Boston! Mark your calendars for 3/23: Come grab a beer and learn about my new book!
Book Talk: Degrees of Freedom: On Robotics and Social Justice
Date: Mar 23 • 17:00 • Lamplighter
www.eventbrite.com/e/book-talk-...
Denverites:
• Excited by the anti-flock protests?
• Thrilled that Palantir is OUT of Denver?
Let's set our sights on drone surveillance next.
Read why in my op-ed in Colorado's favorite independent newspaper (@coloradosun.com)
coloradosun.com/2026/02/17/o...
When the CIA did this to the Senate it was one of the biggest intel scandals of the 21st century. But here it’s not just a huge scandal, it’s dumb: Pam Bondi is so bad at her job she brought the evidence herself to an open congressional hearing. www.theguardian.com/world/2014/j...
More than 400 people, including hundreds of citizens, were “sorted” at gun point into racial and ethnic groups by 200 ICE agents who fired flash-bang grenades into cars with people inside, pointed guns at children & demanded their zip tied parents not comfort them. apple.news/Ausdx6kWtT0e...
Thank you to Alex Miller from @onstagecolorado.bsky.social for having me on the Pod to discuss this Friday's ROBOT RIOT Comedy show + Dramatheurgy!
onstagecolorado.com/podcast-a-ro...
Our first show, this Friday, will feature comedians trying to improvise around robotic interjections; improvised science fiction; and tech ethics standup from @professorcasey.bsky.social
Tickets: www.crowdwork.com/e/robot-riot...
Very thankful to Toni Tresca at @westword.com for interviewing me about my new monthly Robotics+AI infused comedy show /Robot Riot/!
www.westword.com/arts-culture...
Great article interviewing @tomwilliams.phd about the AI-themed comedy show happening at RISE Comedy in Denver this Friday... including me performing stand up! (Also brb adding "headliner" to my CV.) www.westword.com/arts-culture...
I cannot tell you how much doubt was consistently directed at the Gaza Health Ministry’s casualty numbers and how much pressure was put on news organizations to couch those numbers as unreliable.
Biden himself said they were fabricated!
www.haaretz.com/israel-news/...
Getting served a RING add on this story about Flock cameras being operated in Denver despite the lack of a legal contract is just too perfect.
I discuss Ring and police surveillance in Chapter 6 of Degrees of Freedom.
direct.mit.edu/books/oa-mon...
Hands holding a copy of "Degrees of Freedom: On Robotics and Social Justice" by Tom Williams. The cover features an illustration of a humanoid robot pulling a cart.
"True to an engineering ethos of ’doing better,’ [Degrees of Freedom] explores the foundational aspects of power that invisibly shape robot design and ... how to build robots better suited for advancing social justice." — Ericka Johnson
Available #OpenAccess: mitpress.mit.edu/978026255402...
3/n: "Should Delivery Robots Intervene if They Witness Civilian or Police Violence?" by T.Seassau surveys public opinion on this question, finding mixed support for intervention, and a need to codesign w/ victims of (police) violence. @tomwilliams.phd
#ROMAN2025 #HRI #robots
doi.org/10.1109/ro-m...
“For starters, the president claimed to have brought peace to the Middle East for the first time in “3,000 years.” It feels bizarre to even try to fact-check that, as it would be akin to fact-checking a president saying that the moon is made of Velveeta.”
The Complicated Origins of “Ethical” Robotics
Roboticist Dr. Tom Williams @tomwilliams.phd examines how early robot ethics reflected power and control — and why robotics should serve society, not just tech elites.
🎙️ Full episode: youtu.be/zs8zEJI4lEA
#Podcast #DegreesOfFreedom #podcast
Who’s responsible when AI makes decisions?
Dr. Tom Williams @tomwilliams.phd explains why deploying algorithms is still a human choice—even when we don’t fully understand the system.
Full episode here 👉 youtu.be/zs8zEJI4lEA
#EthicalAI #Robotics #TechResponsibility #DegreesOfFreedom
Thank you!! I'm glad it's finally out, and will be even more glad when the open access PDF is finally out and in students' hands.
In the meantime, I'm working with colleagues to plan a variety of theater pieces and comedy shows over the next year to highlight these risks for local non-readers.
BTW, *Degrees of Freedom: On Robotics and Social Justice* is 20% off at Penguin with READMIT20... and will be available to read FOR FREE via MIT Direct2Open any day now :)
Another reason to call for #NoJusticeNoRobots! I discuss the significant surveillance risks of police drone programs in Chapter 6 ("End Effector") of my new book, "Degrees of Freedom" from @mitpress.bsky.social
www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/798105...
Excited to say that I'll be running more robot comedy events this spring! ROBOT RIOT brings together roboticists, ethicists, and some of Denver's funniest comedians, to inform the public about risks of AI and Robotics while making them laugh.
Our first show is 2/6/26:
It's fitting that the cover on AI mindlessly apes an earlier creation and also displaces workers while elevating Silicon Valley plutocrats.
Should Robots Ever Be Soldiers?
Dr. Tom Williams @tomwilliams.phd questions whether robots can make war more ethical at all. He argues the real goal isn’t better battles — it’s preventing conflict and ensuring robotics serves people, not the powerful.
👉 Full episode: youtu.be/zs8zEJI4lEA
#podcast
Why Ethical Reasoning in Robots Is Non-Negotiable
Humans assign moral intent to machines, even when it isn’t there. Dr. Tom Williams @tomwilliams.phd explains how robots influence human judgment and why ethical AI is essential to preventing real-world harm.
Full episode → youtu.be/zs8zEJI4lEA
Bias Isn’t a Glitch — It’s Human Input
with @tomwilliams.phd
Robots absorb our norms and assumptions. The challenge is designing responsibly.
The episode explores robotics built with empathy and ethics at the core.
🎧 Watch here: youtu.be/zs8zEJI4lEA
#Robotics #TechResponsibilityBias #podcast
It was supposed to be accessible on the MIT Press website today but I guess it needs a few days to "process" 😅
I'll post as soon as it's visible!
Robots: machines or new life?
Dr. Williams @tomwilliams.phd breaks down why seeing robots as social beings shapes how we think and act. His mission: robots with empathy and ethics that serve the public, not just tech elites.
Watch here: youtu.be/zs8zEJI4lEA
#Robotics #AIEthics #TechForGood
A copy of "Degrees of Freedom: On Robotics and Social Justice" by Tom Williams on a plain background. The cover is orange with an illustration of a robotic man attached to a handcart.
In "Degrees of Freedom," @tomwilliams.phd explores why the field of robotics tends to reinforce white patriarchal systems of power—and how roboticists can work to change these systems: mitpress.mit.edu/978026255402...
The book will also be available to read for free (any day now) on the MIT Press website (mitpress.mit.edu/978026255402...)
IT'S OUT! Degrees of Freedom is out on shelves as of today!
TODAY ONLY the book is 30% off with code MITP30 at www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/798105....
Please share! If you got a copy, please post about it on your favorite platform, and tag me and MIT Press!
Degrees of Freedom (@mitpress.bsky.social) launches tomorrow!
As a final preview, check out my episode of
@theinternetiscrack.bsky.social!
Other recent guests incl. @pluralistic.net.web.brid.gy, @michaelzimmer.bsky.social, @davidgunkel.bsky.social
Watch: lnkd.in/gbTh5vvj
Listen: lnkd.in/ge9hy7Qd
