In November 2023, CCC hosted a workshop on “The Future of Research on Social Technologies” in Washington, DC. The event, also supported by the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, addressed the past, present and future of social technologies research. The workshop brought together over 50 information and computer scientists, social scientists, communication and journalism scholars, and policy experts. The workshop was organized by Motahhare Eslami (Carnegie Mellon University), Eric Gilbert (University of Michigan), and Sarita Schoenebeck (University of Michigan). The workshop organizers, along with nine workshop participants, wrote a fascinating workshop report based on workshop discussions that has been released today. The report explores what we do not know […]

In a world where social technologies dominate our daily interactions, it is crucial to understand their profound impact on our lives. Last year, CCC brought together information, computing, and social scientists, communication and journalism scholars, and policy experts to discuss how we can navigate these complexities to harness the benefits of social technologies while mitigating their harms.  From shaping our cultural norms to influencing political landscapes, these systems wield immense power. But with power comes responsibility, and the shadows of harassment, disinformation, and mental health concerns loom large. Through dynamic discussions and innovative formats, attendees explored the gaps in social media users’ knowledge and charted pathways for future research. This […]

The Community Driven Approaches to Research in Technology & Society visioning workshop was held in the Spring of 2023, bringing together a diverse group of 53 civil society representatives, activists, non-profit leaders, and computing researchers together. The workshop was sponsored by CCC and the MacArthur Foundation. The workshop organizers, Timnit Gebru (Distributed Artificial Intelligence Research Institute), Ufuk Topcu (University of Texas at Austin), and Suresh Venkatasubramanian (Brown University), along with support from Haley Griffin (CCC), Nasim Sonboli (Brown University), and Leah Namisa Rosenbloom (Brown University), have written a workshop report that synthesizes the amazing ideas discussed throughout the visioning workshop. This report is a result of the ideas, experiences, recommendations, […]

CCC held a visioning workshop on the Future of Pandemic Response and Prevention in September 2023 in Ann Arbor, Michigan. It was organized by the CCC Council’s Computational Challenges in Healthcare Task Force, and a Steering Committee of community members in the healthcare domain: David Danks, University of California-San Diego/CCC Council Member Rada Mihalcea, University of Michigan/CCC Council Member Katie Siek, Indiana University/CCC Council Member Mona Singh, Princeton University/CCC Council Member Brian Dixon, Regenstrief Institute Madhav Marathe, University of Virginia Shwetak Patel, University of Washington Erica Shenoy, Harvard MGB Michael Sjoding, Michigan Medical The organizers assembled a wide range of experts for a 1.5-day event to see what ideas the […]

Quantum computing has captured the public’s attention due to its incredible theoretical applications, but the intensely complicated underlying physics make it difficult for even computing experts in other fields to understand. Computing researchers in other disciplines, however, have valuable knowledge to aid in the development of quantum computers. “To increase momentum in quantum system progress, we must lower the barrier to entry”, says Kaitlin N. Smith, Assistant Professor of Computer Science at Northwestern University. “Scientists shouldn’t be required to have an expert-level understanding of quantum mechanics to contribute their skill set to quantum computing”. Though quantum computers operate very differently from classical computers, some of the approaches used in classical […]

In 2018, CCC recognized the need for more dialogues between quantum computing experts and experts in other fields of computer science, such as compiler design, design automation, computer architecture, and programming languages. In May of 2018, the CCC held a workshop with the goal of bridging the gap between quantum computing and classical computing, and released a report in November. This report identified a number of research challenges facing the community that demand increased attention, such as   Practical quantum computing algorithms that can be deployed on intermediate-scale hardware to continue motivating investments in quantum computing research. Research on scalability and modular design of quantum systems as they are able […]