Molly Kleinman

News

Kleinman quoted on police drone use and privacy concerns

Apr 23, 2025

STPP Managing Director Molly Kleinman was recently quoted in the Detroit News and by the Michigan Capital News Service regarding the use of police drones and privacy concerns.From the Detroit News article:"More police departments are using drones,...

News

Exciting events at the Ford School this January

Jan 10, 2025

The Ford School is pleased to announce an exciting lineup for our January 2025 Policy Talks @ the Ford School series and other special public events hosted with partners from across campus.Events are free and open to the public unless otherwise...

Exciting events at the Ford School this January

News

STPP brings interdisciplinary, historical perspectives to public interest technology issues

Sep 12, 2024

Many of the research projects housed at the Science, Technology and Public Policy program (STPP) in the Ford School focus on climate issues for a simple reason, explains Managing Director Molly Kleinman. "None of this technology operates without...

STPP brings interdisciplinary, historical perspectives to public interest technology issues

News

STPP awarded MIDAS grant to advance equitable AI research

Jul 23, 2024

A research project from the Ford School’s Science, Technology, and Public Policy (STPP) program was selected by the Michigan Institute for Data and AI in Society (MIDAS) as part of its 2024 Propelling Original Data Science grants to accelerate...

STPP awarded MIDAS grant to advance equitable AI research

News

OVPR awards 3 Ford School staff members for research, leadership

Apr 26, 2024

The Office of the Vice President for Research will recognize three of the Ford School's research center staff—Jasmina Camo-Biogradlija (Education Policy Initiative), Molly Kleinman (Science, Technology and Public Policy program), and Kyle S. Kwaiser...

OVPR awards 3 Ford School staff members for research, leadership

Publication

When good intentions aren’t enough: Creating more equitable partnerships between technical and community experts

Feb 6, 2024

Register for the Community Partnerships Playbook webinarAs the popularity of community engagement grows among technologists and academics, it is vital to ensure that they engage communities in ways that benefit the people they claim to serve and do...

When good intentions aren’t enough: Creating more equitable partnerships between technical and community experts

State & Hill

The Last Word: Molly Kleinman

Dec 12, 2023

Molly Kleinman (MSI ’07, PhD CSHPE ’18) joined the Ford School’s Science, Technology, and Public Policy (STPP) program in 2018 and became managing director in 2021. She received her STPP certificate in 2014 and served as Paul Courant’s special...

News

STPP influence in New York report about facial recognition technology in schools

Oct 30, 2023

The New York State Office of Information Technology Services (ITS) has outlined the ethical issues with the state’s use of facial recognition technology (FRT) in schools. The report titled “Use of Biometric Identifying Technology in Schools” found...

STPP influence in New York report about facial recognition technology in schools

In the Media

Kleinman on the hazards of facial recognition technology in schools

Oct 4, 2023 City & State

“One thing that’s different from a lot of these earlier kinds of surveillance technologies is the way that the data travels so far beyond the school where it’s coming from,” Kleinman said in an interview. “The student data in these databases is...

In the Media

Kleinman casts doubt on Detroit Police Department's use of ShotSpotter

Aug 1, 2023 Bridge Detroit

Molly Kleinman, managing director of the Science Technology and Public Policy Program at the University of Michigan, said the data Bridge Detroit obtained through FOIA doesn’t put accuracy concerns to rest. Kleinman said relying on DPD to flag...

News

Surveillance technology can have unintended consequences, Kleinman tells The New York Times

Apr 2, 2023

Nationwide, police departments are integrating facial recognition technology into their investigative processes. The technology has been criticized as "exacerbating racist policies," because of false identification, especially among African American...

News

STPP receives Carbon Neutrality Acceleration grant, examining nuclear power

Feb 16, 2023

The Graham Sustainability Institute’s Carbon Neutrality Acceleration Program (CNAP) announced $1,160,000 in funding for six new faculty research projects. CNAP is a multi-year, multimillion-dollar program created in 2020 with a $5 million gift from...

STPP receives Carbon Neutrality Acceleration grant, examining nuclear power

In the Media

Kleinman weighs in on Detroit ShotSpotter debate

Sep 8, 2022 Axios

As the Detroit City Council debates expanding ShotSpotter, a tool that identifies the sound of gunshots, Molly Kleinman, managing director of the Science, Technology, and Public Policy program, weighed in. "There are things they could be doing with...

News

The ethical implications of tech, and why it matters for engineers

Sep 2, 2022

Through the Ford School’s Science, Technology, and Public Policy (STPP) Program, ECE PhD student Trevor Odelberg is studying how engineers can take better responsibility for the way their research impacts society. As the character Dr. Ian Malcolm...

The ethical implications of tech, and why it matters for engineers

News

Parthasarathy and Kleinman speak out against facial recognition technology use at universities

Jul 6, 2022

Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) released a preliminary policy recommendation that would allow for the use of facial recognition technology during criminal investigations. According to Public Source, the draft policy is "intended to guide CMU’s use...

Parthasarathy and Kleinman speak out against facial recognition technology use at universities

State & Hill

A program like no other

May 31, 2022

Parthasarathy and the Science, Technology, and Public Policy program chart a unique course for impactIn 2005, when Shobita Parthasarathy saw a position advertised to create a new policy program in science and technology at U-M’s Gerald R. Ford...

News

STPP wins grant to explore Large Language Models

Jun 11, 2021

Large Language Models (LLM) — machine learning algorithms that can recognize, predict, and generate human languages on the basis of very large text-based data sets — have captured the imagination of scientists, entrepreneurs, and tech-watchers....

STPP gift to expand educational opportunities for undergraduates

Publication

Vaccine hesitancy, rooted in institutional mistrust, could stand in way of COVID-19 herd immunity, STPP study finds

May 12, 2021

The global effort to develop and distribute COVID-19 vaccines has progressed despite myriad challenges. Yet the final step—shots in arms—meets resistance among some that can't easily be overcome by science and supply chains. Vaccine hesitancy—a...

Vaccine hesitancy, rooted in institutional mistrust, could stand in way of COVID-19 herd immunity, STPP study finds

Publication

Facial recognition technology in schools presents multiple problems, shows limited efficacy

Aug 10, 2020

Facial recognition (FR) technology should be banned for use in schools, according to a new study by the Science, Technology and Public Policy program (STPP) at the Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy at the University of Michigan. The study...

News

Ann Arbor may repurpose streets to accommodate pedestrian and cyclist social distancing

Apr 28, 2020

Since the implementation of the governor’s stay at home order, Ann Arbor’s vehicle traffic has declined markedly. Ann Arbor city council members may consider vehicle street closures in an effort to expand space available for pedestrians and cyclists...

Ann Arbor may repurpose streets to accommodate pedestrian and cyclist social distancing

News

Ford School's Molly Kleinman joins Ann Arbor Transportation Commission

Oct 19, 2018

Molly Kleinman, the Ford School’s Program Manager of the Science, Technology, and Public Policy program, is the most recent addition to the 11-member Ann Arbor Transportation Commission (AATC). The diverse group of commision members advise the city...

Ford School's Molly Kleinman joins Ann Arbor Transportation Commission

Webinar: Making Technology Work For Everyone: Empowering Civil Society and Technologists to Work Together to Shape our Future

May 20, 2025, 3:30-5:00 pm EDT

Please join the Science, Technology, and Public Policy Program for "Making Technology Work For Everyone: Empowering Civil Society and Technologists to Work Together to Shape our Future," a webinar about the importance of bringing together technical experts with civil society organizations.

Headshots of Shobita Parthasarathy, Molly Kleinman, Trevor Odelberg, Divya Ramesh, Annabella Vidrio, and Melvin Washington II

Making Technology Work For Everyone: Empowering Civil Society and Technologists to Work Together to Shape our Future

May 20, 2025, 3:30-5:00 pm EDT

Join STPP for a webinar about the importance of bringing together technical experts with civil society organizations to produce technology and technology policy that serves the public interest.