Lina Khan serving as a co-chair for Zohran Mamdani's mayoral transition team is the best thing I've heard all day.

“What keeps us going, ultimately, is our love for each other, and our refusal to bow our heads, to accept the verdict, however all-powerful it seems. It’s what ordinary people have to do. You have to love each other. You have to defend each other. You have to fight.” —Mike Davis

I love that Zohran did not praise Cuomo in his speech. You absolutely do not have to say nice things about bad people. We should normalize that in “polite” politics: Praising bad people is not actually “civility.”

People still matter. Good morning.

Now that I regularly commute to NYC, I’m looking forward to spending more time in the city 🙌🏾

In 2020, a young socialist organizer & AIAC contributor sat down with us, sharing his vision for a world that empowers working people over the rich and powerful. Today, that vision has carried him to City Hall. Congrats, Mayor @zohrankmamdani.bsky.social! 🌹 africasacountry.com/2020/01/roti...

I.C.E. is targeting Africans and other Black American residents. FYI

Now that I'm a self-employed consultant, I have to go on the marketplace for the first time in my life, and I'm truly not ready.

Working at the UN for over a month now has been really interesting cause people really do speak in acronyms the whole time. I have an entire list for those I need to look up 😭

I’ve joined the newly formed @partnershipai.bsky.social SAIGE Council, a multi-stakeholder community addressing important and challenging questions concerning the future of AI! As part of this Council, I'll lend my expertise to define and guide PAI’s work. partnershiponai.org/saige-council/

The first African author to win the Nobel in literature, Soyinka has been an outspoken critic of governments worldwide.

A very insightful report from the Alphabet Workers Union and TechEquity on the experiences of North American data workers. "...the poor working conditions seen in the Global South are also widespread in data work in the U.S." cwa-union.org/ghost-worker...

Earlier this year, I was very flattered to find out that I have a Wikipedia page! Although it’s a bit outdated due to a recent career change, I’m very grateful to be represented in the world’s largest online encyclopedia. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinasa...

“An Afrofuturist approach to the governance of AI technologies will lead to the adoption of practices that privilege equity by design to address the issues of exploitation and inequality arising from the AI revolution.” www.law.georgetown.edu/georgetown-l...

“Adjacency to power is often times more important to people than freedom.“ — Dr. Roxane Gay

"A.I. is 'being turned into a new kind of fetishism,' said Rodrigo Cavieres, a member of the Socio-Environmental Community Movement for Water and Land...'Data centers are being given priority over the population.' " www.nytimes.com/2025/10/20/t...

Thank you to everyone who attended the "Meeting Global AI Aspirations" panel at Brookings earlier this week, as part of "The American AI Stack and the World" event. Please find the full replay of the event on YouTube; the panel starts at 3:50:00. www.youtube.com/live/eO-sal9...

Very important article from the University of California celebrating its recent Nobel laureates and highlighting the role of federal funding in supporting Nobel-winning research. www.universityofcalifornia.edu/news/uc-wins...

One of my pet peeves is when people address emails to me as “Hi there”…who is there?

obama ramped up the use of drone strikes (10x more than bush!) and deported a record number of immigrants. he helped maintain and expand the systems trump is now using to do his crimes

I love when conferences in my field(s) occur because I get a flood of Google Scholar notifications about citations to my work and lots of interesting papers to check out 😁

Did a quick search, and Google's AI Overview algorithm claims that Benin is in the Americas 🤦🏾‍♀️

“…to this day, the Congressional Black Caucus…(known as ‘the conscience of Congress’)—has not issued a formal declaration condemning Israel…More than half of its current 61 members have been endorsed or funded by [AIPAC].” www.thenation.com/article/soci...

It’s a material reality that right now the AI tech bubble is holding up the empire. It increasingly powers all commerce, and is central to the most invasive surveillance apparatus the world has ever seen. Predictive analytics trained on our data have allowed billionaires to track us like wildlife.

I'll be returning to Brookings next week to lead a conversation with stakeholders from across Africa, Latin America, and Southeast Asia, discussing sovereign AI, the AI Action Plan's impact on Global Majority countries, and international AI governance frameworks. www.brookings.edu/events/the-a...

In about three years the entire university pivot to AI curricula and schools and programs is going to be so deeply embarrassing. We will all pretend it never happened and I will be standing there, looking at people with a mirror in my eyes. This is all so embarrassing.

Great article pushing back against AGI hype: "Rather than a single general north-star goal (or small set of goals), the AI community should articulate many worthwhile scientific engineering, and societal goals—and many possible paths to fulfilling them." arxiv.org/pdf/2502.036...

"Effective policy in AI has come to rely on powerful shorthand that makes things digestible amidst the overwhelming propaganda of Big Tech's AI myths." www.techpolicy.press/the-ai-safet...

Therefore both ‘general intelligence’ and ‘intelligence’ have already outlived the (limited) scientific usefulness they had, and it’s high time to put them on the relic shelf next to phlogiston. Or behind it. At least phlogiston wasn’t invented by eugenicists.

Looks like the Washington Post has a new partnership with Perplexity, giving users "free" access to articles when people use the Comet "AI" web browser 🤨 www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2...

Super interesting analysis: - Two-thirds of Nigerian IMO alumni (2006-2021) now live and work outside Nigeria - 60% work in tech/engineering at companies like Google, Microsoft, Amazon, Bloomberg - Half earned master’s or PhD degrees, mostly in STEM fields thecondia.com/nigeria-imo-...

One thing that I like about the Chinese government is that they're not afraid to call out the U.S. government on its hypocrisy. This article is a great example of that: www.mfa.gov.cn/mfa_eng/xw/w...

More AI hype from an African company 🤔 "Artificial intelligence (AI) is potentially the most powerful tool for inclusive growth in Africa, but the continent...must act with urgency to overcome the risk of further inequality and the creation a digital underclass." www.mtn.com/mtn-group-ca...

"Nigeria’s push to lead in artificial intelligence (AI) will depend less on ministerial enthusiasm and more on political will." techcabal.com/2025/10/09/w...

“The ideal scientist is a disinterested party with a neutral perspective, while the ideal advocate is a zealous champion for a client’s subjective interest…But when science and public policy meet, tension is inevitable.” law.stanford.edu/stanford-law...

"Over time, epistemological approaches rooted in Western traditions have come to be seen as objective and universal, rather than culturally situated or historically contingent." aeon.co/essays/gener...

My latest book chapter, “Governance of AI-Based Algorithms,” has been published in the Handbook of Human-Centered AI! This article examines the fundamental principles necessary for governing AI-based algorithms, highlighting numerous regulatory, technical, and oversight frameworks.

Loved this article about my hometown's BBQ scene! I also have a lot of new places on my list to try out on my next trip ✍🏾 www.nytimes.com/2025/10/10/d...

"...despite Mr. Trump’s claim on the campaign trail that immigrants take jobs from Black people, rising joblessness among Black workers suggests that mass deportations of migrants haven’t arrested the trend." www.nytimes.com/2025/10/12/b...

This. One of the weirdest claims about tech, is that if people only studied humanities, they would be more inclusive and kind. No. That's not the important dimension. Studying art or philosophy or history does not magically make you an ethical person. Hitler was a painter. Wagner was a composer.

"We just don’t respect culture as being powerful." — Dr. Tressie McMillan Cottom

Bring back shame.

First time seeing the word “chatfish,” but the ending of this article made an excellent point: “That so many daters are hiding their reliance on AI suggests that deep down we all know that true intimacy demands vulnerability.”

Another reason why my latest piece for Science is quite timely: www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...

While actively destroying public health care, Trump continues to reap its benefits. bsky.app/profile/megt...

Finally spotted the “AI friend” advertisement in the NYC subway during my commute earlier this week. The added commentary is truly the best!

The UN has launched an open call for candidates to serve on the Independent International Scientific Panel on AI! It's an ideal opportunity to contribute towards an open, safe, and inclusive digital future. Deadline: Friday, October 31st, 2025 Apply: un.org/ai-panel

My latest Brookings commentary (co-authored with Michelle Du) examines the landscape of digital platform work, providing recommendations for governments, tech companies, and outsourcing firms to increase accountability and reshape labor practices. www.brookings.edu/articles/rei...

Applications for JamCoders, a 1 month free algorithms & programming camp for Jamaican high schoolers, are now open. Head over to jamcoders.org.jm#apply. No programming experience required for students. We're looking for students & teaching assistants. Deadline January 31.

Pretty sure I saw National Guard troops in the NYC subway today. Still not used to seeing them around D.C. 😬