Matt Henry 🥄

Matt Henry 🥄

@matthenry.fyi

Tech, law, philosophy, and abolition. Web optimist. I build design systems for governments. This is (obviously?) a personal account. he/him

1.1K followers1.2K following880 posts

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Matt Henry 🥄
@matthenry.fyi

Ok, quick intro post: Hi 👋. I'm a technologist working to improve the public's experience of US government digital services. Before that, I used to be a public defender and worked in criminal justice reform. I like using tech for good and dislike tech that promotes inequality and immiseration.

Matt Henry 🥄
@matthenry.fyi

I guess to be fair if all you want to do is dismantle an agency or exfiltrate its data to Grok, you can easily do that in 6 months if you're not worried about following the law.

Matt Henry 🥄
@matthenry.fyi

Originalist and textualist academics and lower court judges: We need rigorous methods like deep historical research and corpus linguistics Alito: I ask the ghosts in my mind palace what the law is

Barred and Boujee aka Madiba Dennie@audrelawdamercy.blacksky.app

if you were wondering whether Alito's book is an embarrassing crock of shit, I can now officially answer your question with a resounding yes ballsandstrikes.org/legal-cultur...

Matt Henry 🥄
@matthenry.fyi

I just started @benzevgreen.bsky.social’s book after listening to this, and it’s really striking to me how much of it reflects the parallel evolution of what Ben calls algorithmic realism and user-centered design in civic tech. There’s a lot these methodologies can learn from each other.

Tech Policy Press@techpolicypress.bsky.social

On the Tech Policy Press podcast, editor Justin Hendrix talks with Ben Green @benzevgreen.bsky.social of the University of Michigan, about his new book, “Algorithmic Realism: Data Science Practices to Promote Social Justice,” from MIT Press @mitpress.bsky.social Listen here: buff.ly/Y6i4AvL

buff.lyA Data Science Playbook for Social JusticeA conversation with Ben Green, author of Algorithmic Realism: Data Science Practices to Promote Social Justice, just out from MIT Press.
Matt Henry 🥄
@matthenry.fyi

When i was in college, I used to drive up to DC or down to Chapel Hill and back for shows on a weeknight and go to class the next day. This week I drove up to DC for a show, stayed up there, took two days off work for it, and was still tired. What could've happened in those intervening 25 years? 🤔

Matt Henry 🥄 reposted

Don Moynihan
@donmoyn.bsky.social

New from me: Trump, his Cabinet, white nationalist Joe Gebbia and Big Balls came together for a special event: to unveil America.gov. What the site offers - a chatbot - and what it promises are two very different things, with lots of hard work ahead. 🧵 donmoynihan.substack.com/p/americagov...

donmoynihan.substack.comAmerica.gov: Branding in Search of a ProductIt got a wave of positive headlines, but for people who know tech, a shrug of the shoulders
Matt Henry 🥄
@matthenry.fyi

One of the big issues with the AI takeover of USWDS is the planned use of AI to automate accessibility testing. I want to dig more into what was first announced, how the posture has changed since then (and how it hasn't), and why law, policy, and practice make full automation impossible.

View full thread
Matt Henry 🥄
@matthenry.fyi

DOJ is saying, in as many words: if you try to automate your accessibility testing, you need to be aware of the liability to which you're exposing your agency. Part of the value of USWDS has always been to help limit that liability, and this change risks discarding much of that value.

Matt Henry 🥄
@matthenry.fyi

One of the big issues with the AI takeover of USWDS is the planned use of AI to automate accessibility testing. I want to dig more into what was first announced, how the posture has changed since then (and how it hasn't), and why law, policy, and practice make full automation impossible.

View full thread
Matt Henry 🥄
@matthenry.fyi

Some background: there was a big compliance deadline that was supposed to in April 2026, after which DOJ would begin enforcement of many digital accessibility requirements for state & local governments. However, they pushed that deadline back a year.

Matt Henry 🥄
@matthenry.fyi

But in the rule making that change, DOJ (and i have to emphasize, lest everything I'm saying seem hopelessly politicized, this is *this* DOJ, in its own rulemaking) said:

Matt Henry 🥄
@matthenry.fyi

One of the big issues with the AI takeover of USWDS is the planned use of AI to automate accessibility testing. I want to dig more into what was first announced, how the posture has changed since then (and how it hasn't), and why law, policy, and practice make full automation impossible.

View full thread
Matt Henry 🥄
@matthenry.fyi

These real use cases are, by definition, novel and not part of what went into building the automations. Supporting those users will, once again, require an understanding of general accessibility principles but also the expertise & judgment to evaluate how they apply in the specific implementation.

Matt Henry 🥄
@matthenry.fyi

I've said some about why I (and others in the industry) think it's impossible to fully automate accessibility testing, but it's not just us. The Department of Justice agreed as recently as earlier this year.

Matt Henry 🥄
@matthenry.fyi

One of the big issues with the AI takeover of USWDS is the planned use of AI to automate accessibility testing. I want to dig more into what was first announced, how the posture has changed since then (and how it hasn't), and why law, policy, and practice make full automation impossible.

View full thread
Matt Henry 🥄
@matthenry.fyi

Accessibility expertise in design systems doesn't stop at shipping accessible components either. There's no such thing as a perfectly accessible design system, but even if there were, that guarantee would be worthless once people started using the components in their own sites & apps.

Matt Henry 🥄
@matthenry.fyi

Part of the role of the design system team is to help users put the components together in ways that doesn't undo all the upfront accessibility work in the components. In part, that's what docs are for, but the real work is in directly supporting users with their real use cases.

Matt Henry 🥄
@matthenry.fyi

One of the big issues with the AI takeover of USWDS is the planned use of AI to automate accessibility testing. I want to dig more into what was first announced, how the posture has changed since then (and how it hasn't), and why law, policy, and practice make full automation impossible.

View full thread
Matt Henry 🥄
@matthenry.fyi

It's great that they know they need to gesture at "[using] accessibility expertise and relevant testing with people with disabilities to validate expectations and investigate gaps as coverage expands." They still seem to want to take that expertise and automate it. I think this is a pipe dream.

Matt Henry 🥄
@matthenry.fyi

Nicolas Steenhout has done a great analysis of *why* it's a pipe dream www.linkedin.com/pulse/automa.... The analysis is multifaceted (and correct, imo) but boils down to the ineradicable role of human experience & judgment in evaluating accessibility in context.

linkedin.comAutomating all accessibility testing is a pipe dreamThe National Design Studio has taken over the US Web Design System (USWDS). Its main development priority is now “reusable accessibility testing tooling for current and future USWDS versions.
Matt Henry 🥄
@matthenry.fyi

One of the big issues with the AI takeover of USWDS is the planned use of AI to automate accessibility testing. I want to dig more into what was first announced, how the posture has changed since then (and how it hasn't), and why law, policy, and practice make full automation impossible.

View full thread
Matt Henry 🥄
@matthenry.fyi

In the early days of the new prompt engineer's work on USWDS, he announced an intent to fully automate accessibility testing. The community rightly pushed back on this, and the announcement was tweaked in response bsky.app/profile/matt...

Matt Henry 🥄@matthenry.fyi

They've already (sort of?) walked back the idea of automating all of their accessibility testing. I don't think this is a meaningful change but maybe it indicates that they're paying attention to criticism.

Matt Henry 🥄
@matthenry.fyi

One of the big issues with the AI takeover of USWDS is the planned use of AI to automate accessibility testing. I want to dig more into what was first announced, how the posture has changed since then (and how it hasn't), and why law, policy, and practice make full automation impossible.

Matt Henry 🥄
@matthenry.fyi

(threading note: i'm doing a separate longer thread about everything USWDS-related, and i'll link to this in there. But while this is all relevant to that, I want to go off on a longer accessibility-focused tangent here)

Matt Henry 🥄
@matthenry.fyi

Bad post about a good article. But there’s one huge contrast it overlooks between DOGE and the civic tech model it tried to kill: DOGE ignored agency expertise, while civic tech tried to enhance and enable it. It‘s an important distinction and shows what some of the challenges ahead will be.

The Washington Sun@washingtonsun.com

DOGE overhauled the federal workforce and slashed government spending — moves that inspired nationwide protests and lawsuits. The backlash has given Democrats nationally an opportunity to reclaim the government efficiency mantle.

washingtonsun.comDemocrats Are Plotting Government Efficiency in a Post-DOGE WorldRising stars in the Democratic Party are promoting their tech modernization teams in a post-DOGE political landscape.
Matt Henry 🥄
@matthenry.fyi

“Build with not for” is a civic tech mantra that emphasized that the work was about partnering with agencies who had deep subject matter expertise. USDS and 18F were able to eventually earn trust that they weren’t techbro know-it-alls coming to muscle out career employees.

Matt Henry 🥄
@matthenry.fyi

DOGE torched that hard-earned trust along with so many other things. If there really is a realignment coming, it’s going to be even harder for civic tech-minded folks to earn the trust that‘s critical for successful partnerships.

Matt Henry 🥄 reposted

Dan Hon
@danhon.com

I have updated my Buffy agile meme

Christo Silvia@christosilvia.bsky.social

AI makes it easier to write software, and that's bad

Matt Henry 🥄 reposted

Grave Stalker
@suddenlygreg.com

I'm not a designer. I'm a developer. The USWDS documentation approach to explaining not just how to use components but when and why is a major asset to me. And it reminds me to consider things I might not have otherwise.

Matt Henry 🥄@matthenry.fyi

I think there's a decent chance the new AI-pilled USWDS is going to be built on shadcn, and I don't think it's a good fit. I wrote a very little bit about why I think that but I could write a hell of a lot more. matthenry.fyi/posts/a-syst...

matthenry.fyiMischief & Craft - A design system is what it doesA comparison of how two design systems handle the humble text component
Matt Henry 🥄
@matthenry.fyi

This is obviously hilarious but it also shows what happens if you ship something without ever showing it to a real user first.

Amanda C 🥄@amandaesque.bsky.social

ABSOLUTELY SCREAM CACKLING at this search prompt and image combo on the new trashbasket america.gov

Matt Henry 🥄
@matthenry.fyi

The people who know how to stop things like this from happening used to work right down the hall before they were all fired or driven out.

Matt Henry 🥄 reposted

Jay Willis
@jaywillis.net

Wrote about the decline and fall of SCOTUSblog, which used to be the single best resource for Supreme Court stuff, and (thanks to some intervening crimes committed by its co-founder) is now a weird platform for conservative pundits to talk about what a good job the conservative justices are doing

slate.comIt Was the Essential Home of Supreme Court News. Now It’s a Joke. What Happened?How high-stakes poker brought down a pillar of Supreme Court coverage.

Matt Henry 🥄 reposted

Christopher Whitaker
@civicwhitaker.com

My first read is that like many other NDS websites the real functionality is ‘coming soon’ - I tested a VA disability claim and it directs me to the VA site. It claims to be able to do that in 2027 but that’s a significantly heavier lift than building an LLM wrapper.

Steve Herman@newsguy.bsky.social

President Trump unveils America.gov, an AI-powered "plan that sits in the palm of your hand" to replace thousands of "terrible government websites."

Matt Henry 🥄 reposted

Matt Henry 🥄
@matthenry.fyi

Replying to @matthenry.fyi

Several civic technologists, civil servants, and concerned citizens signed on to an open letter to GSA leadership and members of congress asking them to protect USWDS as a piece of critical digital infrastructure. I'm proud to be one of them. fedscoop.com/websites-jeo...

fedscoop.comWebsites ‘in jeopardy’ amid U.S. Web Design System takeover, coalition tells GSAThe letter comes after administration officials changed leadership for the system, implemented new AI tooling, and shut out members of an open-source community.