Frontier AI companies are hiring chemical and biological weapons experts to prevent destructive misuse of their platforms, but these mitigation systems have no external oversight — leaving critical risk governance subject to the whims of the companies and market forces, writes Javaid Iqbal Sofi.

Yes! 👇

AI-enabled targeting can allow a military to cause unprecedented civilian death tolls whilst claiming data-driven precision, writes Future of Life Institute head of military AI governance Anna Hehir. We need legally binding national and international rules on the use of AI in warfare, she says.

it’s not surprising exactly but it is still shocking just how fast we’ve moved from “woke was excessive” framing to open and explicit white male supremacy

We must build an internet designed for an era of rivalry and conflict, climate stress, democratic backsliding, and concentration of power, writes Konstantinos Komaitis.

Want to learn more about how companies develop commercial tech that feeds the military industrial complex and vice-versa? Read our most recent reports on Thales, Leonardo, Elbit and Skydio 🕵️‍

It’s time for my favorite cartoon of the year.

Four weeks into the war, Iran is plummeting toward total digital isolation with its internet blocked and communications heavily restricted and monitored, Laura Scherling writes.

Me: Carefully crafting a policy assessment to explain how shutdowns and digital abuses result in real harm and should be regulated by international protection frameworks without hurting PhD IHL's feelings 90% of politicians in 2026: International crimes are cool actually *start a konga dance*

War crimes as “content”.

In the Philippines, some AI and call-center workers are required to report on-site during natural disasters https://restofworld.org/2026/philippines-disasters-bpo-workers/?utm_campaign=row-social&utm_source=bluesky&utm_medium=social&utm_content=1775181900

The acting head of 🇺🇸Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) told lawmakers that it has bought and used #spyware made by Paragon Solutions in drug trafficking cases, according to a letter seen by @lorenzofb.bsky.social. techcrunch.com/2026/04/02/i...

We know our community is navigating uncertainty around traveling to RightsCon 2026 through the Gulf region. Following the escalation of the war between the United States, Israel, and Iran, multiple countries across the region have closed their airspace.

In the Philippines, data workers say they’re being told to come into work during earthquakes and typhoons https://restofworld.org/2026/philippines-disasters-bpo-workers/

“In no event shall actions against these objects be taken which may be expected to leave the civilian population with such inadequate food or water as to cause its starvation or force its movement.” As Iran war rages, are attacks on civilian infrastructure war crimes globalnews.ca/news/1175299...

Military GPS jamming in the Gulf is forcing delivery drivers to abandon their maps and navigate by memory as signals across the UAE and surrounding countries are spoofed or blocked https://restofworld.org/2026/gps-disruption-gulf-gig-workers/?utm_campaign=row-social&utm_source=bluesky

The damage to Amazon Web Services (AS16509) in Bahrain is also visible in IODA with Active Probing dropping to 0% and BGP making a slight drop at 12:50 UTC. Follow connectivity of AS16509 in near realtime: ioda.inetintel.cc.gatech.edu/asn/16509-BH... @amazonwebservices.bsky.social

While the U.S. and China operate 90% of AI data centers, researchers around the world are developing leaner systems that operate without relying on the cloud https://restofworld.org/2026/frugal-ai-big-tech/?utm_campaign=row-social&utm_source=bluesky&utm_medium=social

⚠️WhatsApp accused 🇮🇹Italian #spyware maker SIO of creating a fake version of its messaging app for iPhones, according to an announcement the company shared with @lorenzofb.bsky.social. techcrunch.com/2026/04/01/w...

“It seems unlikely that there is evidence for every single one of these cases that really show that each of these strikes are legitimate and proportional and following all of obligations under international law." Strikes on Iranian universities raise war crime questions thehill.com/homenews/edu...

Over 100 international lawyers (including me) warn that U.S. strikes on Iran violate the UN Charter and may be war crimes. Read the letter here: www.justsecurity.org/135423/profe...

I join over 100 US-based international law experts in condemning the unlawful acts of aggression by the US and Israel against Iran, as well as many violations of IHL, including potential war crimes, committed by all sides in the conduct of this conflict. www.justsecurity.org/135423/profe...

Across the Global South, governments are betting on digital labor to grow their economies, yet for women, platform work is creating income without the promised independence, Savannah Taylor writes.

Gaza universities resume in-person learning, restoring hope amid displacement

For the third year in a row, conflict was the leading trigger of shutdowns with 125 conflict-related shutdowns across 14 countries — the highest total ever and 40% of the global total in 2025. In 2025, not a single day passed without at least one internet shutdown @accessnow.org

Visa Deadline Alert! 🚨 If you're joining us in Zambia for #RightsCon2026, the window for visa support is closing. You have until April 3 to request your supporting documents. To check if you need a visa, how to request the documents, and the e-Visa process, go to: www.rightscon.org/rc26-visa/

For the third year in a row, conflict was the leading trigger of shutdowns with 125 conflict-related shutdowns across 14 countries — the highest total ever and 40% of the global total in 2025. In 2025, not a single day passed without at least one internet shutdown @accessnow.org

Across the Global South, governments are betting on digital labor to grow their economies, yet for women, platform work is creating income without the promised independence, Savannah Taylor writes.

A missile strike by the Islamic Republic of Iran’s authorities on the Israeli city of Beit Shemesh that killed nine civilians – including four teenagers – must be investigated as a war crime. amnesty.ca/human-rights...

Francesca Albanese has been a persistent voice of moral clarity in response to the Gaza genocide, and she is being targeted for her courage. Debanking—which consists of banks, payment platforms, and/or credit cards refusing to give you an account—is not an uncommon experience for critics of Israel.

This “evidence revolution” is often treated as if better visibility produces better justice but in practice, courts and legal institutions decide what becomes legible as truth. It is this gatekeeping that distorts what harms are recognized and acted upon. theconversation.com/more-evidenc...

Thomson Reuters, known for the Reuters news agency but is a data broker, powers ICE tools. Includes a system Palantir made for ICE, according to former Palantir employee. DHS sources also believe Thomson Reuters data in ELITE, the ICE tool for targeting neighborhoods www.404media.co/how-thomson-...

NEW: Thomson Reuters, the media company which is also a data broker, has long provided personal data for ICE tools, according to documents obtained by 404 Media and sources. There are also indications its data is now part of the Palantir system ICE uses to find which neighborhoods to target.

The recruitment & use of children under 15 in war is a war crime. Death of an 11-year-old boy in airstrike while manning a security checkpoint alongside his father in Tehran has thrown focus on #Iran's recruitment of children into the security services: www.bbc.com/news/article...

No one tracks Internet shutdowns better than @accessnow.org and this is what they say in their (very detailed) report on shutdowns in 2025: "internet shutdowns are increasing, not decreasing — and their impact on people’s lives is devastating" www.accessnow.org/internet-shu...

Read our statement here:

NEW | 2025 was a record year for internet shutdowns — 313 times. Authorities imposed shutdowns to control information and restrict access. The #KeepItOn coalition spent last year documenting shutdowns across the world. These are the findings ⬇️ 🧵

Not sure I have it in me to face the inevitable "quantum for good" hype BS cycle next year

Folks, good news: The Onion is a hundred or so subs away from reaching the long-awaited number of 69,420 paid print subscribers. If you’re that one magic subscriber, we’ll send you a mystery gift box as a thanks. Sign up or regret it forever. We’re on sale for a week. Make sexweed number history.

Made the call a while ago that I won’t be writing much about the series itself, but it was important to spell things out now that Warner Bros. is cranking the hype machine up

This is awesome

NEW: The Iranian government has repeatedly used inherently indiscriminate cluster munitions delivered by ballistic missiles in attacks on Israel since February 28, 2026. At least four civilians have been killed in the strikes, which violate the laws of war and may amount to war crimes.

Since the headline is a bit confusing, the NYT is reporting that on the same day we hit the girl's school in Minab, we also sent a missile full of tungsten steel pellets at a girl's volleyball tournament hundreds of miles away in Lamerd. Twenty one dead. www.nytimes.com/2026/03/29/w...

This 50 yr old woman spent 5 months in jail accused of a crime in a state she's never even been to, because Clearview AI misidentified her as the suspect. A judge signed off on it, cops went along with it, no process in place to even question the AI. www.cnn.com/2026/03/29/u...

Sudan Doctors Network said RSF and allies shelled residential areas in the city of Dilling for several hours.

My critical (ed)tech journey started with reading Chris Gilliard, Audrey Watters, and Ruha Benjamin. Who’s in your Critical Tech Hall of Fame?

Surveillance is a one-way ratchet toward authoritarianism. Yes, even by private companies. Even when people “consent.” Even when the company gives you “free” stuff, or let you stand in a shorter line, or make your life more convenient somehow.

Digital Discrimination: Gender Bias in Algorithmic Recruitment Practices in the Global South journals.co.za/doi/abs/10.3...

"I can't tell you if the use of force in Iraq today would last five days, or five weeks or five months, but it certainly isn't going to last any longer than that.” — Donald Rumsfeld