Searching for Accountability: Contested Harms, Algorithm Audits, and the Governance of Sociotechnical Systems
This talk will examine how online harms are constructed, interpreted, and governed at the intersection of law, technology, and institutional expertise. Grounded in the emerging field of public-interest technology, it offers an interdisciplinary framework for analyzing sociotechnical harms, those that arise not from isolated technical failures or legal oversights, but from the entangled interactions of platform design, regulatory structures, and expert discourse.
This lecture will also be live streamed via Zoom. You are welcome to join us either in South Hall or online.
For online participants
Online participants must have a Zoom account and be logged in. Sign up for your free account here. If this is your first time using Zoom, please allow a few extra minutes to download and install the browser plugin or mobile app.
Speaker
Emma Lurie is a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Pennsylvania conducting civil liberty-focused audits of AI systems. As a public interest technology researcher and lawyer, she develops and deploys empirical methods to assess AI systems in high-stakes contexts like election information and government surveillance. Her research bridges computer science, law, and information science to examine how AI systems produce harm and how responsibility is allocated across legal and technical domains. She holds a Ph.D. in information science from UC Berkeley and a J.D. from Stanford Law School.
Contact
If you have questions about this event, please contact Inessa Gelfenboym Lee.
Getting to South Hall
Accessibility
If you require an accommodation for effective communication (ASL interpreting, CART captioning, alternative media formats, etc.) or information about mobility access in order to fully participate in this event, please contact Heather Rapp with as much advance notice as possible and at least 7–10 days in advance of the event.
