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Michal Luria

@mluria.bsky.social

120 followers 110 following 11 posts

Human-centered researcher of emerging tech. Designer of alternative interactions. Research Fellow at @CenDemTech. Ph.D. in HCI from @CarnegieMellon

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Reposted by Michal Luria

Center for Democracy & Technology @cdt.org · 14d

Guests @zevesanderson.com, CDT Research Fellow @mluria.bsky.social, and guest host
@aliyabhatia.bsky.social unpack what users really think about age checks, how they shape online behavior, and what’s at stake for balancing child safety with digital rights.

Tech Talks: Age Verification

In this episode of Tech Talks, we dive into the growing debate over online age verification. While often framed as a way to protect children, these policies carry major implications for how everyone, adults and children alike, accesses the internet. Unlike showing an ID at a bar, online age checks can require the collection and […]

Reposted by Michal Luria

Center for Democracy & Technology @cdt.org · 22d

🚨 NEW BLOG led by CDT Intern @adinawa.bsky.social, with CDT’s Ruchika Joshi & @mluria.bsky.social, explores dark patterns in conversational AI — subtle design tricks in tools like ChatGPT, Replika & Character.AI that influence spending, attention, & data sharing:

AI-Powered Deception: A Deeper Dimension of Dark Design Patterns in Conversational AI Tools and Platforms

This post was led by CDT Intern Adinawa Adjagbodjou Have you ever struggled to cancel a subscription you didn’t know you were enrolled in? Or have you been invited to join a platform by a friend only to discover that it was the site impersonating someone in your contact list? If so, you’ve encountered a […]

Michal Luria @mluria.bsky.social · 28d

9/9 As Savage mentioned in her testimony, UX researchers generally advocate for users — especially vulnerable users like children. To get there, it is crucial to ensure that they have freedom to ask hard questions, pursue answers with the appropriate methodology, and communicate findings clearly.

Michal Luria @mluria.bsky.social · 28d

8/ In parallel, we need clear auditing and accountability processes within companies, as well as access to data to vetted independent researchers.

Michal Luria @mluria.bsky.social · 28d

7/ That’s why it’s not enough to have research teams — it’s also about making sure research is conducted and reported at the highest standards. In this case, the researchers themselves seem to have held the highest standards; but everyone, all the way to top leadership, must be onboard too.

Michal Luria @mluria.bsky.social · 28d

6/ Doing research inside a big tech company is already extremely difficult. Researchers face significant pressure from internal and external stakeholders, and the potential for conflicts of interest are an everyday reality. Still, this work is deeply necessary, and understaffed.

Michal Luria @mluria.bsky.social · 28d

5/ This testimony matters, and these whistleblowers are courageous for coming forth. At the same time, such allegations shouldn’t undermine trust in UX research, which would be a devastating outcome — company researchers are among those working hardest to surface safety risks and push for change.

Michal Luria @mluria.bsky.social · 28d

4/ The only thing worse than having no research on a critical safety-related research question, is having misleading research; A gap in knowledge can be acknowledged and addressed. But if the research is riddled with malpractice, the harm is harder to detect — and far more damaging.

Michal Luria @mluria.bsky.social · 28d

3/ If true, this profoundly undermines research integrity. Excluding findings, deleting data that sheds light on people’s safety, misrepresenting findings — these would all directly violate the most fundamental research ethics code.

Michal Luria @mluria.bsky.social · 28d

2/ The testimony focused on alarming internal interactions between research teams, leadership, and legal, that allegedly suppressed, altered, and misrepresented research and research findings to protect the company from liability and damage to reputation.

Michal Luria @mluria.bsky.social · 28d

It’s not every day that UX researcher whistleblowers testify before the Senate. Yesterday, two former Meta researchers, Jason Sattizahn and Cayce Savage, shared their concerns with safety research for Meta VR products, and more broadly within Meta. So how does UX research move on from here? 🧵

Michal Luria @mluria.bsky.social · Aug 29

With a wave of tragic headlines about AI-related deaths and lawsuits it's critical to reconsider the design choices that enable this -- as a first, stir away from intentionally humanlike chatbots.

Tech Policy Press @techpolicypress.bsky.social · Aug 29

In the wake of numerous reports of interactions with AI chatbots that resulted in deadly consequences, the Center for Democracy & Technology's Dr. Michal Luria says AI firms should stop designing products that pretend to be human.

AI Chatbots Are Emotionally Deceptive by Design | TechPolicy.Press

Chatbots should stop pretending to be human, writes the Center for Democracy & Technology's Dr. Michal Luria.

www.techpolicy.press

Michal Luria @mluria.bsky.social · Aug 28

We used a Design Research approach (#speeddating) to test scenarios currently being proposed and debated in policy circles with teens and parents. Here is what we found on age verification approaches 👉

Full report on all topics, including screen-time features and algorithm controls coming soon.

Center for Democracy & Technology @cdt.org · Aug 28

CDT’s @mluria.bsky.social + @aliyabhatia.bsky.social's interviews with families reveal concerns about privacy, efficacy, & the need for transparent, user-centered approaches that support both agency & parental discretion. Read more:

Teen and Parent Perspectives on Approaches to Age Verification

Age verification (AV) is being rolled out by online services to comply with new laws in Europe and across states in the United States. Proposed legislation at the federal level in the U.S., such as the Kids Off Social Media Act and the Kids Online Safety Act, may also result in increased adoption of AV […]

Reposted by Michal Luria

Center for Democracy & Technology @cdt.org · Aug 28

CDT’s @mluria.bsky.social + @aliyabhatia.bsky.social's interviews with families reveal concerns about privacy, efficacy, & the need for transparent, user-centered approaches that support both agency & parental discretion. Read more:

Teen and Parent Perspectives on Approaches to Age Verification

Age verification (AV) is being rolled out by online services to comply with new laws in Europe and across states in the United States. Proposed legislation at the federal level in the U.S., such as the Kids Off Social Media Act and the Kids Online Safety Act, may also result in increased adoption of AV […]

Reposted by Michal Luria

Aliya Bhatia @aliyabhatia.bsky.social · Feb 19

Instead of hearing Senate Judiciary Committee members paint a sensational picture about social media, read what over 20 researchers and experts say can actually move the needle on sustainable and equitable policymaking that benefits all young people w/ @mluria.bsky.social: cdt.org/insights/the...

The Kids are Online: Research-Driven Insights on Child Safety Policy

Executive Summary This report summarizes the key discussions and insights from an in-person symposium held in September 2024 on the topic of children’s online safety policy. The event convened academi...

Reposted by Michal Luria

Matt Scherer @matthewus.bsky.social · Nov 20

Check out CDT’s latest report, led by @mluria.bsky.social and also starring @arianaaboulafia.bsky.social and me, on disabled workers’ experiences with gamified hiring tests, AI scored video interviews, and other modern digitized employment assessments.

Center for Democracy & Technology @cdt.org · Nov 20

AI-powered hiring technologies are transforming recruitment, but are they inclusive? CDT’s latest report dives into the ethical and legal risks of digitized assessments, particularly their impact on disabled job applicants. cdt.org/insights/scr...

Screened Out: The Impact of Digitized Hiring Assessments on Disabled Workers

This report is also authored by Henry Claypool and Wilneida Negrón. [ PDF version ] Companies have incorporated hiring technologies, including AI-powered assessments and other automated employment decision systems (AEDSs), into various stages of the hiring process across a wide range of industries. While proponents argue that these technologies can aid in identifying suitable candidates […]