"Through a shadowy network of online recruiters and Africans under duress, Russia has quietly assembled an extensive social engineering and human trafficking pipeline to lure thousands of Africans from nearly every country on the continent into the front lines..." africacenter.org/spotlight/ru...

"...anthropomorphism can reinforce industry narratives. Technology firms have strong incentives to market products as intelligent, conversational, or agentic to drive adoption." www.brookings.edu/articles/ant...

Are we reading. Are we making critical judgements. Are we committing to sustaining literature because we believe in its inherent value. Are we thinking.

My problem is that people will do all of this and then take 3+ months to release the episode 😅

Not enough women, or Black people, or PhD scientists in Congress, so very good!

As a Black woman PhD scientist, I'm deeply inspired. Congrats to Rep. Clark! 🙌🏾

"Alex quit their virtual assistant job in late 2025, saying they couldn’t handle the 'mind-numbing' workload anymore. 'It’s all AI comments by fake people answered with fake replies by other fake people,'...'It’s so dead internet, like none of this is real.' " restofworld.org/2026/virtual...

Always worth remembering that Insider Higher Ed is owned by Times Higher Education, a one-time industry publication which has been remade as a data-analytic consultancy AND which is itself owned by Inflexion Private Equity.

"...about one in 277 papers published in the first seven weeks of 2026 referenced a paper that didn’t exist." retractionwatch.com/2026/05/07/o...

The president of Cornell hit some students with his car, lied about what happened, and cast himself as the victim. Cornell's trustees, palpably aghast at the idea that a powerful man could be held accountable for his actions, have issued an official statement saying fuck the students

Insightful video from students at my alma mater (and very well-produced!)

Just laughing at how it’s possible for a black woman to be so beautiful and talented that she sends a racist into a six day public stroke

Very cool research! "...tightly curled hair provides the most effective protection for the scalp against solar radiation, while minimizing the need for sweat to offset heat gain." www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...

I must’ve done a really good job at Brookings because I haven’t been employed there for 9 months and people still think I am 😅

we're in a literacy crisis.

"Africa cannot rely on the benevolence of others or on outdated prescriptions anchored in aid, comparative advantage, or externally imposed 'best practices.' " www.e-ir.info/2026/04/06/i...

I was quite skeptical of this project from the start. I hope other African countries learn not to rush into data center partnerships. "Kenya recently suspended plans for a $1 billion Microsoft-G42 data center due to insufficient national power capacity." africa.businessinsider.com/local/market...

"People are no longer willing to believe the story that is told about a technology or a platform always benefiting people." www.nytimes.com/2026/04/21/o...

"For users on capped mobile data plans, particularly in regions where smartphone-as-only-internet is dominant (much of Africa, much of South and Southeast Asia, most of Latin America), 4 GB of unrequested download is on the order of a month's data allowance.." www.thatprivacyguy.com/blog/chrome-...

"These giant academic publishers are essentially parasitic on our work and we need rid ourselves of these bloated bloodsuckers." A great resource on reputable, open access journals for social science researchers: ubisurv.net/2024/09/04/r...

Excited for my largest keynote to date at the Society for Scholarly Publishing Annual Meeting later this month! My talk will unpack the global landscape of AI, advocating for approaches to AI R&D that counter AI accelerationism and expand inclusion. customer.sspnet.org/SSP/ssp/AM26...

"...in the age of digital labour we are witnessing (and experiencing) a regression in all three hard-fought demands: working unbound times, compromising rest, and surrendering our agency to algorithms that dictate our daily lives." www.globalcenter.ai/research/the...

Community is powerful ✊🏾

A new analysis has mapped the movement of AI talent worldwide between April 2024 and September 2025. "Europe is seeing the proportion of women as AI engineers and developers decreasing, and the gender parity gap is growing." www.interface-eu.org/publications...

Interesting report unpacking how Silicon Valley funds fascist ideals worldwide. "Over the past decade, a wave of conservative activism has been sweeping across West Africa - anchored by the annual Family Values Conference, sponsored by the Mormon Church." wearenoor.org/4347-2-big-t...

The United States now has the most government restrictions on academic freedom of any high-income country. www.chemistryworld.com/news/academi... Raw data from @vdeminstitute.bsky.social —> academic-freedom-index.net/research/Aca...

"capital flowing into AI from commercial actors is staggering...almost none of it is going toward the governance infrastructure, the accountability mechanisms or the worker protections that will determine whether this technology actually serves society." www.insidephilanthropy.com/home/philant...

Excited for my first visit to Morehouse next week to keynote the MORAL AI Symposium! morehouse.edu/ai/conferences Date: April 27 – 28th, 2026 Keynote Time: 12:15 PM – 1:15 PM ET on Tuesday, April 28th Registration: docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F...

"Shanna Johnson, the CEO of now-defunct software company Cielo24, told [Forbes] that she was able to sell every Slack message, internal email, and Jira ticket as training data for 'hundreds of thousands of dollars.' " www.fastcompany.com/91528808/shu...

On my way to UGA for an advisory board meeting, and the shuttle ride to Athens is almost twice as long as my flight from Dulles to Atlanta 😅

Looking forward to a great discussion in the "Co-Opting AI: Geopolitics" webinar this week! I'll focus on Africa's position in the global AI race and broader implications for the Global Majority. Date: Wednesday, April 15th Time: 4:00 PM – 5:15 PM ET RSVP: dtdlab.virginia.edu/event/co-opt...

“As AI becomes increasingly central to economic competitiveness and social development, Africa’s marginalisation could impede its ability to fully harness AI’s potential while protecting its citizens’ interests.” cipesa.org/2026/04/indi...

how much money does the marine corps lose

Saw someone in Marrakesh wearing a Michigan jacket

Seeing Macky Sall announced as a UN candidate was truly shocking. "Despite the collapse of the proposal for AU endorsement and Africa’s interests at stake, Sall’s candidacy and campaign continue to be imbued with misinformation and deceitful propaganda." amaniafrica-et.org/aus-rejectio...

Wrapped up a wonderful visit to Carnegie Mellon University Africa in Kigali! I enjoyed my chats with faculty and staff and meeting students from dozens of African countries. I remain even more hopeful about the continent’s future engineers, scientists, professors, entrepreneurs, and policy leaders.

Extremely evil/cursed take from the WaPo this morning

I laughed out loud when I read this headline 🤣 www.nbcwashington.com/news/local/d...

"On any night in Tbilisi, it’s possible to see clusters of heavily pregnant women — from Kenya, Ethiopia, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia and Ukraine — treating themselves to a meal from their regional restaurant or going to the supermarket." www.nytimes.com/2025/12/14/m...

My latest piece, "Strategic Geopolitical Competition and Africa's AI Future," has been published by the Social Science Research Council! just-tech.ssrc.org/articles/str... Without deliberate governance and careful alignment, African nations risk becoming pawns in AI's current geopolitical contest.

I don’t know which deity I’ve upset, but on each of my flights over the past week, I’ve been seated in front of someone who doesn’t understand that touchscreens only need light, firm touches and not rough jabs 😖

I enjoy coming to Kigali because it’s one of the few African airports I don’t feel stressed in.

"The continuing strength of Trumpism in Nigeria is particularly striking given that Nigeria has been subject to discriminatory US anti-immigration policies, including travel bans that targeted the country directly." africasacountry.com/2026/03/trum...

"...AI ethics must move beyond the concepts of race-based representation and bias, and towards those that probe the deeper relations that impact how these systems are designed, developed, and deployed." arxiv.org/abs/2111.03687

“Can’t nothing make your life work if you ain’t the architect.” — Terry McMillan

TONIGHT: Making AI Work for the People Join @gabriela-ramos.bsky.social, @chinasa.bsky.social, @kdaniels8.bsky.social, and Michele Jawando at 5 pm today on Georgetown University's Capitol Campus for a critical conversation on AI and democracy! RSVP: events.georgetown.edu/aidc/event/m...

"Even if AI may someday transform science, medicine and education — claims we should remain highly skeptical of — those breakthroughs will only materialize through robust oversight, inclusive policymaking and long-term thinking." www.sfchronicle.com/opinion/open...

"You are what you do, not what you say you'll do."

Israel’s campaigns in Gaza, Lebanon, and Iran are not discrete crises but interconnected fronts in a broader project of regional dominance. africasacountry.com/2026/03/grea...

I look forward to speaking at Georgetown this week! events.georgetown.edu/aidc/event/m... On the “AI in the World” panel, I'll offer insights into the challenges of global AI governance. Date: Wednesday, March 25th Time: 5 - 8:30 PM Location: Georgetown University, Capitol Campus