Day: October 17, 2023

By now the sophistication of false information about Israel and Hamas is clear to anyone who opened their phone this week. As tech platforms rely ever more on artificial intelligence in their battle against disinformation, the havoc in the Middle East exposes the limits of technology to police technology’s harms. It is more important than ever that we understand how global platforms like Meta, Google, and X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, make decisions about what content gets amplified and what taken down. “Just trust us” doesn’t cut it when they’re losing the battle against ever more well-armed propagandists.

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It’s not as though platforms didn’t know they had a huge disinformation problem that human content moderators alone could not solve. Two years ago, Facebook whistleblower Frances Haugen detailed for Congress how growth and profit drove decisions: “The result has been more division, more harm, more lies, more threats and more combat,” she testified. “In some cases, this dangerous online talk has led to actual violence that harms and even kills people.”

But Congress still can’t agree on basic guardrails for holding platforms accountable. My Harvard Kennedy School colleague, computer scientist Latanya Sweeney, estimates that within a year the internet as we’ve known it will have been supplanted by one where the vast majority of content comes from bots. And if there’s one thing we’ve learned as generative AI struts out of the lab and into our feeds and phones and lives, it is how confidently and flamboyantly it lies.

We need a wider range of voices to address the responsibility platforms play in protecting the health of our information ecology. I don’t just mean technologists and psychologists, economists and ethicists, though all need a seat at the table: I mean both the ghosts and the machines. The people affected by these technologies in ways the people who built them did not foresee, need to be heard as well.

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Archiving Facebook’s internal documents

It falls to the growing discipline of Public Interest Technology, cousin to Public Health and Public Interest Law, to advance research and shape debate over the colonization of our public square by private companies. With that challenge in mind, this week former President Barack Obama comes to Harvard for a summit on the future of the internet. Harvard Law School will launch a new Applied Social Media Lab to “reimagine, rebuild, and reboot social media to serve the public good.” Meanwhile, at the Harvard Kennedy School, Sweeney’s Public Interest Technology Lab will release FBArchive.org, a new research platform that allows researchers and journalists to study the internal Facebook documents that Haugen shared.

The major platforms operate as lead-lined vaults with blackout curtains. We know the harms that come out but still have little idea of decisions that go into them. Are content moderation guidelines consistently enforced, and if not, what exceptions are allowed and who has authority to grant them? How is international content moderation conducted? Is it primarily reliant on sophisticated AI algorithms, or does it depend on manual assessments by English speakers reviewing Google Translate results?

Given all that is opaque about how tech platforms make decisions about privacy, content moderation, and algorithm design, FBarchive was built to provide some measure of transparency. Meta—Facebook’s parent company—does a great deal of research about its products, including Facebook, and has vast data about the impact of changes to their design. The documents released by Haugen reveal, for instance, that moderators considered “tradeoff budgets,” so that even when demonstrably harmful content was proliferating in Ethiopia or Myanmar, Meta required that they calculate the financial costs before reducing the reach of such content or taking it down.

The new online archive creates a space for people to add context and insights at scale, in a kind of collaborative research that would otherwise be impossible. It is just one example of the marriage of minds and machines, which protects individual privacy while allowing researchers to understand the tradeoffs facing business leaders who are balancing their responsibilities to the public and to their shareholders.

Putting humans at the center

This is what public interest technologists call “people-centered problem solving,” and it’s impossible to create a “public interest internet” without engaging the very human people who shape how the internet operates. Assuming Congress is unlikely to step into the breach any time soon, for the moment we have to rely on the judgment and even self interest of leaders of tech companies to agree on shared industry standards that protect individual rights, our public goods, and information ecosystem—and, ultimately, to protect democracy.

Twitter was once something of a model for sharing data and community standards—but not anymore. And the starting point has long been obvious: far greater transparency about how algorithms are engineered and how content decisions are made. That would grant researchers, journalists, judges, civil society, and policymakers more power to play their essential roles in shaping a healthy public square. Even as we marvel at the ability of our new robot friends to write a sonnet or predict how proteins fold, it’s worth remembering that without the experience and values humans bring to the equation, the solutions are likely to fail—especially when these technologies make it so much easier to dehumanize each other.

Daniel Heyman’s excited young nephew ran into synagogue last Saturday, speechlessly gesticulating for his confused cousins to join him outside. Why couldn’t he just tell them what was out there? Their dad — though he knew what was going on — couldn’t explain.

Not even a solar eclipse could break Heyman’s vow of silence. 

Since Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack on Israel, many American Jews have complimented their vocal and financial support for Israel with a variety of religious practices, including Friday night candle lighting, daily wrapping of tefillin and a community fast last week. Heyman, who is Orthodox, has taken on a different obligation: He has committed to refraining from talking during prayer services.

No idle chatter, no Shabbat Shaloms, no grousing about the Dodgers and no explaining solar eclipses. Just quiet, focused prayer. For the entire two-plus hour duration.

“The most that we can help to protect Israel is through tefillah,” or prayer, said Heyman, 38, who attends Congregation Ohr HaChaim in Los Angeles. “And the best tefillah is where there’s no talking.”

A sign at the entrance to Ohr HaChaim reminds visitors of the new policy, but qualifies, “We can, and should, smile to everyone coming to shul.” Photo by Louis Keene

No talking — until next year

It’s not just Heyman — his whole congregation is doing it, kids included. And it’s not only Ohr HaChaim: A WhatsApp group created last week for Jews staying mum during Shabbat services has already maxed out at 1,024 members, and a spillover group is filling up just as quickly.

By joining the group, you agree to refrain from talking during Shabbat morning services until the week of the first Torah portion of Exodus — coincidentally, the first Shabbat of 2024. (There’s not much gabbing in the group, either.)

Yudi Arem, an entrepreneur who lives in Boca Raton, started it with two friends he met during his studies in Israel as a teenager. Their initial goal was 40 signups.

Saturday morning services for many Jews, Arem admitted, “is like the centerpiece of people’s time to talk. But we felt like it’s something that people can come together and be like, ‘We’re not doing this together.’ And they could come away with something substantial.”

Ohr HaChaim began its silence Oct. 9, after the synagogue’s spiritual leader, Rabbi Shlomo Klein, advocated for it that night at a special prayer service for Israel. Now, a sign on the door to the sanctuary and greeting cards on the tables inside remind visitors that the community has undertaken the effort.

How to not talk — politely

Heyman printed a couple dozen of these cards, which were created by a member of the WhatsApp group. Photo by Louis Keene

Asked how silence during prayer related to the war in Gaza, where more than 150 Israeli hostages are believed held, Heyman invoked the Biblical adage of “Hakol kol Ya’akov, v’hayadayim y’dei Esav,” which means that Jewish strength is in spirituality (“the voice of Jacob”), whereas its enemies’ lies in physicality (“the hand of Esau”).

“It’s either one or the other that’s going to win,” Heyman said. “If your kol Ya’akov is strong enough, then you don’t have to worry about y’dei Esav. And there’s no question that our voice is very powerful.”

According to halacha, or Jewish law, talking is strictly prohibited during some parts of services, such as the Sh’ma and the repetition of the Amidah, and discouraged during the rest. How much banter actually occurs varies by the synagogue. 

To ward off temptation — and mutual embarrassment — Zish Margulies, a vow-taker who lives in Brooklyn, hung a sign on his chair informing other shulgoers of his commitment.

Margulies had been in Jerusalem on the day of the attacks — brewing coffee before heading to shul — when he heard the air raid sirens. He was staying not far from an Iron Dome battery, which meant he could not only hear the interceptions of Hamas rockets — he could feel them. He spent much of the morning in and out of the bomb shelter.

He debated bringing home his daughter, who is in seminary there, but ultimately decided not to, a decision he said forced him to wrestle with Jewish notions of faith and free will. That’s remained on his mind as he channels his kavanah, or intention, in his prayer.

A month ago, he would have been the type to wish a good Shabbos to someone who sits down next to him. Now, it will be a handshake and a smile. Then, back to the prayer book.

“It’s created an elevated feeling during the tefillah, that’s for sure,” he said.

The post To support Israel, they’re saying nothing at all appeared first on The Forward.

Disney, Fox, Chanel and Michael Bloomberg are among the corporations and billionaires donating millions of dollars to support Israel in the wake of the Oct. 7 massacres by Hamas.

The Walt Disney Co. pledged $2 million to humanitarian efforts in Israel, with $1 million to children’s nonprofits and the other $1 million to Magen David Adom, which is the Israeli Red Cross. The company will also match employee donations up to $25,000.

“In the wake of the horrific terrorist attacks targeting Jews in Israel this past weekend, we must all do what we can to support the innocent people experiencing so much pain, violence, and uncertainty — particularly children,” said Bob Iger, CEO of the company.

Critics have objected to many of the efforts. “Cancel your Disney subscriptions,” wrote a user on X. “They are sending your money to Israel to facilitate the genocide in Gaza.”

In response to the Hamas attacks, which killed 1,400, Israel has targeted Gaza — which Hamas rules — with airstrikes, killing 3,000. 

Hefty donations

Bloomberg personally donated $2 million, saying on Instagram: “In the wake of this weekend’s appalling terrorist attacks on Israel, I’m stepping up my support for @Magen_David_Adom, the Israeli Red Cross.” He said he would match any contributions to the organization, and in response, more than 9,000 donors gave $7.5 million. That amount was then matched by Bloomberg Philanthropies, Forbes reported.

Forbes also said that Russian-born billionaire and tech investor Yuri Milner, an Israeli citizen who lives in California, announced $10 million to aid Israeli humanitarian efforts, while the Schusterman Family Foundation, whose fortune derives from Oklahoma’s oil and gas industry, has pledged millions more as part of its ongoing support for Israeli causes.

Goldman Sachs said it would match employee donations, as did Mastercard, which specified that it would match contributions from employees to Israeli groups like Magen David Adom up to $15,000. UBS, the financial services firm, said it would match a total of $5 million from employees and clients. Fox donated $1 million to United Jewish Appeal’s Israel Emergency Fund. NBCUniversal’s corporate parent Comcast donated $2 million to humanitarian efforts, including $1.5 million to Save the Children, Doctors Without Borders and American Friends of Magen David Adom, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

Chanel, Tory Burch and Israel Bonds

In the fashion world, Women’s Wear Daily reported donations to humanitarian efforts in Israel from Tory Burch, PVH Corp., Authentic Brands Group and Ralph Lauren. WWD also cited a leaked memo in which Chanel executives pledged $4 million to Israel, which some observers mocked in light of the history of the company’s founder, Coco Chanel, who spied for the Nazis during World War II. Instagram user @nemahsis posted that she finds it “wild that @chanelofficial wants to donate $4 million dollar to israel to help with gen-oh-side. if you look closely, they were also on the wrong side of history when Chanel herself was supporting natzays.”

Meanwhile Israel Bonds has sold more than $200 million worth of bonds since the Oct. 7 attacks, with most bought by state and local governments, according to ejewishphilanthropy.com. The website also reported a $7 million pledge from the investment company Blackstone for Israeli humanitarian relief efforts. 

The post Disney, Fox, Bloomberg, Chanel among corporations and philanthropies supporting humanitarian aid in Israel  appeared first on The Forward.

Sen. Tom Cotton (R., Ark.) called for the United States to deport foreign students who support Hamas after the terrorist group killed more than 1,400 Israelis in last week’s terror attack.

“I write to urge you to immediately deport any foreign national—including and especially any alien on a student visa—that has expressed support for Hamas and its murderous attacks on Israel. These fifth-columnists have no place in the United States,” Cotton wrote in a Monday letter to Department of Homeland Security secretary Alejandro Mayorkas.

Cotton called out the “appalling explosion of anti-Semitism” following the Oct. 7 Hamas attack on southern Israel.

“The appalling explosion of anti-Semitism in the United States over the past few weeks should disturb anyone who shares American values,” Cotton wrote. “While American citizens may have a First Amendment right to speak disgusting vitriol if they so choose, no foreign national has a right to advocate for terrorism in the United States.”

The call comes after myriad student groups have advocated for Palestinians and Hamas following the attacks.

Lawmakers have slammed their alma maters for their weak responses to the attacks, and some donors have said they’ll stop giving to universities that had only a muted response to Hamas’s terror.

Former president Donald Trump said this week that if reelected he will bar immigrants who support Hamas from coming to the United States. Other presidential candidates are calling for America to reject refugees from Gaza.

The post Tom Cotton Calls for Deportation of Foreign Students Who Support Hamas appeared first on Washington Free Beacon.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the United States and Israel had agreed to develop a plan to get humanitarian aid to civilians in Gaza without benefiting Hamas, and that President Joe Biden would visit Israel this week to hear how it would minimize civilian casualties in its war effort.

Blinken made the announcement after nine hours of negotiations with Netanyahu that stretched into the early hours of Tuesday. Their meeting was disrupted by air raid sirens warning of incoming Palestinian rocket fire, forcing them to briefly shelter in a bunker.

Blinken, Washington’s top diplomat, was on the fifth consecutive day of round-the-clock diplomacy in the region, shuttling back to Israel after visiting six Arab countries in four days.

He has sought in part to address the unfolding humanitarian crisis in Gaza, where Israeli bombardment in response to a deadly Hamas attack in Israel has killed some 2,800 Palestinians while forcing hundreds of thousands to flee their homes.

“Today, and at our request, the United States and Israel have agreed to develop a plan that will enable humanitarian aid from donor nations and multilateral organizations to reach civilians in Gaza,” Blinken told reporters.

Blinken said the United States shared Israel‘s concern that Hamas may seize or destroy aid entering Gaza, or prevent it from reaching people in need.

“If Hamas in any way blocks humanitarian assistance from reaching civilians, including by seizing the aid itself, we’ll be the first to condemn it. And we will work to prevent it from happening again,” Blinken said.

Blinken did not provide details on what the aid plan would look like.

The top U.S. diplomat also said that Biden would travel to Israel on Wednesday to make clear that the top U.S. ally has the right to defend itself after Hamas gunmen rampaged through southern Israeli towns and military bases on Oct. 7, killing at least 1,300 people.

“President Biden will receive a comprehensive brief on Israel‘s war aims and strategy,” Blinken said.

“[The] president will hear from Israel how it will conduct its operations in a way that minimizes civilian casualties and enables humanitarian assistance to flow to civilians in Gaza in a way that does not benefit Hamas.”

Blinken was in Egypt on Sunday, where he said the Egyptian-controlled Rafah border crossing into Gaza would soon reopen, but a deal to allow aid in, and for some foreign citizens to leave, has yet to materialize.

Speaking to reporters earlier after meeting Blinken, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said: “This will be a long war; the price will be high. But we are going to win for Israel and the Jewish people and for the values that both countries believe in.”

Washington has moved an aircraft carrier strike group to the eastern Mediterranean and is set to move another carrier to the region in coming days, moves Blinken has said are meant as a deterrent, not a provocation.

A U.S. official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said that the Bataan, another warship, was heading near the coast of Israel and would include a Marine expeditionary unit, with a total force of about 2,000 personnel.

They have not been given a specific mission but could play a key role in any evacuation.

Separately, the United States has told some troops, potentially 2,000, to be ready to deploy within 24 hours if notified—instead of the usual 96 hours—to the region and could include units that provide assistance such as medical aid if needed, the U.S. official said.

(Reporting by Humeyra Pamuk; writing by Steve Holland, Jasper Ward, and Simon Lewis; additional reporting by Idrees Ali and Patricia Zengerle; editing by Howard Goller and Stephen Coates)

The post US and Israel To Develop Aid Plan for Gaza Civilians, Blinken Says appeared first on Washington Free Beacon.