This werk’s Brief includes comments on work from @heyitsseher.bsky.social @blairaf.com @jhereia.bsky.social and others who contributed to Part II of the State of AI Ethics Report, Volume 7.

And with that, #mozfest 2025 is officially over. An insanely intense but beautiful few days. Thankful for incredible colleagues and this community, who make it all worth it in the end 💗🙏🏽 Now, we rest!! @mozilla.org #mozillafestival #mozfest2025

Hey from Barcelona, where we are SO READY for you at @mozilla.org Festival 2025! 🇪🇸 Join us alongside 2000+ from across the globe, 500+ session hosts, 275+ sessions/installations/experiences - all centered around creating a better tech future that puts people first #mozfest #mozillafestival

I wrote a piece for the State of AI Ethics Report Vol. 7, published by @mtlaiethics.bsky.social 🌍 For my piece, I married my grassroots work in civic engagement w/ current work in AI: "Reinforcing the Feedback Loop: How AI in Elections Deepens Democratic Inequities." Read: montrealethics.ai

New: Videos show ICE/CBP agents are scanning peoples' faces on the street to verify citizenship. ICE has tool to instantly look up unprecedented number of databases with just a photo “I’m an American citizen so leave me alone” “Alright, we just got to verify that” www.404media.co/ice-and-cbp-...

Mozilla Festival 2025 is Nov 7-9 in Barcelona w/ 500+ session hosts, 200+ experiences, talks, labs, forums, film screenings, & installations. Keynotes @xychelsea.tv @audreyt.org @ruha9.bsky.social If you haven't gotten your festival badge, use code MOZSEHER 🎟️ @mozilla.org www.mozillafestival.org

No noise. All signal. Nothing Personal. Meet Nothing Personal — a new counterculture magazine from the Mozilla Foundation. We’re handing the mic to the people rebuilding digital culture from the ground up. mzl.la/3KOMiQF #NothingPersonal #MakeGoodTech

What if the future of the internet relies on us unlearning the "truths" that are holding us back? Introducing the voices of Mozilla Festival Barcelona's Main Stage🎉 📢 Join us and let's build something better 🧡 mzl.la/46lKPJU #MozFest #Tech #Barcelona

The way that housing co-ops work in Switzerland may seem foreign to many. But the central idea is simple: What if homeownership had no profit motive and no capital gains? Advocates say their model could reshape how the world thinks about affordable housing. www.nytimes.com/2025/08/26/r...

A woman tt was just talking about how her summer electric bill is usually $200-$250. A data center was built close to her home and now her bill for August was $600. None of this is sustainable for anyone.

anyone else experience instant guilt of living a full and safe life at even the smallest reminders that we're living through a genocide

We believe the future of technology can be good. That’s why Mozilla Foundation is building a better technology future. One built with care, powered by people, open by design. But we can’t do it alone. Join us and let’s make some good. mzl.la/44ZIdAO #MozillaFoundation #MakeGoodTech

The Coder ‘Village’ at the Heart of China’s A.I. Frenzy www.nytimes.com/2025/07/06/t...

In 2022, I decided to make a big switch into the tech sector, eventually landing at @mozilla.org. It was not easy! I was invited to speak on a podcast about my career journey, switching sectors, as well as my thoughts on AI regulation, among other things! Spotify: open.spotify.com/episode/1JZt...

"Today, I’m compelled to speak, not as a composer this time, but as a citizen alarmed by the role Microsoft is playing in a very different kind of composition: one that leads to surveillance, violence, and destruction in Palestine" www.stereogum.com/2308906/bria...

"By 2028, the researchers estimate, the power going to AI-specific purposes will rise to between 165 and 326 terawatt-hours per year...That could generate the same emissions as driving over 300 billion miles—over 1,600 round trips to the sun from Earth." www.technologyreview.com/2025/05/20/1...

Good news for everyone who haven't submitted a session into @mozilla #mozfest The call for proposals/participation has been extended to the end of Monday June 2nd. http://mzl.la/cfp 👈🏿 You can see all the tracks here - https://www.mozillafestival.org/en/proposals/

The Collective Intelligence Project @cip.org has launched the Global Dialogues Challenge, an open call to explore global perspectives on the future of artificial intelligence. A $10,000 prize fund will be distributed among the winning entrants. www.cip.org/challenge

Well, well, well: Meta is building facial recognition tech for its Ray-Ban smart glasses. Incredible about-face when last year a Meta spokesperson lost their shit at me for reporting students had married facial recognition to the glasses. My comms with Meta here: www.404media.co/well-well-we...

As India and Pakistan face escalating tensions, a parallel war plays out online. In this piece, Surabhi Srivastava and Sana Naqvi reflect on the deep impact of digital misinformation and the urgent need to respond. www.rnw.media/index.php/ne...

@mozilla.org is looking for artists, technologists, and innovators to lead sessions at #MozillaFestival! Submit your idea by May 21 and join us! 📍Barcelona 🗓️ Nov 7–9 🔗mzl.la/cfp #mozfest

Scam political ads on Facebook take a dark turn as #elxn45 looms - via @thelogic.co thelogic.co/news/faceboo... #cdnpoli

Long lines at polling stations as Canadians turn up for advance voting www.cbc.ca/news/canada/... #cdnpoli #elxn45

If you're following #elxn45 in Canada, here's where the English language debate will be streamed tonight at 7pm EST #cdnpoli #cdnelection

🗳️ Feeling overwhelmed this election season? From candidates to key issues, there’s a lot to consider. 🤔 @thesamaracentre.bsky.social has top resources to help you vote with confidence! ✅ buff.ly/XdXe31E #CDNpoli

🔇🔇🔇Announcing new work from DAIR which is very close to my heart, 3 years in the making. When #TigrayGenocide, the deadliest genocide of the 21st century thus far, started in November 2020, it was 1 month before I got fired from Google. 🧵 english.elpais.com/internationa...

March marked 5 yrs since COVID. It devastated LTC homes & caring for elders became a top political issue.Ontarians are about to vote in the 2nd election of the year but the issues impacting seniors haven’t gained traction. How come? I wrote about it @tvotoday.bsky.social amp.tvo.org/article/opin...

Asian grocery stores are a lifeline to the communities they serve. But store owners say the prospect of sweeping tariffs are threatening their ability to stock up on goods and keep prices affordable.

Just grabbed my badge to #MozillaFestival in Barcelona 🇪🇸@mozilla We’re bringing together 3000+ innovators & changemakers to help rewrite the rules of tech, society, and justice. 🎟️ Register now for 20% off early bird badges mzl.la/4251mjn #mozfest #ethicaltech #digitalrights

The Most Vocal Redditors Are Shaping Canadian Politics—Here’s How via @thesamaracentre.bsky.social #elxn45 #cdnpoli www.samaracentre.ca/articles/fed...

It’s time to rethink the future of the internet. #MozillaFestival is bringing together innovators & change makers to rewrite the rules of tech, society, and justice. Join us⤵️ 📍 Barcelona | Nov 7-9 🎟️ Register now for early bird pricing: bit.ly/3RJtdPS

A network of X accounts is targeting Canada ahead of the election - The Logic thelogic.co/news/canada-... #elxn45 #cdnpoli

An interesting conversation on AI, democracy, and public good this morning at @dxcsummit.bsky.social Just because big tech companies aren't based in Canada, doesn't mean there isn't a real and urgent need for robust public engagement on AI regulation and digital/AI literacy #DXC25

Neil Desai, Laura Gabor, Hillary Hartley and Seher Shafiq join moderator Vass Bednar at the AI, Democracy and Public Good panel at @dxcsummit.bsky.social #DXC25

“We are great at building and exporting cleantech in Canada, but bad at commercializing it.” -Laura Gabor “Canada has an AI branding problem.” - Seher Shafiq #DXC25 @dxcsummit.bsky.social

Looking forward to discussing AI and public good at #DXC25! Use discount code PACfriends@DXC25 for a 25% discount on conference tickets! www.democracyxchange.org @dxcsummit.bsky.social

New: the Mozilla Foundation is calling on the tech industry to block an ICE contractor's web scrapers. Amazon, Apple, BlueSky, Duolingo, Etsy, Glassdoor, GoFundMe, Google, LinkedIn, Nextdoor, OnlyFans, Reddit, Snapchat, Substack, TikTok, Tinder, Twitch, Twitter, more www.404media.co/mozilla-foun...

Earlier this month, @404media.co + @josephcox.bsky.social reported that 200+ websites used for shopping, socializing, + learning are being used as tools for surveillance. #ShadowDragon is exploiting publicly available data for profit. Sign and demand these companies protect our data: mzl.la/41YuAPG

Cohere claims its new Command A model matches its rivals—and uses way less power - The Logic thelogic.co/news/cohere-...

It’s amazing to find out at this late date how much the rule of law depended on people simply deciding, on a voluntary, daily basis, not to break the law.

The Lagoon Nebula (M8) is a star-forming cloud of gas 4,000 light-years away in Sagittarius. Spanning 55 light-years, it was discovered in 1654 by Italian astronomer Giovanni Battista Hodierna. Hubble captured this stunning view in 2018. Credit: NASA, ESA, STScI

Thank you for sharing yours insights from @rightscon.org, @heyitsseher.bsky.social! Incredibly important perspective to be shared at this turning point in history.

Hey, I wrote an op-ed recapping @rightscon.org 2025 for @mtlaiethics.bsky.social! Critical Digital Rights Challenges from #RightsCon2025 1. Funding crisis - 1/3 funding gone overnight 2. Misuse of AI in war and genocide 3. Representation of global majority voices montrealethics.ai/from-funding...

Maybe the right question to ask is not "how much money has DOGE actually saved" but "how many people have died as a result of DOGE cuts?"

Closing at @rightscon.org focused on funding crisis re: USAID $233 billion was given in foreign aid in 2023 2025 cuts are $78 billion ‼️1/3 funding gone overnight This is not a gap that philanthropy can fill. The sector is facing a funding crisis that'll require new strategies. #rightscon2025

Great session @thraets.org on GenAI in 2024 elections * Humans can't anymore detect what's not real - models getting better * At same time: AI-ification of longstanding problems = marketing opp - may SEEM AI is problem more than it is * AI makes mistake b/c humans make mistakes #rightscon2025

If you're at #RightsCon2025 @rightscon.org come check out our @mozilla.org booth by room 201C! We're spotlighting our Common Voice project: a free, open source platform for community-led data creation with a focus on uplifting languages under-represented in LLMs More: commonvoice.mozilla.org/en

Great pieces in this session from @mila-quebec.bsky.social How does a western scientist cut a cake? Horizontally – one layer evenly. Indigenous knowledge cuts vertically - across all domains -"humans, earth, sea, and the people". Need to look at AI systems in this holistic way. #RightsCon2025

New report, "Emboldened offenders, endangered communities: internet shutdowns in 2024" by @accessnow.org calls 2024 worst year on record with more internet shutdowns, in more countries, implemented by more offenders, and across more borders. www.accessnow.org/internet-shu...