You know AI is going great when a UN conference has to explicitly demand of its speakers that they only say nice things about the plagiarism and environmental destruction machine

Dr Abeba Birhane@abeba.blacksky.app · 2mo ago

last year the UN "ai for good" flagship conference mistreated me and censored my talk because i made the link between the ai industry (their sponsors) and genocide explicit. this year, ITU issues "content guideline" that, on a close read, sounds like a licence to silence criticism of ai/the industry

New paper of mine on complexities of researcher engagement in online and IRL armed conflict, focusing on Somali/LasAnod war case study. journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10....

(De)constructing research ‘expertise’ in transnational participatory warfare - Peter Chonka, 2026

Focusing on a case study of offline and online violence in Somalia/Somaliland and the disputed city of Las Anod, this article presents an (auto)netnographic ana...

journals.sagepub.com

NEW | '“No Language Left Behind?” Predictive Text, Generative AI and Dilemmas of Digital Inclusion for Marginalized Languages' by @petechonka.bsky.social, Stephanie Diepeveen & Yidnekachew Haile. ➡️ Read it #OA: bit.ly/MLO-Chonka @isabellezaugg-phd.bsky.social @aiatkings.bsky.social

i shouldn’t give this piece any more attention than it has already garnered but i feel like it is worth pointing out some flaws in the argument/unquestioned assumptions thread 1/

‘Care and Politics in Action’ examines how Somali businesswomen in Zambia mobilized humanitarian relief to Puntland. By Sahra Ahmed Koshin, Nauja Kleist and Karuti Kanyinga. An output of the D-Hum project involving DIIS, IDS–University of Nairobi, Rako and RVI. tinyurl.com/CareandPolit...

The University of Sheffield has stopped paying staff. Not for striking but for refusing to work unpaid to make up for strike days they were already docked for. This is punishment, not negotiation. And it’s completely reckless. www.ucu.org.uk/article/1438...

Union condemns continued docking of staff pay following strike action at University of Sheffield

The University and College Union (UCU) has today condemned the lockout and withholding of staff pay at the University of Sheffield following lawful industrial action

ucu.org.uk

Israeli forces on Wednesday killed at least 11 Palestinians in Gaza, including two 13-year-old boys, three journalists and a woman, hospitals said, on one of the war-battered enclave 's deadliest days since the ceasefire between Hamas and Israel took effect in October. www.npr.org/2026/01/22/g...

Israeli fire strikes journalists and children in Gaza

Israeli forces on Wednesday killed at least 11 Palestinians in Gaza, including two boys, three journalists and a woman, hospitals said, on one of the enclave 's deadliest days since the ceasefire took...

npr.org

Using the Somali language for AI - podcast from Mogadishu. Abdimalik and I talking with Aweis (SPA) on importance and challenges of translation for digital rights, and our collaboration with AGA (Af Soomaali/Somali) www.youtube.com/watch?v=8BIR...

Af Soomaaliyeynta Erayada Loo Adeegsado Garaad-Gacmeedka (AI) I Adeeg Wanaag Podcast

YouTube video by Somali Public Agenda (SPA)

youtube.com

Read our latest article: Beyond war and politics: Somali kinship and everyday service delivery - co-authored with Abdirahman Edle and Karuti Kanyinga🇸🇴🇰🇪🇩🇰 www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....

Beyond war and politics: Somali kinship and everyday service delivery

Analyses of Somali kinship groups often focus on their mobilisation during conflict, while their contributions to service provision receive less attention. We engage literature on authority in cont...

tandfonline.com

Kerrang! journalists’ strike shows true metal. In December freelance writers at music magazine Kerrang! showed the power of coordinated, collective action. buff.ly/0LjzPiK #FreelanceWin

Kerrang! journalists’ strike shows true metal

In December freelance writers at music magazine Kerrang! showed the power of coordinated, collective action.

buff.ly

I know there’s a lot going on in the world right now. But this spectacular fallout between Saudi and UAE is going to reshape the region and impact events beyond. It’s hard to overstate the Saudi anger at the UAE that’s expressed by revealing step-by-step details + officer names in the UAE operation

Iona Craig@ionacraig.com · 7mo ago

The details the Saudis published of the Emirati operation shows that MbS is not going to forgive the UAE or MbZ anytime soon. Also summed up in the front page of this Saudi-owned paper. I wouldn’t rule out Saudi Arabia targeting Zubaydi in Abu Dhabi.

On Tuesday, the Israeli military invaded Birzeit University, attacking students with live ammunition. Israel's scholasticide is a core part of its attempt to obliterate the collective life of the Palestinian people. We have written to Yvette Cooper urging the British government to take action.

If the Palestine Action hunger strikers die - which they could do at any moment, as they are now very close to the end - it will be the government that killed them. Today’s column explains why. Please share, and write urgently to your MP. www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

Let’s be clear: if the Palestine Action hunger strikers die, the government will bear moral responsibility | George Monbiot

The three remaining hunger strikers have been convicted of nothing. Yet with astonishing cruelty, ministers refuse to listen to their reasonable demands, says Guardian columnist George Monbiot

theguardian.com

Regardless of the debate about the legitimacy of its independence claim, the explicit use of the example of Somaliland to erase Palestine (and enable genocide) sickens me www.middleeasteye.net/news/israeli...

Israeli foreign minister in Somaliland: 'Unlike Palestine, it's not a virtual state'

Gideon Saar expected to visit Berbera port on first visit to Somaliland since Israel recognised breakaway region

middleeasteye.net

an important read for at least 2 reasons: 1. shows how big tech operates on intuitions and vibes and not rigorous research 2. this is a masterpiece in how to breakdown complex scientific concepts in simple language and elegant pros that captivate the lay reader taranis.ie/datacenters-...

Datacenters in space are a terrible, horrible, no good idea.

There is a rush for AI companies to team up with space launch/satellite companies to build datacenters in space. TL;DR: It's not going to work.

taranis.ie

So glad we're hosting this again. I'll also be speaking about the Get the Vote Out campaign for our branch's local dispute on academic freedom around Palestine, protection of staff, divestment from genocide and essential governance reform at KCL. Join us!

KCL UCU@kclucu.bsky.social · 8mo ago

The final leg of the Campus Voices for Palestine tour concludes at KCL this Friday 28 November with a special event on 🌟Confronting Scholasticide🌟 you can sign up via this link ➡️ luma.com/go15utyg?loc...

New XCEPT report by Hilina Berhanu Degefa on women’s participation in Ethiopia’s ethnonational armed groups. Completed through the Women Researchers Fellowship in the X-Border Local Research Network, where RVI is a core partner. Read here: tinyurl.com/w8dupaah

"We fought as fighters, not as women": women's participation in ethnonational armed groups in Ethiopia - XCEPT

Ethnonational mobilisations — characterised by a strong sense of national and political identification, whether organised along ethnic, religious, or regional political identifications — tend to flatt...

tinyurl.com

🚨🚨 Calling on all KCL UCU members: TODAY is the last ⭐️safe day⭐️ to post your ballots for both national and local disputes! VOTE today, VOTE yes and put them in the POST!! 📦 📦 ➡️ ALSO if your ballot papers arrive later than today please contact us as we can deliver in person on Friday afternoon 💫💫

🗣️🗣️How is the UCU National ballot connected to and distinct from KCL UCU’s local ballot? An explainer from @jamiewoodcock.com KCL UCU’s branch chair ⬇️

#wearekcl #wearetheuniversity

‘Shared values?’ This is meaningless when your university invests in genocide. VOTE in our local ballot for Palestine and against this wilful silence against oppression www.timeshighereducation.com/opinion/affi... ➡️ kcl.web.ucu.org.uk

Affirming shared values will help academic freedom weather the storm

The Magna Charta Universitatum matters more than ever as university freedoms become sharply contested, say Shitij Kapur and Liviu Matei

timeshighereducation.com

Dusk-to-Dawn curfew in place in Tanzania as protests continue following the national election yesterday. Incumbent Samia Suluhu is accused of intimidation and arbitrary arrests of leading opposition figures, including Chadema leader Tundu Lissu who is charged with treason and was not on the ballot.

Here we go! It's taken a lot of work by the branch to get to this ballot. Palestine IS a workplace issue. ESPECIALLY in our workplace. Local ballot papers drop next week. #WeAreKCL #FreePalestine

KCL UCU@kclucu.bsky.social · 10mo ago

🚨ANNOUNCEMENT! We've notified KCL that we are balloting members over LOCAL DISPUTE on protection of staff and academic freedom; divestment from companies profiting from genocide; King’s Council reform; and meaningful workplace consultation! #WeAreTheUniversity #WeAreKCL

“Well-meaning” people are using machine translation to write Wikipedia articles in languages that they don’t speak themselves, accelerating the degeneration in quality of the web corpus for several languages with relatively few native speakers. www.technologyreview.com/2025/09/25/1...

How AI and Wikipedia have sent vulnerable languages into a doom spiral

Machine translators have made it easier than ever to create error-plagued Wikipedia articles in obscure languages. What happens when AI models get trained on junk pages?

technologyreview.com

Our Somali language gen AI event follows the exciting #SomaliWeek 'Tech for Growth: Somali Businesses in Action' session (in the same venue). Join for both! www.kayd.org/all-events/e...

Tech for Growth: Somali Businesses in Action — Kayd

From the marketplace to the metaverse, Somali entrepreneurs and innovators are finding new ways to connect with customers, strengthen communities, and expand their impact. This event celebrates Somali...

kayd.org

Pete Chonka@petechonka.bsky.social · 10mo ago

Looking forward to our #SomaliWeek event on Saturday, where we'll be talking about our collaboration with AGA on the Somali AI Lexicon, and the implications of gen AI on Afka Soomaaliga www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/generative...

Looking forward to our #SomaliWeek event on Saturday, where we'll be talking about our collaboration with AGA on the Somali AI Lexicon, and the implications of gen AI on Afka Soomaaliga www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/generative...

Generative AI and the Somali language by Peter, Said & Mohamed

Generative AI and the Somali language: educational tools, social impacts and digital rights(Peter Chonka, Said Salah & Mohamed Abdimalik )

eventbrite.co.uk

Two people in my extended circle are on the Global Sumud Flotilla, aiming to break the siege on Gaza. They are asking us all for increased vigilance as the flotilla enters the high risk zone. You can follow the progress of the flotilla at www.globalsumudflotilla.org/live

Busy @ucuedinburgh.bsky.social picket lines this morning at Edinburgh University with staff striking to defend jobs and oppose the biggest cuts seen in Scottish higher education #SaveHE #NoCompulsoryRedundancies #StopTheCuts

this!

Emily M. Bender@emilymbender.bsky.social · 11mo ago

Something I didn't get to say yesterday: We heard over and over during the event about "human-centered" approaches to "AI". But if refusal is not on the table (at every level: individual students and teachers right up through UNESCO) then we have in fact centered the technology, not the people.

“I’m not sure I want to give way to the right” From the new Private Eye, in shops now.