Gary R. Bunt
@garyrbunt.bsky.social
Digitally distracted Professor. Researcher/author on Islam, Muslims and the internet. Emoji-free zone. Posting does not imply endorsement, etc. Based in Wales. X antidote. https://virtuallyislamic.com
I’m looking forward to contributing as International Advisor to this new project, “Kürsü 5.0: Religious Discourse and Authority in the Context of YouTube Türkiye”, led by Mehmet Ali Başak. Details: #Türkiye
“Kürsü 5.0” Project Led by Assist. Prof. Member Mehmet Ali Başak Receives TÜBİTAK 1001 Funding - IHU
“Kürsü 5.0” Project Led by Assist. Prof. Member Mehmet Ali Başak Receives TÜBİTAK 1001 Funding
iss.ihu.edu.tr
📢 BRISMES has published the first annual report of its Committee on #AcademicFreedom. Drawing on 28 interventions, it documents threats to academic freedom, freedom of expression and the right to education across the UK, Europe and the MENA. (1/8) 👉 shorturl.at/eKJku
Conservatives challenged for selecting a man who formed a far right group + was jailed for serious antisemitic harassment of former MP Luciana Berger.Badenoch says he has reformed sufficiently to have a local candidacy, but should not have a national platform www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/entry/kemi-b...
Kemi Badenoch Says Former Neo-Nazi Standing For Tories Can Be A Councillor But Not An MP
The Conservative leader said she would not want to give Joshua Bonehill-Paine “a national platform”.
huffingtonpost.co.uk
“The deal caused concern amongst some fans of EA's massive library of games, particularly as games like The Sims champion inclusivity and LGBT+ relationships.”
Saudi-led group completes $55bn purchase of gaming giant EA
The deal takes the maker of titles including The Sims and EA FC into private ownership - and loads it with debt.
bbc.co.uk
"In its latest World Development Report, the World Bank said countries that fail to act could increase AI inequality, concentrate market power and weaken trust in public institutions."
World Bank warns developing countries have narrow window to embrace AI | The National
Low-income economies advised to seize 'golden opportunity'
thenationalnews.com
Further to my earlier post on Gaza's "digital lifeline," here's the associated radio programme:
BBC Radio 4 - Crossing Continents, Getting Gaza back online
How amid the tents and the rubble Gaza is developing once again as an unlikely tech hub.
bbc.co.uk
On the #Gaza digital tech economy From Yolanda Knell 'Digital lifeline' - Gaza tech workers give glimpse of possible future
'Digital lifeline' - Gaza tech workers give glimpse of possible future
Thousands of young people in Gaza are pursuing roles in the digital economy as the territory's wider recovery stalls.
bbc.co.uk
www.reuters.com/world/us-has...
EXCLUSIVE: US has used 'virtually all' of its long-range precision missiles during Iran war, sources say
The U.S. Army has used up much of its stockpile of highly accurate long-range missiles during its five-month war with Iran, according to three people familiar with the data, raising concerns about the...
reuters.com
Interesting research here, with online elements and references to ‘religious experience‘ …
The Salt Lake Tribune@sltrib.com · 2d agoEuropean Latter-day Saints are by far the least devout members of the faith, according to new research.
Donald Trump is ALWAYS full of $hit. www.nytimes.com/2026/05/05/b...
China’s Big Bet on Wind Power Is Paying Off
An industrial policy of subsidies and import restrictions laid the foundations for China to become almost as dominant in wind turbines as in solar panels.
nytimes.com
MeidasTouch@meidastouch.com · 2d agoTrump: Any country with windmills is a loser, OK?
The next time a climate change denier comes at you with that excuse:
Iran is attacking Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Minnesota. It’s *almost* as if they got their list of targets from Trump. 👀
👀 "How China Keeps Tabs on Foreigners. An unsecured police dashboard was a rare window into how the authorities track foreigners by collecting and aggregating vast amounts of private data." www.nytimes.com/2026/08/02/w...
How China Keeps Tabs on Foreigners (Gift Article)
An unsecured police dashboard was a rare window into how the authorities track foreigners by collecting and aggregating vast amounts of private data.
nytimes.com
Opinion/analysis: "This might seem an odd time, then, for the United States to start exporting millions of expensive and sophisticated AI computing chips to the United Arab Emirates. Data centers in the UAE were, after all, some of the first targets of Iranian drones."
How Iran Blew Up Trump’s Gulf AI Deals
Literally.
thebulwark.com
UPDATE: After the publication of this piece, Google sent 404 Media a statement saying it was “rolling back this feature in Google Earth while we work on implementing stronger guardrails.” www.404media.co/google-earth...
Google Earth’s New AI Lets Anyone Fabricate Completely Bullshit Satellite Images
"Tonight I typed just one sentence into Google Earth and put refugees near the Mexican border. Then I planted a nuclear plant in Iran. Then I put a fatal crash on a street in Amsterdam."
404media.co
Social media influences here: Spain's PM blames traffickers after 60,000 migrants reach Ceuta from Morocco www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
Spain's PM blames traffickers after 60,000 migrants reach Ceuta from Morocco
Spain said most had returned to Morocco by Friday evening, as Italy suspended its Schengen agreement on free movement with Madrid.
bbc.co.uk
Norwegian teenage footballer guilty of 'hitman' murder plot linked to Iranian gang www.lbc.co.uk/article/norw...
Norwegian teenage footballer guilty of 'hitman' murder plot linked to Iranian gang | LBC
Talented footballer Johannes Kongsnes Natland, 19, agreed to shoot an unknown target for 25,000 euro last year.
lbc.co.uk
Meanwhile, on AI/Instagram … 'My outfit, my voice and my mannerisms were stolen': Influencer cloned by AI says it took 'thousands' of reports before clip finally removed by Instagram www.lbc.co.uk/article/mann...
'My outfit, my voice and my mannerisms were stolen': Influencer cloned by AI says it took 'thousands' of reports before clip finally removed by Instagram | LBC
Paige Davis, a full-time content creator from Los Angeles, was cloned using a short-lived feature rolled out by Meta
lbc.co.uk
Interesting points on AI/control/governance from @thenewsagents.co.uk @lewisgoodall.com @jonsopel1.bsky.social more or less pivoting away from Terminator cliches 🤖
HackGPT: How AI escaped the lab and went rogue - Podcast Episode | Global Player
<p>Have we just crossed the AI Rubicon? OpenAI has revealed that one of its models was involved in an "unprecedented cyber incident". One of its AI programs escaped a controlled testing environment, g...
globalplayer.com
The Indian government ordered telecom companies to disable mobile data services in central parts of the capital Delhi, in and around the site of youth protests seeking the resignation of the education minister, two sources told Reuters reut.rs/4fhB43X
India blocks mobile internet in central Delhi, sources say
The Indian government has ordered telecom companies to disable mobile data services in central parts of the capital Delhi, in and around the site of youth protests.
reut.rs
Online/phone elements on this case: Friend of Manchester synagogue attacker jailed for life over military base terror plot www.lbc.co.uk/article/terr...
Friend of Manchester synagogue attacker jailed for life over military base terror plot | LBC
The pair held extremist views and had discussed preparing for "war"
lbc.co.uk
This, from @lbc.co.uk AI chatbots hand terrorists a blueprint for attacks and homemade bombs, security expert warns www.lbc.co.uk/article/ai-c...
AI chatbots hand terrorists a blueprint for attacks and homemade bombs, security expert warns | LBC
“This should be, in our view, a national security conversation," said Adam Hadley, CEO of Tech Against Terrorism
lbc.co.uk
New from 404 Media: a company is selling tons of old books specifically to AI companies and says they have a strong NDA to never reveal which AI company bought all of the books. They don't want headlines of 'we scanned and destroyed millions of books for AI' www.404media.co/ai-companies...
AI Companies Are Buying Tons of Old Books Because They're Free of AI Slop
ISBNdb, a company that sources printed books for AI companies to turn into training data, tells clients “the optics problem is real.”
404media.co
Mural showing Trump family with flag-draped coffins displayed in Tehran in chilling warning to US www.lbc.co.uk/article/dona...
Mural showing Trump family with flag-draped coffins displayed in Tehran in chilling warning to US | LBC
It carries the slogan “Blood for Blood” and appears to threaten Mr Trump’s family in retaliation for strikes that killed senior figures in Iran’s leadership and members of their families
lbc.co.uk
