Mozilla Seeks Bold Public Interest Technologists
Applications are open for our 2024 Senior Fellowship cohort — a program that empowers change-makers working at the intersection of artificial intelligence (AI) and society. Past Mozilla Senior fellows have raised the alarm about dangerous AI training data; examined the impact of digital advertising on women’s health; called out racist algorithms in government; investigated racism in dating algorithms; advocated for greater transparency into AI systems; and more. You can hear directly from some of our Fellowships Alumni about their experience in the recording of our live Q&A, and we invite you to share this with anyone in your network who might be interested in applying. This year, we’re seeking up to 10 experienced technologists, researchers, policy experts, or activists for the cohort. Senior Fellows gain access to resources, tools, community, and amplification along with a $100,000 USD/year stipend. The deadline for registration is April 17th. Learn More on Our Blog → The latest from Mozilla | | | Evaluating Tools to Detect AI-Generated Text Our research reveals that tools for detecting AI-generated text often fail, potentially leading to false accusations of plagiarism against students, non‑native English speakers and others. Read more about our findings → |
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| | | Mozilla Pushes U.S. to Embrace Truly Open, Transparent AI Models Mozilla and a host of other researchers are urging U.S. officials to see value in open‑source AI models when considering future regulation. Read More in PC Mag → |
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| | | An App for Better Governance and Civic Engagement in Kenya Diana Gichengo is a Mozilla IRL Fund Awardee. We spoke with her about a new app that’s helping Kenyans connect with their government and hold officials accountable. Learn More About The App → |
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| | | Southern Africa Faces Challenges to Positive AI Adoption As governments, communities, and businesses across southern Africa integrate AI technologies into everyday life, they face three key challenges. Learn More About The Challenges → |
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| | | Making the Law Accessible to Everyone in Mozambique Equip Mozambique, a Mozilla awardee, merges tech and events for legal empowerment. We spoke with them about how they help vulnerable communities assert their legal rights. Learn More About Equip Mozambique → |
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| | | RCC Community Explores Equitable Digital Access in India Last month, Mozilla's Responsible Computing Challenge (RCC) community in India — along with several allies — explored the crucial issue of digital accessibility. Learn More About RCC In India → |
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Participate Upcoming Events | | | Elections: A Test of Transparency April 30, online: How are researchers and journalists monitoring platforms to maintain the integrity of elections and democratic values? How will big tech impact elections in 2024? RSVP on LinkedIn → |
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| | | Is There a Better Way to Govern All This Data? May 13, online: Join Mozilla’s EM Lewis‑Jong and Gina Moape to learn about Common Voice, the largest crowd-sourced and open-source speech corpus. They’ll discuss its CC0 licence, and how the project is thinking about the way its data is governed in the future. RSVP → |
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| | | Earlybird Tickets: MozFest House Amsterdam June 11-13, in person: Join us at MozFest House: Amsterdam for community talks, collaborative workshops, and vibrant art and culture moments. Get your discounted tickets now. Buy tickets → |
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Take Action | | | WhatsApp Must Act to Protect Global Elections Will you add your name to ask WhatsApp to update its product to protect global elections? Add Your Name → |
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What We’re Reading: What our researchers, grantees and staff are reading this month YouTube approves disinformation ads in India ahead of general election (AccessNow): YouTube is approving election disinformation ads in India ahead of the country’s general election, a new joint investigation by Access Now and Global Witness has found. An A.I. Researcher Takes On Election Deepfakes (New York Times): In 2019, Dr. Etzioni warned of AI’s role in spreading disinformation. His nonprofit, TrueMedia.org, now offers tools to combat this, aiding digital truth‑seekers. We’re Focusing on the Wrong Kind of AI Apocalypse (Time): Rather than worrying about one giant AI apocalypse, we need to worry about the many small catastrophes that AI can bring. OpenAI’s chatbot store is filling up with spam (TechCrunch): The GPT Store, OpenAI’s marketplace, is flooded with potentially copyright‑infringing GPTs, as well as ones promoting academic dishonesty, suggesting lax moderation from OpenAI. Bug Zappers are Swarming Amazon (Wired): Amazon listings for low‑cost tech products can send shoppers down a rabbit hole. Data from Mozilla’s Fakespot shows bug zappers are ascendant. Stories from around the web featuring Mozilla Foundation Fellows and Awardees LOLERCOPTER 🚁🔥posts that made us laugh
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