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1. The Social Risks of Science

   https://doi.org/10.1002/hast.1196  

   Herington, Jonathan; Tanona, Scott (December 2020, Hastings Center Report)

   Abstract Many instances of scientific research impose risks, not just on participants and scientists but also on third parties. This class ofsocial risksunifies a range of problems previously treated as distinct phenomena, including so‐called bystander risks, biosafety concerns arising from gain‐of‐function research, the misuse of the results of dual‐use research, and the harm caused by inductive risks. The standard approach to these problems has been to extend two familiar principles from human subjects research regulations—a favorable risk‐benefit ratio and informed consent. We argue, however, that these moral principles will be difficult to satisfy in the context of widely distributed social risks about which affected parties may reasonably disagree. We propose that framing these risks as political rather than moral problems may offer another way. By borrowing lessons from political philosophy, we propose a framework that unifies our discussion of social risks and the possible solutions to them. 

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2. Indigenous Autonomy in Latin America: The Impact of the Indigenous Rights Revolution on the Study of Politics

   https://doi.org/10.1017/rep.2024.34  

   Velasco, Marcela; Kline, Curtis (January 2025, The Journal of Race, Ethnicity, and Politics)

   Abstract This paper asserts that critiques of political science for neglecting Indigenous politics highlight a critical gap that risks overlooking significant conceptual and practical innovations. It emphasizes how Indigenous autonomy claims challenge traditional notions of sovereignty. Scholars of Indigenous politics in Latin America, publishing in area studies journals, provide essential insights into these autonomy claims and contribute valuable perspectives to the discipline. We identify rigorous scholarly work in English language, peer-reviewed journals exploring Indigenous autonomy, conceptualizing it as a multifaceted notion that encompasses political visions, practices, and social movement agendas. Through a comprehensive meta-analysis of literature in Latin American area studies, we argue that this field offers four fundamental insights. First, Indigenous peoples deploy diverse strategies to assert their rights, positioning themselves as active citizens and political agents rather than passive groups. Second, the emergence of multicultural institutions that integrate individual and collective rights is fundamentally reshaping politics and citizenship, leading to innovative governance structures. Third, accumulation by dispossession remains a crucial driver of wealth creation, severely undermining Indigenous autonomy and degrading their environments. Finally, a renewed emphasis on Indigenous territorial autonomy decisively challenges conventional views of state sovereignty, as Indigenous peoples assert territorial and nonterritorial rights. 

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3. Let the Privacy Games Begin! A Unified Treatment of Data Inference Pivacy in Machine Learning. 2023 IEEE Symposium on Security and Privacy.

   Salem, Ahmed (April 2023, 2023 IEEE Symposium on Security and Privacy. ArXiv.)

   Abstract—Deploying machine learning models in production may allow adversaries to infer sensitive information about training data. There is a vast literature analyzing different types of inference risks, ranging from membership inference to reconstruction attacks. Inspired by the success of games (i.e. probabilistic experiments) to study security properties in cryptography, some authors describe privacy inference risks in machine learning using a similar game-based style. However, adversary capabilities and goals are often stated in subtly different ways from one presentation to the other, which makes it hard to relate and compose results. In this paper, we present a game-based framework to systematize the body of knowledge on privacy inference risks in machine learning. We use this framework to (1) provide a unifying structure for definitions of inference risks, (2) formally establish known relations among definitions, and (3) to uncover hitherto unknown relations that would have been difficult to spot otherwise. Index Terms—privacy, machine learning, differential privacy, membership inference, attribute inference, property inference 

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4. The social lives of network effects: Speculation and risk in Jakarta's platform economy

   https://doi.org/10.1177/0308518X211056953  

   Nowak, Samuel (November 2021, Environment and Planning A: Economy and Space)

   Under the designation “platform urbanism,” there is growing scholarly recognition that platform intermediaries are reconfiguring urban industries, processes, and relationships through the collection and manipulation of big data. Central to realizing this economic project is financial speculation on platforms’ ability to coordinate network effects—a phenomenon in which the more users there are in a networked system, the more valuable and useful it becomes. In this paper, I argue that while the existing literature recognizes the importance of network effects, it has also adopted a limited conceptualization that understands platform firms as the primary agents generating and capturing the economic benefits of network effects. Drawing on 12 months of ethnographic fieldwork in Greater Jakarta, Indonesia, I work to expand this understanding through attention to the social lives of network effects—the ways in which platform architectures are always embedded in social relations created and sustained in everyday urban life. I show how ride-hailing drivers have attempted to mitigate the risks of their work through building socio-technical networks of their own, for their own purposes. Doing so reveals that it is not only platform firms and venture capital that speculate on network effects; rather, a range of actors in the city-region seek to tap into driver networks to advance their own social, political, and economic ends. In conclusion, I suggest that attending to these practices opens up space to reframe platform urbanism beyond its current preoccupation with macro political economic analyses, while also establishing new lines of inquiry for “speculative urbanism.” 

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5. Remediation in developing countries: A review of previously implemented projects and analysis of stakeholder participation efforts

   https://doi.org/10.1080/10643389.2020.1755203  

   O’Brien, Rosalie M.; Phelan, Thomas J.; Smith, Nicole M.; Smits, Kathleen M. (April 2020, Critical Reviews in Environmental Science and Technology)

   null (Ed.)

   In developing countries, remediation projects are predominantly implemented in areas with imminent risks due to human exposure routes. Projects experience challenges due to funding constraints derived from the history of legacy pollution and informal livelihood occupations in addition to political and economic instability and weak regulatory structures. Remedial efforts therefore often utilize simple, cost-effective methods of excavation and safe storage of polluted media, most often of which is soil contaminated with heavy metals and persistent organic pollutants. Overcoming context-specific challenges require strong stakeholder participation efforts. However, most projects fail to effectively engage multiple stakeholders and suffer from inexperienced facilitation and inaccurately applied engagement methodologies. This literature review critically examines remedial projects in developing countries. Particular attention is given to remedial challenges specific to working in developing countries and current state of the practice of clean-up initiatives. It provides recommendations for enhancing existing remedial efforts by developing robust stakeholder participation efforts throughout the remedial process. 

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