The PIT UNiverse Newsletter
2024: Building Blocks of Democracy
During this crucial year for democracy, technology presents us with a double-edged sword, offering avenues for community organizing and voter participation while also facilitating mis- and disinformation, cyberattacks, voter disenfranchisement, and more.
Public interest technologists have the tools we need to meet these challenges head-on. Learn how practitioners from across the Public Interest Technology University Network (PIT-UN) are building educational pathways, partnering with local communities, and fostering PIT career pathways into government, industry and civil society.
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September 2024 Newsletter
Technology has the power to both accelerate and mitigate climate change – it all depends on how we design, deploy and govern it. In our September newsletter…
Interdisciplinary Research on PIT & Climate Issues at the University of Michigan
Q&A with Cynthia Teniente-Matson, President of San José State University and Summit Keynote Speaker
July 2024 Newsletter
Each week, we’re confronted with new questions about AI across a range of issues, from climate change to housing to the future of work. In our July newsletter…
Will AI Go the Way of the Roomba? Four public interest technologists respond.
PIT in Practice: Building the Field of Responsible AI at Carnegie Mellon University.
June 2024 Newsletter
Emerging technologies are frequently implemented at a breakneck pace under a generic banner of “progress.” But who gets to define “progress”? What ideals and assumptions undergird it? In our June newsletter…
Centering Human Relationships in the Age of AI by Deb Raji, AI Researcher and 2024 Tech for Humanity Prize Awardee
Policy for Public Interest Technology by Jasmine McNealy, PIT Policy Fellow
May 2024 Newsletter
Data science and statistics are not neutral, but are fundamentally shaped by power dynamics. Public interest technologists aim to steer data practices into more ethical and community-centered directions. In our May newsletter…
Numbers Never Speak for Themselves by Francisca Garcìa-Cobìan Richter, Case Western Reserve
PIT in Practice: Redefining the Role of “Data Scientist” at Georgia State University
April 2024 Newsletter
Elections are an important piece of the puzzle, but democracy as a whole depends on year-round, lifelong practices of civic engagement. In our April newsletter…
Growing NYC’s Civic Tech Ecosystem by Katie Cumiskey (City University of New York), Noel Hidalgo and Jazzy Smith (BetaNYC)
PIT in Practice: Building Safe & Secure Elections at Georgia Tech
March 2024 Newsletter
Cybersecurity is a basic community need and a cornerstone of public interest technology (PIT). Learn how universities across our Network are working to make cybersecurity accessible to all communities, especially those historically excluded from technology.
Our Resources this month include toolkits for starting a cyber clinic, and our March Events & Opportunities section is full of job postings, webinars and workshops you don’t want to miss.
February 2024 Newsletter
“Technology is not value-netural – and neither is democracy,” argues Deb Donig (Cal Poly). At Harvard, Latanya Sweeney works with students to address technology-society clashes.
Calls are live for our PIT Career Fair RFP and a new academic journal. Plus, find resources on community partnerships, and data science for social impact.
2023 Newsletter
In 2023, our bi-monthly newsletter focused on six areas critical areas of public interest technology.
November 2023
In the November 2023 issue of PITUNiverse, you’ll find insights from experts in law, community-centered data science, computer science, public policy and more on how PIT practitioners are defending democracy.
Editorial Features
- Introducing the November 2023 Newsletter
- Making Data Science Democratic
- Shaping Ethical Technologists in the Age of AI
- PIT Law: Forging a Just Technological Future
- AI’s Next Chapter: The Executive Order & Academia’s Role in the Future of AI
- Snapshot: Fall 2023 PIT Career Fairs
- Student Research Papers & Presentations from 2023 Convening
- November 2023: Letter from the Desk Brenda Perea
- Q&A: 2024 PIT Summit with San José State
September 2023
In the September 2023 issue of PITUNiverse, you’ll find insights from experts in AI, data science, public policy, engineering, and the humanities about the intersections between PIT and climate change.
Editorial Features
- Introduction to the September 2023 Issue
- Climate Change AI
- Data Science for Climate Change at Sewanee DataLab
- Tech for the Anthropocene: Cultivating Earth Creatureliness
- Q&A: Using GIS for Better Natural Disaster Risk Management
- People with Disabilities must be Included in Climate Action Planning
- September 2023: Letter from the Desk Brenda Perea
- PiTech at Cornell Tech
- Student Voices from the UVA Data Justice Academy
July 2023
In the July 2023 issue of PITUNiverse, you’ll find editorial features on public interest cybersecurity from across our network, a preview of recently-completed PIT-UN Challenge Grant projects and resources for faculty, students and PIT graduates.
Editorial Features
- Introduction to the July 2023 Issue: Innovations in Public Interest Cybersecurity
- Who – not What – is Cybersecurity for?
- Q&A: Building a Community Cybersecurity Clinic
- Why and How We Must Diversify Cybersecurity
- A Federal Cybersecurity Primer
- The Double-Edged Sword of Free Cybersecurity Training
- July 2023: Letter from the Desk Brenda Perea
- Students Explore the Complex World of Cybersecurity
- Google pledges $20 million to the Consortium of Cybersecurity Clinics
May 2023
Experts from across PIT-UN share insights, frameworks, case studies and practical guides on how we can teach, learn and apply data science and AI in ways that support community wellbeing and human flourishing.
Editorial Features
- How Public Interest Tech Principles Can Shape the Future of Data Science and Artificial Intelligence
- The Role of Public Interest Technologists in an Age of AI Hype
- GAEIA: A Global Collaboration to Grow Tech Ethics
- The Legacies We Create with Data and AI
- Navigating the Generative-AI Education-Policy Landscape
- An Interdisciplinary Approach to AI Ethics Training
- Code for Charlottesville Teams up with Civil Rights Advocates
- Grounding Principles for Understanding and Regulating AI
- May 2023: PIT-UN Update from Brenda Perea
March 2023
Learn the hows and whys behind institutionalizing PIT on your campus, so you can unlock support from partners and senior leaders. Our experts illustrate hidden opportunities in today’s tech landscape, groundbreaking PIT research, community engagement, and more.
Editorial Features
- PIT & the Mission of Higher Ed
- DataWorks: Participatory Design in Action
- How PIT Prepares Students to Become Changemakers in Tech
- The Chaos of Chat GPT Points to a Crucial Opportunity
- Q&A with Dr. Cynthia Warrick, President of Stillman College
- March 2023: PIT-UN Update from Brenda Perea
- Meet MSI/Equity Fellow Sheetal Dhir
- New Certificates & Degree Programs from PIT-UN Members
January 2023
The January issue explores how public interest technology and the work of PIT-UN members are developing solutions to a wide array of public and critical infrastructure issues, from smart cities to sustainable water purification.
Editorial Features
- A Public Interest Tech Approach to Smart Cities
- The Watchword in State/Local Government Tech in 2023: People
- Best Practices: Community Partnerships in PIT Work
- January 2023: PIT-UN Update from Brenda Perea
- Q&A with Sylvester Johnson, Faculty Fellow, Public Interest Technology University Network
- Coding it Forward: Civic Digital Fellowship and Civic Innovation Corps
- In Pursuit of Public Interest Careers
- Smart Cities, Privacy and Equity: The Legal Gap
Resources
- Miami Dade College students & Code for South Florida develop a participatory budgeting prototype
- Local Surveillance Oversight Ordinances White Paper
- SALUS – The Crisis Hub, Pepperdine University School of Public Policy
- Networks and Mobile Systems Capstone, University of Washington (Fall 2021)
- Sewanee DataLab 2022: Purifying Wastewater for Rural Communities
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Career Information and Resources on Information Privacy in Smart Systems