Connect. Collaborate. Contribute.™
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Event Type: Conversation, Hybrid
Location Virtual Zoom link will be available on the Eventbrite page In-person Austin Central Library 710 W. César Chávez St. Parking Instructions Speakers Talia Stroud Director The University of Texas at Austin - Center for Media Engagement Jim Spencer Founder and CEO Specially Randi R. Ludwig, PhD Director, Data Science Dell Technologies 5:30-6:00pm Holiday Musical Performance 6:00-6:15pm Networking 6:15-7:30pm Presentation 7:30-7:45pm Q&A |
Misinformation and disinformation have been around as long as people have been seeking to create gains and advantages for themselves and their interests. However, technologies including the web, smartphones, and social media platforms have greatly augmented the potential for creating and spreading misinformation and the effectiveness of organized disinformation campaigns. It has become increasingly difficult to determine the accuracy and authenticity of many kinds of information, making it much easier to spread inaccurate, inauthentic content accidentally or unintentionally. This can create and exacerbate divisiveness, inflame passions and promote mistrust, and even lead to violent behaviors and deaths. How do we fix the technologies we have created to share information, and how can we use new technologies—coupled with education and with individual, societal, and corporate responsibility—to identify, reduce, and fight misinformation and disinformation? Can technology even be part of the solution? What should we all learn, do, and share to be part of the solution?
Join us in-person or on Zoom for this great conversation! Entertainment and Donations This will be a special Austin Forum event as it will include a live musical performance and opportunities to donate to the Austin community. Join us at 5:30pm for a live Holiday Musical Performance from the Santa Babies, featuring Austin's own, Amy Atchley, Julie Tomlin, and Heather Bishop. There will also be the opportunity to donate toys through Blue Santa, and old devices such as phones, tablets, and laptops through Austin Pathways. These toys and devices will be donated directly to Austin neighbors and families such as Chante Wright-Haywood, a nursing student, and mother of five, who received a laptop donated by a member of the Austin Forum. This device enabled her to study within her own home, alleviating the stress of staying late at the library, and increasing her study time. The Austin Forum has proudly supported both of these initiatives for several years now and hopes you will donate to these local causes. Registration and Attendance Instructions All participants must register for this event via Eventbrite. In-person Join us at the Austin Central Library, 710 W. César Chávez St. Parking information can be found here. Per City of Austin orders, the Austin Public Library requires masks when indoors except when eating, drinking, or speaking/performing onstage. In-person attendees will also receive all the Zoom information in case for any reason you decide to attend virtually instead. Virtual attendance details can be found below. Online via Zoom Once you register via Eventbrite, you will receive the direct Zoom link on the confirmation page, and in your confirmation email. You will also receive the Zoom link in an email from Eventbrite two days before the event and at the event start time. By registering you will also gain access to the Eventbrite Virtual Event Page, which will be accessible on this page at any time for anyone who is registered. Once registered, you will see an "Access Event" button in the Location area to the right. You must be logged in to access this button. |
speakERS
Natalie (Talia) Jomini Stroud (Ph.D., Annenberg School for Communication, University of Pennsylvania) holds the E. M. "Ted" Dealey Professorship in the Business of Journalism and is a Professor in the Department of Communication Studies and the School of Journalism and Media, as well as the founding and current Director of the Center for Media Engagement (mediaengagement.org) and the Interim Director of the Annette Strauss Institute for Civic Life in the Moody College of Communication at The University of Texas at Austin. The Center for Media Engagement seeks to understand and improve the media’s role in a democracy. She is currently co-leading a first-of-its-kind collaboration between Facebook and the academic community to assess the platform’s effect in the 2020 U.S. presidential election and collaborating on project to re-envision public life on platforms through the New_ Public project. Stroud is a Fellow of the International Communication Association and the Annenberg Public Policy Center. Stroud’s research on the media’s role in a democracy has received numerous national and international awards, including the International Communication Association (ICA)'s prestigious Outstanding Book Award in 2012 for her book Niche News: The Politics of News Choice, the inaugural Public Engagement Award from the Journalism Studies Division of the ICA in 2019, the 2016 Bill Eadie Distinguished Award for a Scholarly Article from the National Communication Association (NCA), the 2019 and 2011 Michael Pfau Outstanding Article Awards from NCA, and the 2020 Walter Lippmann Best Published Article Award from the American Political Science Association’s Political Communication Section. Stroud serves on the editorial boards of ten academic journals and the advisory boards of SciLine, a part of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, and the Social Science Research Council’s Media & Democracy Initiative. Stroud twice received the Outstanding Faculty Member Award from the Communication Studies Graduate Community.
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Jim Spencer
Founder and CEO Specially |
Jim Spencer is a media and technology entrepreneur. A leader of both start-up and established companies, he has helped build teams that have made a significant impact in the digital space. Jim helped create innovative and diverse company teams and cultures that deliver award-winning content, products and technologies. Jim serves as founder, Chairman and CEO of Contextual Content Group Inc. based in Austin and is developing the company's core product Specially. Jim founded Newsy, an early mobile, OTT and online video news service (conjointly now an OTA news network) acquired by Scripps. He was VP of Answers at Ask Jeeves, GM of News and Information Programming at AOL, executive director of strategic partnerships for NBC and the GM of new media at Multimedia, Inc. Jim has a bachelor’s degree in film from NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts and a master’s degree from the Missouri School of Journalism. He serves as a board member, investor and mentor for start-up media and technology companies and a lecturer at The University of Texas-Austin Moody College of Communications.
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Randi manages a team of data scientists within Dell Technologies Sales Operations, who drive financial decisions and optimization for sales reps and leaders across Dell. She previously led a team of data scientists at Dell Technologies Services delivering data science solutions using telemetry data to proactively prevent customer issues and resolve them more quickly when they do happen. She joined Dell as a data scientist 5 years ago, and focused on data science solutions for business problems supporting tech support agents, understanding dispatches, and the most accurate repairs on Dell products. She continues to focus on raising visibility for data science at the executive level and connecting global Dell data scientists into a networked community that can collaborate and learn from one another.
Additionally, she is a co-organizer of Women in Data Science ATX and promotes diversity and fostering a welcoming space for newcomers to the field. Before venturing into industry, Randi completed a PhD in Astrophysics at UT Austin, including research on both active galactic nuclei and how students learn astronomy, which gave her experience with varied statistical data-mining techniques and many kinds of data sets. Randi has two children, a daughter who just started her freshman year at University of Oklahoma, and a 6 year old son who enjoys playing with their husky named Aurora; in their back yard and creek. She enjoys reading science fiction, gardening, and knitting |