryson, Lisa W. Fazio, Jonathan A. Eisen , and 44 more

katjathieme.bsky.social
Dr. Katja Thieme (she/they) @katjathieme.bsky.social · 9d
Academics vying for a spot in Epstein‘s world. There are so many. I feel the need to make a thread, so I don’t keep confusing them. 1/

Reposted by Cas Mudde, Jonathan M. Gilligan, Juan Cole , and 7 more

jeffsharlet.bsky.social
Jeff Sharlet @jeffsharlet.bsky.social · 11d
The college at which I'm employed, which has signed a contract with the AI firm that stole books from 131 colleagues & me, paid a student to write an op-ed for the student paper promoting AI, guided the writing of it, and did not disclose this to the paper. www.thedartmouth.com/article/2026...
College approached and paid student to write op-ed in The Dartmouth
The Dartmouth ran the article on Nov. 17 without knowledge that the College had been involved. 
www.thedartmouth.com

Reposted by Michael Zimmer

lmesseri.bsky.social
Lisa Messeri @lmesseri.bsky.social · 11d
I have a new article out! It’s about the “technological fictions” that Big Tech leaders perform during corporate keynotes, particular Zuck and Cook as they tried to sell the metaverse and spatial computing. 1/
Visions of Computing Futures: Meta, Apple, and the Technological Fictions of Digitally Real Worlds - Lisa Messeri, 2026
The vision of seamlessly integrating virtual and physical environments—variously called spatial computing and the metaverse—has been around for decades. Recentl...
journals.sagepub.com

Reposted by Michael Zimmer

harmancipants.bsky.social
Reyhan Harmanci @harmancipants.bsky.social · 11d
We asked an expert to tell us what they thought of ICE's military moves. It was worse than I thought (but the writing is great) www.wired.com/story/ice-pr...
ICE Pretends It’s a Military Force. Its Tactics Would Get Real Soldiers Killed
WIRED asked an active military officer to break down immigration enforcement actions in Minneapolis and elsewhere.
www.wired.com

michaelzimmer.bsky.social
Michael Zimmer @michaelzimmer.bsky.social · 11d
I’m old enough to remember when structured literature reviews involved expertise-based interpretation and judgment, and thematic analysis meant defining and defending conceptual codes. Now I guess its fine tuning LLM prompts?
#OldManYellsAtCloud

michaelzimmer.bsky.social
Michael Zimmer @michaelzimmer.bsky.social · 12d
Great news, and thanks for the effort! One question: if accepted papers get "invited for presentation at the next CSCW conference" but this happens within n days before the next conference, would the invitation push to the following year's gather? (n=75 days, perhaps?) Budget & visa concerns?

Reposted by Eric Goldman, Michael Zimmer, Sam Kamin , and 1 more

mollyjongfast.bsky.social
Molly Jong-Fast @mollyjongfast.bsky.social · 12d
Personally I think this is too much money to give to Donald trumps poorly trained but heavily armed Militia

Reposted by Michael Zimmer

hypervisible.blacksky.app
Hypervisible @hypervisible.blacksky.app · 12d
“When information is all in the same repository, it is prone to crossing contexts in ways that are deeply undesirable.”
What AI “remembers” about you is privacy’s next frontier
Agents’ technical underpinnings create the potential for breaches that expose the entire mosaic of your life.
www.technologyreview.com

Reposted by Richard S.J. Tol, Brendan Nyhan, Edgar Morgenroth , and 3 more

reckless.bsky.social
nilay patel @reckless.bsky.social · 12d
The ADL found that Grok was the most anti-semitic chatbot in its testing -- and did its best to minimize that finding, because everyone is afraid of Elon. @miasato.bsky.social runs it down www.theverge.com/news/868925/...
In press materials providing topline findings and an overview of the study, the ADL notes Claude’s leading performance — but does not mention that Grok performed the worst of the bunch. When asked about why, Daniel Kelley, senior director of the ADL Center for Technology and Society, provided the following statement: “In our report and press release, we made a deliberate choice to highlight an AI model that demonstrated strong performance in detecting and countering antisemitism and extremism. We wanted to highlight strong performance to show what’s possible when companies invest in safeguards and take these risks seriously, rather than centering the narrative on worst-performing models. That doesn’t diminish the Grok findings—which are fully presented in the report—but reflects a deliberate choice to lead with a forward-looking, standards-setting story.”