Deena Mousa
@deenamousa.com
AI is often framed as Africa’s next leapfrog.
In Ep2 of our @voxdev.bsky.social series, Rose Mutiso argues this is the wrong frame: AI isn’t end-user tech like mobile phones, but an upstream, infrastructure-heavy system that concentrates value where power, compute, and data already exist.
In Ep2 of our @voxdev.bsky.social series, Rose Mutiso argues this is the wrong frame: AI isn’t end-user tech like mobile phones, but an upstream, infrastructure-heavy system that concentrates value where power, compute, and data already exist.
AI in Africa: Barriers, opportunities and policy
Can AI take off in Africa? Rose Mutiso joins us to discuss the need for an energy and digital infrastructure revolution on the continent, and how to make it happen.
voxdev.org
February 10, 2026 at 5:01 PM
AI is often framed as Africa’s next leapfrog.
In Ep2 of our @voxdev.bsky.social series, Rose Mutiso argues this is the wrong frame: AI isn’t end-user tech like mobile phones, but an upstream, infrastructure-heavy system that concentrates value where power, compute, and data already exist.
In Ep2 of our @voxdev.bsky.social series, Rose Mutiso argues this is the wrong frame: AI isn’t end-user tech like mobile phones, but an upstream, infrastructure-heavy system that concentrates value where power, compute, and data already exist.
People invoke the Industrial Revolution as reassurance about AI. But living through it meant decades of wage stagnation, job loss & unrest.
Ep1 of a new @voxdev.bsky.social series, we talk to economic historian Bruno Caprettini about what that analogy gets right/wrong
t.co/AyuTVMKcEY
Ep1 of a new @voxdev.bsky.social series, we talk to economic historian Bruno Caprettini about what that analogy gets right/wrong
t.co/AyuTVMKcEY
AI and the industrial revolution: Similarities, differences and lessons
How did society change during the industrial revolution? Are there lessons we can learn for the AI revolution?
voxdev.org
February 6, 2026 at 10:59 PM
People invoke the Industrial Revolution as reassurance about AI. But living through it meant decades of wage stagnation, job loss & unrest.
Ep1 of a new @voxdev.bsky.social series, we talk to economic historian Bruno Caprettini about what that analogy gets right/wrong
t.co/AyuTVMKcEY
Ep1 of a new @voxdev.bsky.social series, we talk to economic historian Bruno Caprettini about what that analogy gets right/wrong
t.co/AyuTVMKcEY
The “AI bubble” may be less catastrophic than it sounds. Even if it pops, it’s leaving behind real infrastructure, much like past bubbles did. My take for @TheMorningNews.org 2025 year-in-review post:
January 6, 2026 at 1:30 PM
The “AI bubble” may be less catastrophic than it sounds. Even if it pops, it’s leaving behind real infrastructure, much like past bubbles did. My take for @TheMorningNews.org 2025 year-in-review post:
Reposted by Deena Mousa
And I thought this was pretty interesting from @deenamousa.com
January 2, 2026 at 8:36 PM
And I thought this was pretty interesting from @deenamousa.com
New post: ML trained on phone usage data can help identify households in need during crises.
Not yet finalized your end of year giving? I've teamed up with GiveDirectly along with a few other Substackers, and I’ll be matching the first $500 in donations through the link in post.
Not yet finalized your end of year giving? I've teamed up with GiveDirectly along with a few other Substackers, and I’ll be matching the first $500 in donations through the link in post.
December 22, 2025 at 2:19 AM
New post: ML trained on phone usage data can help identify households in need during crises.
Not yet finalized your end of year giving? I've teamed up with GiveDirectly along with a few other Substackers, and I’ll be matching the first $500 in donations through the link in post.
Not yet finalized your end of year giving? I've teamed up with GiveDirectly along with a few other Substackers, and I’ll be matching the first $500 in donations through the link in post.
Gift link: ter.li/DeenaM
AI is changing how we quantify pain
Artificial intelligence is helping health-care providers better assess their patients’ discomfort.
www.technologyreview.com
October 15, 2025 at 5:49 PM
Gift link: ter.li/DeenaM
PainChek Adult was offered de novo FDA clearance this week, and engineers are now adapting the code for the very youngest patients. PainChek Infant targets babies under one year, whose grimaces flicker faster.
October 15, 2025 at 5:49 PM
PainChek Adult was offered de novo FDA clearance this week, and engineers are now adapting the code for the very youngest patients. PainChek Infant targets babies under one year, whose grimaces flicker faster.
Data shows a ~25% drop in antipsychotic use and, in Scotland, a 42% reduction in falls from use. One clinician mentioned that residents who had skipped meals because of undetected dental pain began eating again, and those who were isolated due to pain began socializing.
October 15, 2025 at 5:49 PM
Data shows a ~25% drop in antipsychotic use and, in Scotland, a 42% reduction in falls from use. One clinician mentioned that residents who had skipped meals because of undetected dental pain began eating again, and those who were isolated due to pain began socializing.
Linking the scan to a human‑filled checklist was, they admit, a late design choice. Initially, they thought AI should automate everything but found that hybrid use yielded better results...
October 15, 2025 at 5:49 PM
Linking the scan to a human‑filled checklist was, they admit, a late design choice. Initially, they thought AI should automate everything but found that hybrid use yielded better results...
There are several devices in clinical use today, like PainChek, a smartphone app that scans the facial expressions of people who have dementia and uses AI to output an expected pain score to inform their care.
They also record data for the patient and facility over time.
They also record data for the patient and facility over time.
October 15, 2025 at 5:49 PM
There are several devices in clinical use today, like PainChek, a smartphone app that scans the facial expressions of people who have dementia and uses AI to output an expected pain score to inform their care.
They also record data for the patient and facility over time.
They also record data for the patient and facility over time.
Just out in @technologyreview.com: I look at the companies using AI to measure how much pain patients are in based on everything from involuntary facial movements, to heart rate, to peripheral temperature changes.
Will this oust the classic self-reported 1-10 scale?
Will this oust the classic self-reported 1-10 scale?
October 15, 2025 at 5:49 PM
Just out in @technologyreview.com: I look at the companies using AI to measure how much pain patients are in based on everything from involuntary facial movements, to heart rate, to peripheral temperature changes.
Will this oust the classic self-reported 1-10 scale?
Will this oust the classic self-reported 1-10 scale?
Full paper: www.thelancet.com/journals/la...
October 15, 2025 at 1:34 PM
Full paper: www.thelancet.com/journals/la...
A new paper in the Lancet finds that doctors got *worse* at finding precancerous growths during colonoscopies on their own if they had just spent three months using an AI assistive tool
Worrisome sign that deskilling may happen a lot faster than we'd expect.
Worrisome sign that deskilling may happen a lot faster than we'd expect.
October 15, 2025 at 1:34 PM
A new paper in the Lancet finds that doctors got *worse* at finding precancerous growths during colonoscopies on their own if they had just spent three months using an AI assistive tool
Worrisome sign that deskilling may happen a lot faster than we'd expect.
Worrisome sign that deskilling may happen a lot faster than we'd expect.
Data from www.jpain.org/article/S15...
October 15, 2025 at 4:00 AM
Data from www.jpain.org/article/S15...
We also don't fully understand why many people experience phantom limb pain, and many others don't
x.com/deenamousa/...
x.com/deenamousa/...
October 15, 2025 at 4:00 AM
We also don't fully understand why many people experience phantom limb pain, and many others don't
x.com/deenamousa/...
x.com/deenamousa/...
Read the full post here: newsletter.deenamousa.com/p/when-more...
When more automation means more human workers
A look at elasticity of demand
newsletter.deenamousa.com
October 7, 2025 at 2:13 PM
Read the full post here: newsletter.deenamousa.com/p/when-more...
There are exceptions to this rule, though; the rise in mobile banking eventually did reduce bank teller employment. If the technology fully replaces human inputs, or drives efficiency gains so large they outpace the increase in demand, jobs will be lost.
October 7, 2025 at 2:13 PM
There are exceptions to this rule, though; the rise in mobile banking eventually did reduce bank teller employment. If the technology fully replaces human inputs, or drives efficiency gains so large they outpace the increase in demand, jobs will be lost.
In each of these cases, employment holds steady, but the skill mix changes. The work gets more complex as machines take over the simplest tasks.
October 7, 2025 at 2:13 PM
In each of these cases, employment holds steady, but the skill mix changes. The work gets more complex as machines take over the simplest tasks.
This can happen in other fields too — for example, spreadsheets didn't get rid of accountants, but rather made them more in demand than before. In law, predictive coding and e-discovery tools reduce grunt work but let firms take on more complex cases.
October 7, 2025 at 2:13 PM
This can happen in other fields too — for example, spreadsheets didn't get rid of accountants, but rather made them more in demand than before. In law, predictive coding and e-discovery tools reduce grunt work but let firms take on more complex cases.
This is an example of Jevons paradox: when tech makes something cheaper or more efficient to use, we'd expect to use less of it and achieve the same result. But in some cases, people use *more* of the good because it's more accessible.
October 7, 2025 at 2:13 PM
This is an example of Jevons paradox: when tech makes something cheaper or more efficient to use, we'd expect to use less of it and achieve the same result. But in some cases, people use *more* of the good because it's more accessible.
When ATMs spread across the U.S., you'd expect bank tellers to be laid off en masse. But teller employment actually rose during the 2000s, growing 2% annually.
By reducing the cost of operating bank branches, ATMs made it possible for banks to open more locations.
By reducing the cost of operating bank branches, ATMs made it possible for banks to open more locations.
October 7, 2025 at 2:13 PM
When ATMs spread across the U.S., you'd expect bank tellers to be laid off en masse. But teller employment actually rose during the 2000s, growing 2% annually.
By reducing the cost of operating bank branches, ATMs made it possible for banks to open more locations.
By reducing the cost of operating bank branches, ATMs made it possible for banks to open more locations.
New post: When can more automation mean more human workers?
One argument I made in my recent @worksinprogress.bsky.social piece is that if automation made reading scans quicker and cheaper, this might result in *more* jobs for radiologists, rather than fewer.
How does this apply to other jobs? 🧵
One argument I made in my recent @worksinprogress.bsky.social piece is that if automation made reading scans quicker and cheaper, this might result in *more* jobs for radiologists, rather than fewer.
How does this apply to other jobs? 🧵
October 7, 2025 at 2:13 PM
New post: When can more automation mean more human workers?
One argument I made in my recent @worksinprogress.bsky.social piece is that if automation made reading scans quicker and cheaper, this might result in *more* jobs for radiologists, rather than fewer.
How does this apply to other jobs? 🧵
One argument I made in my recent @worksinprogress.bsky.social piece is that if automation made reading scans quicker and cheaper, this might result in *more* jobs for radiologists, rather than fewer.
How does this apply to other jobs? 🧵
If you enjoyed the article, I write about health, economic development, and scientific and technological progress here: newsletter.deenamousa.com/
Under Development | Deena Mousa | Substack
Writing about global health and development. Click to read Under Development, by Deena Mousa, a Substack publication.
newsletter.deenamousa.com
September 25, 2025 at 1:53 PM
If you enjoyed the article, I write about health, economic development, and scientific and technological progress here: newsletter.deenamousa.com/
AI radiology today is powerful, but it consists of many narrow islands of automation that have failed to replace radiologists' time.
This isn't the full picture. Read more in the @worksinprogress.bsky.social piece: worksinprogress.co/issue/the-a...
This isn't the full picture. Read more in the @worksinprogress.bsky.social piece: worksinprogress.co/issue/the-a...
The algorithm will see you now - Works in Progress Magazine
Radiology combines digital images, clear benchmarks, and repeatable tasks. But replacing humans with AI is harder than it seems.
worksinprogress.co
September 25, 2025 at 1:53 PM
AI radiology today is powerful, but it consists of many narrow islands of automation that have failed to replace radiologists' time.
This isn't the full picture. Read more in the @worksinprogress.bsky.social piece: worksinprogress.co/issue/the-a...
This isn't the full picture. Read more in the @worksinprogress.bsky.social piece: worksinprogress.co/issue/the-a...