>>> AFTER NEARLY TWO YEARS OF TOUGH NEGOTIATIONS, RESEARCHERS
GOT THEIR HANDS ON A HUGE AMOUNT
OF DATA FACEBOOK HAS GIVEN A
GROUP OF ECONOMIC ACCESS TO DATA
TO STUDY THE WAY ITS USERS SHARE
INFORMATION AND MISINFORMATION.
THE DATA CONSISTS OF URLs THAT
YOU AND I ARE LIKELY TO SEE VIA
FACEBOOK.
FACEBOOK. 38 MILLION OF THEM.
EACH ONE VIEWED AT LEAST 100
TIMES PUBLICLY ON FACEBOOK.
RESEARCHERS CAN SEE DETAILS LIKE
WHETHER THE SHARED LINKS WERE
FACT CHECKED OR FLAGGED BY USERS
AS HATE SPEECH.
AND THEN THEY CAN SEE BROAD
DEMOGRAPHIC INFORMATION ABOUT
THE PEOPLE WHO VIEWED, LIKED OR
SHARED THESE LINKS AND GATHER
POLITICAL AFFILIATIONS OF THOSE
USERS.
USERS. ALL OF THIS IS EVENTUALLY GOING
TO TELL US JUST HOW LITTLE WE
KNOW OR WE’VE KNOWN BEFORE ABOUT
WHAT SOCIAL MEDIA MAY BE DOING
TO OUR FRIENDSHIPS ATTENTION OF
SPAN AND EVEN DEMOCRACY ITSELF.
I WANT TO BRING IN JAKE WARD AND
ROGER McNAME.
ROGER McNAME. IT IS A MUST READ FOR ANYONE WHO
IS CONCERNED ABOUT THIS
INFORMATION AND MISINFORMATION.
I WANT TO START WITH JAKE WARD.
JAKE, YOU AND I HAVE BEEN
TALKING ABOUT THIS FOR A LONG
TIME.
TIME. YOU HAVE SAID FOR A COUPLE YEARS
NOW THIS IS WHAT NEEDS TO
HAPPEN.
HAPPEN. INDEPENDENT RESEARCHERS NEED TO
GET THEIR HANDS ON THIS DATA TO
FIGURE OUT WHAT FACEBOOK KNOWS
ABOUT US AND HOW IT MAY OR MAY
NOT MANIPULATE US AND HOW WE CAN
FIGURE OUT THE IMPACT OF SOCIAL
MEDIA ON PEOPLE’S BEHAVIOR.
>> THAT’S RIGHT, ALI.
AN INCREDIBLE MOMENT.
A HISTORIC MOMENT.
THE IDEA THAT THIS RESEARCH
GROUP SOCIAL SCIENCE ONE IS
GOING TO GET NOT JUST THE SMALL,
SURFACE AMOUNT OF DATA YOU CAN
GET FROM ANY CURSORY LOOK AT
FACEBOOK, BUT A REAL DATA SET
THAT WILL ALLOW ACADEMICS TO
LOOK INSIDE THE COMPANY AND SEE
HOW ARE WE SHARING THINGS ACROSS
THIS PLATFORM.
THIS PLATFORM. HOW DOES MISINFORMATION SPREAD?
HOW DOES A CONVERSATION TURN
INTO HATE SPEECH AND DOES HATE
SPEECH SOMEHOW STICK IN OUR
MINDS MORE THAN THE KIND OF
INNOCENT STUFF THAT YOU AND I
MIGHT SHARE ABOUT OUR FAMILIES
OR OUR FRIENDS, RIGHT?
THE PROBLEM, OF COURSE, IS THAT
THIS IS A THORNY MOMENT FOR
FACEBOOK.
FACEBOOK. UNDER A DECENT DECREE AND A HUGE
FINE FOR PRIVACY VIOLATIONS AND
THEY SAID WE HAVE TO LIMIT THE
AMOUNT OF DATA.
THEY’RE NOT GIVING THESE
RESEARCHERS WHAT THEY HAD HOPED
FOR WHICH WAS A VERY SPECIFIC
INDIVIDUAL LEVEL AMOUNT OF DATA.
THE KIND OF DATA THAT FACEBOOK
USES EVERY DAY TO MONITOR WHAT
YOU AND I LOOK AT AND FIGURE
OUT.
OUT. BUT, IT IS A VALUABLE THING
BECAUSE YOU’RE GOING TO ALLOW
ACADEMICS HERE AND IT HAS TO BE
QUALIFIED ACADEMICS.
QUALIFIED ACADEMICS. THESE ARE NOT CAMBRIDGE, THIS IS
QUALIFIED, INDEPENDENT ACADEMICS
WHO GOT AN APPROVAL AND COULD
APPLY AND SEE SUDDENLY HOW URLs
THAT ARE BEING SHARED ACROSS
FACEBOOK STICKING IN OUR MINDS
AND CHANGING DEMOCRACY ITSELF,
ALI.
ALI. >> 5:45 IN THE MORNING WHERE YOU
ARE, MY FRIEND.
I AM NEVER THAT PERKY AND ALIVE
AT 5:45 IN THE MORNING.
>> JAKE DESCRIBED THE FACT THAT
FACEBOOK HAD TO PUT SOME SAND
INTO THIS IN ORDER TO PUT IT OUT
THERE TO NOT VIOLATE THEIR
PRIVACY DECREE AND NOT VIOLATE
THE EUROPEAN PRIVACY LAWS.
SOMETHING THAT YOU IN YOUR BOOK
TALK SO MUCH ABOUT PRIVACY,
RIGHT.
RIGHT. SO, HOW DO WE BLEND THESE TWO
WORLDS?
WORLDS? WE WANT PRIVACY, BUT, BOY DO WE
WANT TO SEE THIS DATA?
>> THE CONTEXT WHICH THIS DATA
IS BEING RELEASED.
A POST-CAMBRIDGE ANALYTICA
RESPONSE.
RESPONSE. THEY WERE UNDER MASSIVE PRESSURE
TO DISCLOSE.
TO DISCLOSE. I DO NOT THINK OF IT AS A
COINCIDENCE.
COINCIDENCE. THEY SLOW WALKED THIS TO THE
POINT WHERE THERE IS NO WAY THIS
WILL AFFECT 2020.
WE ARE NOT GOING TO LEARN
ENOUGH.
ENOUGH. >> THESE RESEARCHERS DON’T HAVE
ENOUGH TIME WITH THIS DATA.
>> AGAIN, THEY HAVE THROWN THE
SAND INTO THE GEARS AND I THINK
IN THIS CASE, FACEBOOK IS MUCH
MORE CONCERNED ABOUT PROTECTING
IT OWN BUSINESS THAN IT IS ABOUT
HELPING US GET TO THE TRUTH
ABOUT WHAT HAPPENED IN 2016.
I THINK IF YOU PUT THIS IN THE
CONTEXT OF A COMPANY THAT
RECENTLY CHANGED ITS RULES ABOUT
FACT CHECKING ADVERTISEMENTS PIE
CAMPAIGNS AND JUST LAST WEEK
SAID, HEY, IN THE CONTEXT OF
BLOOMBERG, YOU CAN AS A CAMPAIGN
PAY INFLUENCERS TO PUT OUT MEMES
AND OTHER CONSTENTTENT AND WE’RE
GOING TO EITHER.
WHEN I LOOK AT THIS, I THINK THE
PRIVACY THING IS A DODGE FOR
FACEBOOK AND NOT SOMETHING THAT
THEY’RE COMING AT SINCERELY.
>> JAKE, WHAT ELSE CAN WE LEARN?
WHAT IS THE BEST STUFF THAT
COULD HAPPEN?
COULD HAPPEN? IF RESEARCHERS GET THEIR HANDS
INSIDE OF FACEBOOK AND THEY SEE
THESE THINGS, IS IT JUST
POLITICAL BEHAVIOR?
POLITICAL BEHAVIOR? WILL WE BE ABLE TO DETECT WHEN
SOMEONE IS BEING RADICALIZED
BEFORE SOMEBODY GOES OUT AND
COMMITS A MASS SHOOTING?
>> WELL, SO WHAT IS SO WONDERFUL
ABOUT THIS, ALI, UNTIL NOW
YOU’VE ONLY BEEN ABLE, WHAT IS A
GOOD, CREATIVE QUESTION WE COULD
ASK ABOUT HOW HUMANS ARE USING
FACEBOOK AND HOW IT TOUCHES
THEIR BRAINS ARE PEOPLE INSIDE
FACEBOOK.
FACEBOOK. PEOPLE ON FACEBOOK’S PAYROLL.
IN THIS CASE, YOU’RE GOING TO
HAVE THE CREATIVITY OF
INDEPENDENT ACADEMICS ASKING,
WHAT CAN WE ASK?
A POST THAT IS FILLED WITH HATE
SPEECH SUDDENLY STICKS AND GOES
FURTHER AND TAKES OFF IN A WAY
THAT WE DIDN’T REALIZE IT DID
AND IN A WAY THAT IS PERHAPS FAR
MORE EFFECTIVE THAN A POST ABOUT
PUPPIES OR A POST ABOUT KIDS.
IF IN DOING SO WE UNDERSTAND,
OH, THERE IS A PATTERN TO THE
WAY THIS STUFF BLOSSOMS ACROSS A
FOR-PROFIT SOCIAL MEDIA
PLATFORM, MAYBE A WAY THOSE
POLICIES SHOULD CHANGE.
UNTIL NOW, WE HAVE BEEN ENTIRELY
HOSTAGE AS ROGER SAYS.
YOU KNOW, THE PROFIT MOTIVE OF
THESE COMPANIES EVEN THOUGH AT
THE SAME TIME THEY CAN GO IN AND
LOOK AT ANY DATA THEY WANT ABOUT
YOU AND I ON AN INDIVIDUAL
BASIS.
BASIS. NOW, IN THIS CASE, THE
RESEARCHERS ARE SAYING WE’RE A
LITTLE FRUSTRATED THAT WE DON’T
GET THAT KIND OF DATA, THAT WE
CAN’T DRAW THE SAME KIND OF
GRANULAR CONCLUSIONS THAT PEOPLE
WITHIN FACEBOOK CAN, BUT WE’LL
TAKE THIS DIFFERENTIAL ANALYSIS
AND THIS HIGHER LEVEL, MORE
STATISTICALLY NOISY STUFF AND BE
ABLE TO DO SOME CREATIVE WORK BY
GOOD, INDEPENDENT ACADEMICS.
YOU KNOW, WORKING AT
UNIVERSITIES AND WORKING WITH
FEDERAL FUNDING TO FIGURE OUT
THE TRUTH ABOUT HOW YOU AND I
ARE LIVING OUR LIVES ON FACEBOOK
THESE DAYS.
THESE DAYS. >> SO, I THINK THERE’S ONE THING
THAT I HAVE TO PUSH BACK ON WHAT
JAKE IS SAYING.
I THINK THIS IS WAY BETTER THAN
NOTHING.
NOTHING. AND I’M REALLY HAPPY THE DATA IS
OUT THERE.
OUT THERE. BUT I THINK AT THE END OF THE
DAY THE PROBLEM THAT WE’RE
FACING IS THAT WE KNOW WHAT THE
PROBLEMS ARE.
PROBLEMS ARE. WE ACTUALLY DO KNOW HOW HATE
SPEECH CIRCULATES.
SPEECH CIRCULATES. WE ACTUALLY HAVE VERY GOOD
INFORMATION HOW THIS INFORMATION
GETS CREATIVE AND SPREADS.
I SPOKE ABOUT THE GROUP AT
GEORGE WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY
THAT SHOWS GROUPS CREATED IN
2015 AND 2016 STILL OPERATING
BOTH FOR PRESIDENT TRUMP AND FOR
THE BERNIE SANDERS CAMPAIGN.
AND FACEBOOK’S REFUSAL TO DO
ANYTHING ABOUT THIS KIND OF
STUFF IS A HUGE PROBLEM FOR
DEMOCRACY.
DEMOCRACY. AND AS MUCH AS I WANT TO STUDY
ALL THE STUFF AT A GRANULAR
LEVEL, THE HIGH-LEVEL POLICY
STUFF SHOULD BE REALLY OBVIOUS
TO EVERYONE.
TO EVERYONE. THAT FACEBOOK RIGHT NOW BY ITS
CONSCIOUS ACTIONS AND BY ITS
ARCHITECTURE IS UNDERMINING
DEMOCRACY.
DEMOCRACY. WE, AS A COUNTRY, SHOULD CARE
MUCH MORE ABOUT THAT THAN WE DO.
>> THANK YOU TO BOTH OF YOU
GUYS.
GUYS. I APPRECIATE IT.
ROGER, GOOD TO CONTINUE TO SEE
YOU HERE AND, JAKE, BLESS YOU
FOR GETTING UP EARLY.