Michael A. Specter 👻

Professor @gtcomputing | Research Scientist @google | PhD in EECS from @MIT | |

[Michael A. Specter 👻 @mspecter]

Personal news 🎉

I’ve joined Georgia Tech as a tenure-track Assistant Professor in both Security & Privacy (@GaTechCyber) and Computer science (@gatech_scs)! I’m looking for CS students interested in the nexus of computer security, privacy, and democracy.
🧵

[Michael A. Specter 👻 @mspecter]

Hey all, I am now https://t.co/PbzP4QdIlc, follow me there!

[GA Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger @GaSecofState]

We have discussed this with State and Federal authorities.

This is obviously fake, and likely it is a production of Russian troll farms.

As Americans we can’t let our enemies use lies to divide us and undermine faith in our institutions - or each other.

[PA Department of State @PAStateDept]

Thank you to our law enforcement and federal partners for keeping our elections secure and voters informed.

We are committed to providing accurate, trustworthy information about our elections and to combatting disinformation. Visit https://t.co/6f7fl1zjN2 for facts and common questions.

[Michael A. Specter 👻 @mspecter]

@JohnEDugger The first and most ironic incident I’m aware of: https://t.co/FNgeZeay4J

[Michael A. Specter 👻 @mspecter]

@szonouz If you couldn’t tell, our department is amazingly supportive! thanks Saman! <3

[Saman Zonouz @szonouz]

I would like to apply 🎉

Dear World, Mike is exceptional! 🏆

[Michael A. Specter 👻 @mspecter]

Hello world: I have two slots open for a PhD in CS for my lab @ Georgia Tech.

I work on problems in cryptography, systems security, and privacy, with a focus on work that is relevant to public policy. Drop me a line or check out my bio for more info!

[Columbia Law Review @ColumLRev]

William Eskridge (@EskridgeBill), Brian Slocum, and Kevin Tobia (@kevin_tobia) argue in “Textualism’s Defining Moment” that, even after committing to textualism, judges must make at least twelve subsequent choices, calling into question textualism’s rule-of-law value.

[Michael A. Specter 👻 @mspecter]

I signed this letter as well. eIDAS is a really awful proposal, check out @carmelatroncoso’s summary below

[Carmela Troncoso @carmelatroncoso]

Together with other 334 scientists and 24 ONGs, I have signed this letter https://t.co/79ySgL7Qa4 asking the EU to reconsider their eIDAS regulation proposal.
Why are we again raising our voices against new legislation?🧵

[Mark Riedl @mark_riedl]

Yo! Georgia Tech School of Interactive Computing

@ICatGT
is live! https://t.co/HQOR1eMP6k… Come be part of the coolest computing science department in the world

[Milton Mueller @miltonmueller]

Awesome presentation on Certificate Transparency by @rmhrisk in @mspecter’s class at Ga Tech

[Georgia Tech @GeorgiaTech]

We’re offering a new course this week: Introduction to Jawascript 😆

📸 photorushin/IG

[Michael A. Specter 👻 @mspecter]

Nvm, perfect

[Michael A. Specter 👻 @mspecter]

New office. Sign needs work =p

[Michael A. Specter 👻 @mspecter]

The class is an updated version of another course I co-created at MIT, along with my advisors @djweitzner and Gerry Sussman, loosely based on my dissertation.

If you're at GT and interested in these topics, definitely register for the course and/or reach out!

[Michael A. Specter 👻 @mspecter]

This semester I'm teaching a course in Security, Privacy, & Democracy.

It's a survey research seminar with a set of broad themes -- voting systems, encryption & surveillance, censorship, and free & open communication.

Check it out! https://t.co/vo0pOUOEO1

[Michael A. Specter 👻 @mspecter]

The current version is very much a draft. Apologies for any typos or broken links!

[Michael A. Specter 👻 @mspecter]

@idonibrasco That's a fantastic question.

I can't stand exams, and prefer project-based classes where students focus on doing interesting & novel work.

Much of the grade in this class comes from evidence that the students studied the material, discussed it, and applied it in the project.

[Michael A. Specter 👻 @mspecter]

@miltonmueller It’s an honor to be here, let’s go!

[Michael A. Specter 👻 @mspecter]

We’ve gone from LLM’s not performing better than compression, to LLM’s _as_ compression.

What a time to be alive

[Frank @jedisct1]

Fabrice Bellard is back! ts_zip: Text Compression using Large Language Models

https://t.co/I5RlVt5xI8