Ana Brandusescu
@anabrandusescu.bsky.social
Researcher, policy analyst, social scientist. PhD-ing on political power and privatization in the scale of AI governance.
she/her | Montreal | anabrandusescu.com
she/her | Montreal | anabrandusescu.com
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Reposted by Ana Brandusescu
Reposted by Ana Brandusescu
Is infrastructure sabotage always a destructive act led by seditious individuals? no
my new article in Human Geography studies Colombian public sector workers โbreakingโ infrastructure to oppose privatization in 1992, and argues sabotage can reshape policies, politicize society & more
my new article in Human Geography studies Colombian public sector workers โbreakingโ infrastructure to oppose privatization in 1992, and argues sabotage can reshape policies, politicize society & more
December 15, 2025 at 1:14 PM
Is infrastructure sabotage always a destructive act led by seditious individuals? no
my new article in Human Geography studies Colombian public sector workers โbreakingโ infrastructure to oppose privatization in 1992, and argues sabotage can reshape policies, politicize society & more
my new article in Human Geography studies Colombian public sector workers โbreakingโ infrastructure to oppose privatization in 1992, and argues sabotage can reshape policies, politicize society & more
All the love and light your way <3
December 19, 2025 at 10:06 PM
All the love and light your way <3
Reposted by Ana Brandusescu
Reposted by Ana Brandusescu
Finally updated my Research page for the first time since April so you can peruse all my latest rants all in one place www.blairaf.com/research/
Research - Blair Attard-Frost
My research is qualitative and interdisciplinary. I combine theories and methods from social sciences, humanities, management, and engineering to produce unique frameworks and actionable insights.
www.blairaf.com
December 19, 2025 at 9:38 PM
Finally updated my Research page for the first time since April so you can peruse all my latest rants all in one place www.blairaf.com/research/
Instead of calling Big Tech companies for what they are -- fascist -- we have abstracted the language about them to "hyperscalers"? I see.
December 19, 2025 at 9:32 PM
Instead of calling Big Tech companies for what they are -- fascist -- we have abstracted the language about them to "hyperscalers"? I see.
OpenAI has been grantwashing for a long time. Hope we take it more seriously now.
December 18, 2025 at 5:47 PM
OpenAI has been grantwashing for a long time. Hope we take it more seriously now.
Reposted by Ana Brandusescu
Tech companies are actually pretty explicit about this: The point is to have a device that you canโt escape, one that always has access to you and makes you a constant source of data beyond what a phone does. Surveillance-first devices.
In 2025, wearables made a hard pivot to AI
If you want to put AI on someone 24/7, wearables are the best bet.
www.theverge.com
December 17, 2025 at 2:49 PM
Tech companies are actually pretty explicit about this: The point is to have a device that you canโt escape, one that always has access to you and makes you a constant source of data beyond what a phone does. Surveillance-first devices.
Reposted by Ana Brandusescu
Is it racist to bar visas for international adoption *only* for Black/brown children?
Yes.
Is it racist for an industry to move children from the global south to mostly white homes, stripping them of their family, culture, language and even the right to know who they are?
Also Yes.
Yes.
Is it racist for an industry to move children from the global south to mostly white homes, stripping them of their family, culture, language and even the right to know who they are?
Also Yes.
December 17, 2025 at 11:11 AM
Is it racist to bar visas for international adoption *only* for Black/brown children?
Yes.
Is it racist for an industry to move children from the global south to mostly white homes, stripping them of their family, culture, language and even the right to know who they are?
Also Yes.
Yes.
Is it racist for an industry to move children from the global south to mostly white homes, stripping them of their family, culture, language and even the right to know who they are?
Also Yes.
Read more about Charlie and the CRA in the 2025 Report of the Auditor General of Canada to the Parliament of Canada:
Canada Revenue Agency Contact Centres
Overall, the Canada Revenue Agency did not provide timely and accurate information to callers contacting its 8ย contact centres about individual taxes, benefits, and business taxes.
www.oag-bvg.gc.ca
December 13, 2025 at 3:40 PM
Read more about Charlie and the CRA in the 2025 Report of the Auditor General of Canada to the Parliament of Canada:
The Canada Revenue Agency's chatbot mostly generates wrong answers and is expensive.
"The agency says the bulk of cost is salaries ($13.67 million), though that doesnโt include costs related to employee benefits and travel. Another $3.21 million was spent on IT consultants for the project."
"The agency says the bulk of cost is salaries ($13.67 million), though that doesnโt include costs related to employee benefits and travel. Another $3.21 million was spent on IT consultants for the project."
The CRA spent $18M on 'Charlie,' a new tax information chatbot that is wrong most of the time
The Canada Revenue Agency paid $18 million for a chatbot the auditor general says give her team the wrong answer 66 per cent of the time.
nationalpost.com
December 13, 2025 at 3:28 PM
The Canada Revenue Agency's chatbot mostly generates wrong answers and is expensive.
"The agency says the bulk of cost is salaries ($13.67 million), though that doesnโt include costs related to employee benefits and travel. Another $3.21 million was spent on IT consultants for the project."
"The agency says the bulk of cost is salaries ($13.67 million), though that doesnโt include costs related to employee benefits and travel. Another $3.21 million was spent on IT consultants for the project."
Reposted by Ana Brandusescu
people who think they're being discreet by saying nothing (and quietly policing those who do speak up) will come out of the woodwork in due time. they'll make us all sick with their rancid morality.
December 11, 2025 at 8:43 PM
people who think they're being discreet by saying nothing (and quietly policing those who do speak up) will come out of the woodwork in due time. they'll make us all sick with their rancid morality.
Reposted by Ana Brandusescu
in 10 or 15 years, when it requires no courage whatsoever (indeed, when styling oneself as "human-centered" and avoiding speaking out about it are incompatible), they'll cite dead palestinians and lament the genocide and say zionism is bad.
Imagine if all the tech critics actively spoke out against zionism.
December 11, 2025 at 8:41 PM
in 10 or 15 years, when it requires no courage whatsoever (indeed, when styling oneself as "human-centered" and avoiding speaking out about it are incompatible), they'll cite dead palestinians and lament the genocide and say zionism is bad.
Participating in the dumbest and most violent timeline.
It is such a dumb and violent time to do a PhD.
December 11, 2025 at 8:37 PM
Participating in the dumbest and most violent timeline.
Reposted by Ana Brandusescu
Imagine if all the tech critics actively spoke out against zionism.
October 16, 2025 at 4:11 PM
Imagine if all the tech critics actively spoke out against zionism.
Reposted by Ana Brandusescu
If Copilot is what innovation looks like, I don't want it.
November 12, 2025 at 3:13 AM
If Copilot is what innovation looks like, I don't want it.
Frankly, I'm not sure why anyone in the Canadian tech policy space is surprised at Microsoft's latest $7.5 billion investment in data centre expansion, premising "Canadian sovereignty."
How are we taking digital sovereignty seriously?
How are we taking digital sovereignty seriously?
December 11, 2025 at 8:34 PM
Frankly, I'm not sure why anyone in the Canadian tech policy space is surprised at Microsoft's latest $7.5 billion investment in data centre expansion, premising "Canadian sovereignty."
How are we taking digital sovereignty seriously?
How are we taking digital sovereignty seriously?
Reposted by Ana Brandusescu
lol we wrote this a year ago and things have just gotten more ridiculous ever since.
A thread on me losing my mind trying to buy basic stuff on the internet ๐งต
A thread on me losing my mind trying to buy basic stuff on the internet ๐งต
so I said we'd write something about "AI", well, here it is -
#DataBack Vol 2: Truth Before โIndigenous AIโ. Understanding and Resisting Generativeย AI animikii.com/databack/und...
#DataBack Vol 2: Truth Before โIndigenous AIโ. Understanding and Resisting Generativeย AI animikii.com/databack/und...
Understanding and Resisting Generative AI
โ Animikii Indigenous Technology
Animikii empowers Indigenous communities with culturally informed technology solutions like Niiwinโour groundbreaking tool for Indigenous data sovereignty and community empowerment.
animikii.com
December 8, 2025 at 8:45 PM
lol we wrote this a year ago and things have just gotten more ridiculous ever since.
A thread on me losing my mind trying to buy basic stuff on the internet ๐งต
A thread on me losing my mind trying to buy basic stuff on the internet ๐งต
Reposted by Ana Brandusescu
You gotta be kidding me
www.utoronto.ca/news/u-t-est...
www.utoronto.ca/news/u-t-est...
U of T establishes new Hinton Chair in Artificial Intelligence with support from Google
The University of Toronto has established the Hinton Chair in Artificial Intelligence with $10 million in funding from Google. This new chair will honour the extraordinary legacy of University Profess...
www.utoronto.ca
December 7, 2025 at 4:39 PM
You gotta be kidding me
www.utoronto.ca/news/u-t-est...
www.utoronto.ca/news/u-t-est...
Reposted by Ana Brandusescu
The biggest challenge in AI governance rn is leaders who are scared of regulation and scared of Trump
Once again pointing at my giant neon "don't rely on governments to regulate AI" sign
December 9, 2025 at 1:25 AM
The biggest challenge in AI governance rn is leaders who are scared of regulation and scared of Trump
