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Clifford Lynch at UCLA: Stewardship in the Age of Algorithms

Clifford Lynch talk poster

2–4 p.m. Wednesday, April 26, 2017
Presentation Room, Charles E. Young Research Library
Free admission; no reservations required

The term “algorithms” is increasingly used as shorthand to describe complex, large-scale socio-technical systems such as social media platforms, analytic systems, recommendation engines, and personalization that depend on frequently opaque and constantly changing computational algorithms. With the explosion in analytic and tracking technologies and a flourishing market incapturing and re-selling this information, the full scope of the inputs used by algorithmic methods is also often unclear. Effort has gone into understanding the behaviors and potential biases embodied in such systems, but much less well explored is how to document their constantly changing behaviors at a given point in time.

Clifford Lynch will explore the nature of the problem and offer very preliminary thoughts on pathways to address the increasingly urgent need to document and preserve these often-critical social and societal artifacts.

Clifford Lynch has led the Coalition for Networked Information (CNI) since 1997. CNI, jointly sponsored by the Association of Research Libraries and EDUCAUSE, includes about 200 member organizations concerned with the intelligent uses of information technology and networked information to enhance scholarship and intellectual life. CNI’s wide-ranging agenda includes work in digital preservation, data intensive scholarship, teaching, learning and technology, and infrastructure and standards development.

Co-sponsored by the UCLA Library and the Department of Information Studies

UCLA Data Governance Task Force: final report and recommendations

UCLA Data Governance Task Force reportI am thrilled to announce that the Data Governance Task Force’s work has completed and its final report and recommendations are now available. We’d like to contribute some ideas for addressing questions about appropriate use of data shared by many of our higher ed colleagues. We’re also interested in thoughts about the report.

NB. Availability of this report doesn’t imply campus vetting or endorsement. Those discussions are just beginning.

Intellectual freedom workshop

Intellectual Freedom workshop brochureI am excited to be part of a half-day workshop on intellectual freedom being conducted by Maureen Whalen (previously of the Getty Museum) May 19, 2016. Click on the flyer for details. No RSVP necessary.

Thanks to all…

Awards on tablee

DataLex: Privacy, Big Data & the Law

DataLex2015-brochureUC Santa Cruz is holding a day-long event on Tuesday, October 13 at the intersection of big data, privacy, and the law. A diverse and renowned group of speakers and a format designed to engage the audience is going to make for a fascinating and fun day… (Full disclosure: I’m moderating one of the panels.) Register now!! If you can’t make it in person, the event will be webcast live as well. Tweets to #datalex2015.

Privacy: A foreign member of our connected world

Thom RugoThe senior thesis project of Thom Rugo, a 2015 graduate of the UCLA Department of Design and Media Arts, is “a thought-provoking art piece titled Central Hub, [that] encourages individuals to reevaluate their blasé attitudes toward privacy, data security and surveillance.” From a privacy practitioner’s point of view, it’s a different take on how we can heighten privacy awareness.

An invitation to meet the authors of graphic novella “Terms of Service”

Terms of Service graphic novellaThe graphic novella Terms of Service: Understanding Our Role in the World of Big Data examines the role of technology and the implications of sharing our personal information online.

I am pleased to join the UCLA Library in presenting authors Michael Keller, a multimedia reporter at Al Jazeera America, and Josh Neufeld, a nonfiction cartoonist, at two events being held at UCLA on May 19.

Admission is free, but space is limited, and reservations are requested (RSVP for each session below separately). Attendees will receive a print copy of Terms of Service and the authors will be available for signing.

Hope to see you on the 19th!


Terms of Service signageBIG DATA AND YOUR RIGHTS IN THE DIGITAL AGE

10–11:30am | Tuesday, May 19, 2015
Charles E. Young Research Library | Library Conference Center

In Terms of Service, authors Keller and Neufeld take readers on a practical journey toward understanding digital-age privacy in everyday life. Come hear excerpts from the work, gain insight into into privacy concerns, and learn about the authors’ collaborative creative process. An audience discussion will follow the talk.

Please RSVP to attend the morning session.


Picture the Possibilities signageWORKSHOP FOR STUDENTS, FACULTY, JOURNALISTS, AND EDITORS

2–3:30pm | Tuesday, May 19, 2015
Charles E. Young Research Library | Library Conference Center

A picture’s worth a thousand words, as authors Keller and Neufeld show with their graphic novel Terms of Service. What might this mean on a university campus? Plenty, ranging from research publications to citizen journalism.

Keller and Neufeld will explain their creative process and how they used this visual form to illuminate an extremely complex issue, suggesting new formats for published research. Keller will also suggest how today’s citizen journalists, armed with smartphones and social media accounts, can embrace possibilities and avoid pitfalls.

Please RSVP to attend the afternoon session.


Invitation to the book signing for Big Data, Little Data, No Data

Christine Borgman book signing flyer - thumbnailChristine Borgman’s brand-new book, Big Data, Little Data, No Data: Scholarship in the Networked World is for anyone who bandies about the words “big data”. Read this interview and come to the book signing 4-6pm February 25 (flyer)!

 

A data protection seminar for the UCLA community

Data protection seminar flyerConcerned about all the data breach talk in the news lately? Wondering if your departmental practices need review? Join us on February 10th to learn about the policies and practices that can help you avoid getting into a breach situation and what to do if it does happen.

This event is free, but seating is limited, so registration is required. (Please unregister should your plans change by entering your email address and choosing “I will NOT attend this event”.)

The seminar will begin at 8am with a light breakfast and end at noon. It is organized by my office, supported by the Office of Information Technology, and sponsored by the Office of Insurance and Risk Management as part of the campus’s activities for Data Privacy Month.

Here’s the current agenda and speaker lineup:

AGENDA SPEAKERS
  • BREACHES OF PERSONAL INFORMATION
    • Campus response policy and protocol
    • Keynote: Surviving a privacy breach
  • PROTECTING DATA
    • Data classification and other policy
    • Data in the cloud
    • Concrete suggestions for better awareness
  • PROTECTING DEVICES AND INFRASTRUCTURE
    • Keynote: Surviving a high-profile burglary
    • Cybersecurity insurance claims and eligibility
    • Campus backbone network protections
    • Campuswide initiatives and policy
  • BALANCING PRIVACY INTERESTS
    • Privacy expectations, policy requirements, and the law
  • Kelly Arruda, project manger, Office of Information Technology
  • Amy Blum, senior campus counsel
  • Ross Bollens, chief information security officer, IT Services
  • Karla Breen, director of Business Administration, UCLA Center X, Graduate School of Education and Information Studies
  • Dean Malilay, director, Insurance and Risk Management
  • Jessica Mentesoglu, manager, Learning & Research Technology Services, UCLA Library
  • Lisa Kemp Jones, Digital Initiatives and Information Technology, UCLA Library
  • Thomas Trappler, senior IT commodity team member, UC Office of the President Procurement Services
  • LeAnn Trusela, MOBILIZE project director, UCLA Center X, Graduate School of Education and Information Studies
  • Michael Van Norman, senior director, Networking and Communications, IT Services
  • Kent Wada, UCLA chief privacy officer and director, IT Strategic Policy

James Bamford at UCLA

Printed program for James Bamford eventBamford UCLA event signageIn celebration of its 10th anniversary, the UCLA Board on Privacy and Data Protection invites you to a presentation by James Bamford, author, journalist, and documentary producer dubbed The N.S.A.’s Chief Chronicler in a New Yorker profile.

Author of four national bestsellers on the NSA and the intelligence community, Bamford wrote the September 2014 WIRED magazine cover story on Edward Snowden (see this powerful 3-minute video clip in which he and photographer Platon speak about this experience). Bamford is now working with NOVA on a documentary on cyber warfare for which PBS just released the interview transcript with Snowden.

Wednesday, January 21, 2015  | 2–5PM
Charles E. Young Research Library | Main Conference Room

This free event is open to the UCLA community, but seating is limited and registration is required. Refreshments will be served. This event is sponsored by the Office of Information Technology, with support from the UCLA Library, as part of the campus’s activities surrounding international Data Privacy Day.

Separately, Bamford will be speaking the previous evening at the UCLA Hammer Museum forum America Under Surveillance together with fellow author and investigative journalist Julia Angwin. (Julia gave a wonderful talk at the UCLA Privacy and Security Symposium last April.) The Hammer event is free and open to the public, but tickets are required. (Note: The Hammer event was taped and can now be streamed by going to the event page.)