We don’t have to stand for Big Tech turning our neighborhoods into “crime blotters with ads.”
We need better digital tools that build trust, instead of eroding it.
From our Co-Director @eli.bsky.social at @creativemornings.bsky.social
New_ Public’s own @absp.bsky.social, a UX Researcher and sociolinguist, has a really useful piece on how researchers should be thinking about AI-based fraud, and what to do about it.
Go Abby! 💪🦾
who you callin' a dummy?
you know what, you're right, and we had it in the draft doc, it just didn't make it in. Going over processes again to make sure we include alt text. Thanks for the nudge!
The call is coming from INSIDE the house 🏠📢
A former researcher at OpenAI shares about leaving the company because of the plan to introduce ads on ChatGPT.
(gift link!)
www.nytimes.com/2026/02/11/o...
Cleveland’s 184-year-old daily paper, The Plain Dealer, is using AI to get into the field, make deeper connections, and cover more counties.
www.cleveland.com/news/2026/02...
Courtesy of the CivicNewsCompany:
infocensus.org/insights
Learn more about Roundabout at joinroundabout.com
Just … wow. 🤯
This is a big reason why we’re building Roundabout, our local community app. We need better ways of finding out what’s going on in the neighborhood.
This is a small study, but they’re asking the right questions:
How are habitual AI chatbot users in the US and India actually using AI to learn what's happening in the world and in their communities?
cnti.org/reports/chat... [@cnti.bsky.social]
Scheduling this post using @blaine.bsky.social's ALF!
https://leaflet.pub/p/did:plc:3vdrgzr2zybocs45yfhcr6ur/3mfuiu2yl4k2u
New_ Public's own @blaine.bsky.social just built post scheduling for Bluesky (and beyond, via ATProto!)
Our Co-directors, @eli.bsky.social and @deeptidoshi.bsky.social, are proud to sign on New Civic Future’s open letter calling for a deeply rooted, high trust movement of civic renewal.
They ask… “What kind of shared civic life are we called to grow together?”
www.newcivicfuture.org/letter
TOMORROW: watch or join in-person as New_ Public Co-Director @eli.bsky.social gives a breakfast talk at @creativemornings.bsky.social NYC! ☀️☕
Register here ⬇️
Read more about the power of the comments section from @benwhitelaw.bsky.social here:
“A subscription to news outlets doesn’t just have to provide access to journalism, it can feature participation in journalism.” 👏👏👏
@techdirt.com’s @karlbode.com notes that online comment sections can actually help bring new life to a news organization.
Here's to all the well-designed apps and websites out there (and to the unsung heroes like designer and writer @aresluna.org who gather these resources for our benefit)!
There’s so much creativity and expression to explore outside of the walled gardens of Big Tech’s apps…
“It’s not that companies decide to make their products worse. Nobody wakes up thinking, “Let’s annoy our users today.” The mechanism is subtler and more tragic: Individual contributors need to demonstrate value Demonstrating value requires metrics Metrics create incentives Incentives shape behavior Behavior optimizes for the metric, not the user”
Why would a fitbit buzz to tell you something you already know? How did we end up with all these “enshittified” tech products?
@kentbeck.com lays out how this happens.
His solution? “At some point, you have to have principles. Not metrics. Principles.”
tidyfirst.substack.com/p/my-fitbit-...
We’re trying something new! In the spirit of cutting through the noise and building connections online, New_ Public is starting a bulletin board-style newsletter.
This is a dedicated space for community requests, upcoming events, project updates from our team, and our most thought-provoking links.
Join New_ Public Co-director @eli.bsky.social for a breakfast talk this Friday!
Hosted by @creativemornings.bsky.social, a global community founded by friend of New_ Public @tinarotheisenberg.bsky.social, this month’s theme: Camino (way/path).
Register to join in person in NYC or watch virtually.
❤️ this guy. @baratunde.com talking about the social web. Could Roundabout from @newpublic.org be the positive way forward for humans seeking community? www.youtube.com/watch?v=si-d...
Be careful what you prompt for…
New research shows optimizing AI chatbots for engagement can boost disinformation by nearly 190% and override explicit safety instructions, a phenomenon the researchers call “Moloch’s Bargain for AI.”
arxiv.org/pdf/2510.06105
it's built to support ATProto, but we're focusing on making it useful for people's everyday lives for now
Image with dark blue background. Top section shows white serif heading "Three scenarios for the future" followed by white sans-serif paragraph text explaining that conversations with more than 90 local news field leaders informed three scenarios representing distinct alternative futures for local news ten years from now, noting the actual future will likely be a variation or incorporate elements of all three. Below are three columns with white text. Left column headed "Commerce Dominates" with yellow underline, describing continuing commercial consolidation with growth via tech, markets, and innovation. Middle column headed "Information is Power" with yellow underline, describing collapse of the public square triggered by systemic failures like economic crisis or climate disasters. Right column headed "Trust, Justice, and a New American Way" with yellow underline, describing a renewed civic society prioritizing sustainability, civic values, and restraint over growth.
Here are three different possible pathways they envision. Which do you think is the most likely?
The first step towards creating a better future is taking the time to imagine one. So, as digital optimistics, we loved to see what our friends at Press Forward have envisioned for a better local news in ✨2036✨
@baratunde.com, host of the How To Citizen podcast, explains what makes our new app Roundabout different:
“It's really about finding your neighbors and doing stuff together instead of performing for followers you'll never meet. And it's pretty important that the business model is non-extractive.”
New_ Public Co-director @eli.bsky.social tells legendary @pbsnews.org anchor Judy Woodruff why we need flourishing digital spaces that serve the public, beyond just the for-profit platforms making hundreds of billions from our data.
Want to get more involved in socially responsible tech and improving digital public spaces? We love the great work happening at the Prosocial Tech Collab!
They recently updated their website, laying out the resources and community available to those interested in this field.
prosocialtech.org/
Read more about how some YouTube comments have become a special place in our newsletter:
newpublic.substack.com/p/something-...
YouTube might actually be changing how we’re encountering and relating to our memories. A 2023 study, which looked specifically at YouTube comments, found that "social media has made instant online access to the recent past a normal part of daily life, making users more prone to expressing nostalgia toward relatively recent experiences." It’s hard to know why these comment sections grow to be so meaningful and resonant over time. Perhaps all it takes is one early comment to set the tone and model a graceful and empathic attitude. Or maybe these comment sections feel like safe places for people who grew up on the internet to build memories together. These comments mostly feel like messages in a bottle, left adrift in the hope that the right person will find them.
What is the relationship between social media and memory?
As our digital footprint ages with us, nostalgia becomes more common. Some comment sections have become rare sources of warmth on the internet.
Infographic on light blue background with purple text. Top left headline reads "Our digital social environments are critical social infrastructure" with "social infrastructure" in italics. Top right shows circular artistic illustration of a futuristic cityscape. Center features white oval containing a quote in purple text: "Social infrastructure refers to the physical places and organizations that shape the way people interact. The digital world was supposed to become part of that social infrastructure, extending it into new spaces." Attribution reads "— Eric Klinenberg, Palaces for the People" in italics. Bottom right shows circular photo of a man in dark plaid shirt. Bottom left text reads "Learn more at newpublic.org"
Social infrastructure makes our communities more resilient and safer. It also prevents isolation and inequality, connecting neighbors and building social trust and belonging.
What if we had digital spaces as vibrant and flourishing as the best IRL social infrastructure?
