Rina Chandran
@rinachandran.bsky.social
Journalist - tech & society. Deputy editor, Rest of World. San Francisco.
3. The point was not holding a dedicated public servant to account for hard decisions made under difficult circumstances, but tearing down an honorable man, and therefore tearing down what little faith the American people still have in their government. It was disgusting.
Anthropic agreed to settle a case with writers and creators, paying $1.5b. But most others cannot afford to take on AI companies who steal their content. So they are turning to data collectives, which let them control the collection and distribution of their data. restofworld.org/2026/ai-data...
Fed up with Big Tech, communities turn to data collectives for control
Data collectives and cooperatives, which let creators control the collection and distribution of their data, are emerging as preferred alternatives to big tech companies.
restofworld.org
The #FIFAWorldCup is over, but the surveillance technologies that cities added under the guise of crowd control is going strong. These include video surveillance, automated license plate readers, drones and robot dogs, and they are used to track civilians. rankingdigitalrights.org/2026/07/14/n...
No Fair Play: Mapping the 2026 World Cup Surveillance Stack - Ranking Digital Rights
A new report by Ranking Digital Rights shines a light on the role of technology companies in building the surveillance stack of the 2026 World Cup.
rankingdigitalrights.org
Since the launch of Moonshot's Kimi K3, the clamour against Chinese open-weight models has gotten louder. Yet Thinking Machines' Inkling was built using DeepSeek-V3 and Kimi K2.5. Policymakers need to adapt to a world in which global frontiers coexist and compete. restofworld.org/2026/china-s...
The U.S. wants to contain China’s AI. Silicon Valley keeps using it
As Apple, Thinking Machines, and developers worldwide embrace Chinese AI models such as Kimi K3, U.S. policymakers are struggling to protect the AI lead.
restofworld.org
One president calls for a more open, inclusive and collaborative approach to AI, while another president repeats unproven claims of election meddling and unveils a paid feed of market-moving social media posts. Who's the real leader of the free world here?
Kalshi is now offering wagers on the outcomes of clinical trials and regulatory decisions on drugs. There is literally nothing you cannot bet on and make money off. www.bloomberg.com/news/article...
Kalshi Will Offer Sports-Style Betting on Drug Trial Results
Kalshi Inc. is expanding in biotechnology by offering wagers on the outcomes of clinical trials and regulatory decisions, giving traders a more direct way to bet on key industry catalysts.
bloomberg.com
Watching the #WorldCup games? AI is everywhere, and behind the technology are human annotators in India, Cambodia, the Philippines and Brazil. As U.S. investment in the sport increases, demand from teams, broadcasters and the betting industry is set to grow. restofworld.org/2026/fifa-wo...
The AI-powered World Cup runs on thousands of data workers
Human annotators in Brazil, Cambodia, and the Philippines are tracking every movement in the football tournament for teams, broadcasters, and the betting industry.
restofworld.org
For a team that recruited one of its main players via LinkedIn and whose goalie is over 40, debutant #CapeVerde has done amazingly well, drawing with Spain in its opening game. ⚽️
So glad @lighthousereports.com investigated VFS. Everyone who's dealt with #VFS has a horror story to tell. Many governments are aware of the issues, yet more are outsourcing visa processing to VFS. I'd rather deal with an AI chatbot, but I have no choice. www.lighthousereports.com/investigatio...
The Visa Empire: Borders as a Business
Outsourcing giant VFS Global has made huge profits by exploiting people around the world whose ‘weak’ passports require them to apply for visas to travel
lighthousereports.com
Since I moved to the Bay Area about 6 months back, I've been struck by how different the worldview here is from Asia. It's particularly stark in the embrace of AI. The Chinese and Southeast Asians are way more optimistic, and trust their governments to deploy it well. restofworld.org/2026/ai-opti...
AI optimism surges in Asia, unlike in the U.S.
New research shows Americans are far less excited about AI — and far less trusting of regulators — than their counterparts across Asia.
restofworld.org
So excited to be hosting our first event at #NYCTechWeek on June 2! Looking forward to this timely and vital conversation with @ambakak.bsky.social @accessnow.org Sam Winter-Levy and Aditya Vashistha. Sign up here: partiful.com/e/2UzoY58jtt...
RSVP to The Great AI Divide - #NYTechWeek | Partiful
AI’s promise is to level the playing field and deliver economic gains to everyone. In reality, it’s shaping a very unequal world. The U.S. and China together command 90% of global computing power, emp...
partiful.com
From Allbirds to Newbird AI. Under what category should we file a shoe company pivoting to AI infrastructure .... www.engadget.com/ai/shoe-comp...
We are all after the same stories, and it’s customary to acknowledge previous reporting. That’s missing in @financialtimes.com story on AI companion dolls for the elderly in Korea, which is uncannily similar to our story from last year. I think our story is better. restofworld.org/2025/korea-a...
AI robot dolls charm their way into nursing the elderly
ChatGPT-powered robotic dolls are taking over some work from caregivers, to the delight of seniors who treat them like grandchildren.
restofworld.org
More than 100 people gathered in downtown San Francisco today outside the offices of #Anthropic, #OpenAI and #xAI to demand that they #PauseAI and #StopAI and stop the AI race.
I met with AI data labelers in Kenya who are organizing their colleagues to fight the brutal working conditions and horrible pay given to the workers at the "bottom of the AI supply chain." They believe the NDAs they've signed are unenforceable so are speaking out: www.404media.co/ai-is-africa...
'AI Is African Intelligence': The Workers Who Train AI Are Fighting Back
Kenyan workers are still the underpaid labor behind AI training, moderation, and sex chatbots. The Data Labelers Association is fighting back.
404media.co
In Colombia's parliamentary elections this weekend, voters can vote for an AI avatar, Gaitana, a stand-in for two Indigenous candidates, who say they will use AI platform for consensus from their communities on all legislative matters. restofworld.org/2026/ai-avat...
An AI avatar is running to represent Indigenous voters in Colombia
"Gaitana" is the digital stand-in for two candidates who will use the platform to seek consensus from their communities on all legislative matters.
restofworld.org
Over the past decade, India has launched schemes promising to harness digital technology to overcome social and political challenges. Yet they have only delivered new forms of dependent development and state capture. An excerpt from @dwaipayanbanerjee.bsky.social book restofworld.org/2026/dwaipay...
India’s tech sovereignty is built on digital dependence
In his new book, “Computing in the Age of Decolonization: India’s Lost Technological Revolution,” researcher Dwaipayan Banerjee argues that a focus on technical solutions has made the country dependen...
restofworld.org
There are growing concerns around AI safety, yet whistleblowers are not protected in all countries. Mary Inman, who has represented Frances Haugen and Tyler Shultz, hopes that a digital safe will encourage more AI workers in any country to come forward. restofworld.org/2026/ai-whis...
The next AI whistleblower could come from anywhere in the world
A digital safe allows workers to speak up about concerns even in places without strong whistleblower protections, Mary Inman, a founding board member of Psst, said in an interview.
restofworld.org
An investigation found that Appen, which relies on gig workers across Africa to train AI systems, performed work for U.S. military agencies. Workers say they had little visibility into the end use https://restofworld.org/2026/gig-workers-us-military-appen/?utm_campaign=row-social
Gig workers in Africa have been helping the US military. They had no idea
Data labelers for the company Appen say they have little insight about how their work is used.
restofworld.org
India is introducing some of the strictest laws on deepfakes, requiring creators and platforms to label all AI-generated content and to remove such content within hours when ordered to. "Good-faith" deepfakes are exempt, and this story shows how they also bring joy. restofworld.org/2026/ai-deep...
Family deepfakes help people celebrate and grieve in India
There is growing demand for recreating dead and absent family members for events using AI.
restofworld.org
As the #IndiaAIImpactSummit continues, the most important divide may not be East-West or North-South but public-private. AI is shifting economic and, increasingly, political power away from governments. Who gets to govern them? restofworld.org/2026/ai-gove...
AI is giving tech companies power that once belonged to governments
AI companies wield enormous economic, political, and cultural power globally, with states reluctant to regulate them, potentially leading to risks and greater inequity.
restofworld.org
Excerpt from Silicon Elsewhere: Nairobi, Global China, and the Promise of Techno-Capital by Andrea Pollio on the crucial role of cheap Chinese phones. "Mobile phones are the unsung material commodities without which Kenya’s ambitious programs would have faltered.” restofworld.org/2026/china-k...
How cheap Chinese phones catapulted Kenya into the global digital economy
In his new book “Silicon Elsewhere: Nairobi, Global China, and the Promise of Techno-Capital,” writer Andrea Pollio charts the growth of Chinese investment and companies in the Kenyan capital.
restofworld.org
The AI boom is disproportionately benefiting male-led startups, with only 2% of VC funding going to women-led startups. Immigrant women fare even worse, as they face racism and sexism. This has consequences for how AI is shaped globally. restofworld.org/2026/immigra...
Immigrant women founders face double hurdle in Silicon Valley
Persistent racism and sexism in the venture capital industry are denying immigrant women founders an opportunity to participate in the AI boom.
restofworld.org
When is the ChatGPT moment for robotics? Ken Goldberg, a prof at UC Berkeley, and co-founder of two robotics firms, said robots are getting better at doing specific tasks – like sorting parcels and folding towels – and that we can get to general robots that can do everything. There is a data gap.
Read an excerpt from @yilingliu95.bsky.social new book! “To understand China today and where it’ll go tomorrow, we must learn to read the Chinese internet: what goes viral and what disappears just as swiftly, how it shapes and is shaped by the outside world ... .” restofworld.org/2026/wall-da...
To understand China, we need to understand the Chinese internet
In her new book “The Wall Dancers: Searching for Freedom and Connection on the Chinese Internet,” journalist Yi-Ling Liu examines the country’s censorship, viral trends and growing global power.
restofworld.org
For months, an Indian computer engineer trapped in a pig-butchering scam compound in Laos was secretly messaging @agreenberg.bsky.social and leaking him materials. This mini documentary is the incredible story of how he exposed the Chinese organized crime groups and, more importantly, escaped.
I Escaped Chinese Mafia Crypto Slavery | Hacklab | WIRED
YouTube video by WIRED
youtu.be
There is growing frustration and unease with the domination of U.S. tech, and more countries and startups are trying to find or build alternatives. restofworld.org/2026/big-tec...
The world is trying to log off U.S. tech
Some global users are turning to services like Proton Mail and UpScrolled instead.
restofworld.org
