Dr Matt Mahmoudi
@docmattmoudi.bsky.social
📝 ‘Migrants in the Digital Periphery’ for Uni. Of California Press, ‘Resisting Borders+Tech’ @haymarketbooks. Assistant Professor @Cambridge Digital Humanities. Research/advice @Amnesty Tech. Views=own
🚨Today, @stopspyingny.bsky.social and @amnesty.org are publishing the 2,700 docs we’ve forced the NYPD to release on their use of facial recognition against New Yorkers🚨
@zohrankmamdani.bsky.social you might want to see this…
@jumaane.bsky.social
www.amnesty.org/en/latest/ne...
@zohrankmamdani.bsky.social you might want to see this…
@jumaane.bsky.social
www.amnesty.org/en/latest/ne...
Amnesty International, S.T.O.P. Lawsuit Reveals NYPD Surveillance Abuses
Records obtained by Amnesty International and S.T.O.P. reveal concerning surveillance abuses against protesters and communities of color, including the frequent use of rights-violating facial recognit...
www.amnesty.org
November 13, 2025 at 8:35 AM
🚨Today, @stopspyingny.bsky.social and @amnesty.org are publishing the 2,700 docs we’ve forced the NYPD to release on their use of facial recognition against New Yorkers🚨
@zohrankmamdani.bsky.social you might want to see this…
@jumaane.bsky.social
www.amnesty.org/en/latest/ne...
@zohrankmamdani.bsky.social you might want to see this…
@jumaane.bsky.social
www.amnesty.org/en/latest/ne...
Reposted by Dr Matt Mahmoudi
Surprise #MozFest panel -- we're having a session on the main stage called "Unlearning Cisnormativity: Trans Justice is Tech Justice" at 12:15 PM CET, right after @xychelsea.tv's talk.
Featuring Veronyka Gimenes, @schock.cc, Dia Kayyali, Elijah MacKinnon, and myself.
www.mozillafestival.org/en/
Featuring Veronyka Gimenes, @schock.cc, Dia Kayyali, Elijah MacKinnon, and myself.
www.mozillafestival.org/en/
November 9, 2025 at 10:14 AM
Surprise #MozFest panel -- we're having a session on the main stage called "Unlearning Cisnormativity: Trans Justice is Tech Justice" at 12:15 PM CET, right after @xychelsea.tv's talk.
Featuring Veronyka Gimenes, @schock.cc, Dia Kayyali, Elijah MacKinnon, and myself.
www.mozillafestival.org/en/
Featuring Veronyka Gimenes, @schock.cc, Dia Kayyali, Elijah MacKinnon, and myself.
www.mozillafestival.org/en/
Reposted by Dr Matt Mahmoudi
Yeet this shit into the sun.
The administration “is currently pressuring OpenAI and other AI companies to make their models more conservative-friendly.”
OpenAI is trying to clamp down on ‘bias’ in ChatGPT
GPT-5 is better at resisting liberal ‘pressure,’ the company says.
www.theverge.com
October 11, 2025 at 3:22 PM
Yeet this shit into the sun.
Reposted by Dr Matt Mahmoudi
Top: Tommy’s racist temper tantrum
Bottom: Carnival
Face rec is deployed along racial logics. Don’t want to read another haphazard study of how accurate the tech is; AI-driven policing is spatially and selectively configured to impart racial violence and selectively revoked to protect accomplices
Bottom: Carnival
Face rec is deployed along racial logics. Don’t want to read another haphazard study of how accurate the tech is; AI-driven policing is spatially and selectively configured to impart racial violence and selectively revoked to protect accomplices
September 13, 2025 at 2:24 PM
Top: Tommy’s racist temper tantrum
Bottom: Carnival
Face rec is deployed along racial logics. Don’t want to read another haphazard study of how accurate the tech is; AI-driven policing is spatially and selectively configured to impart racial violence and selectively revoked to protect accomplices
Bottom: Carnival
Face rec is deployed along racial logics. Don’t want to read another haphazard study of how accurate the tech is; AI-driven policing is spatially and selectively configured to impart racial violence and selectively revoked to protect accomplices
Reposted by Dr Matt Mahmoudi
In this short piece, I lean on embodied cog sci to argue that we should refuse & resist llms in education (pp. 53-58) unesdoc.unesco.org/in/documentV...
"the classroom is an environment where love, trust, empathy, care & humility are fostered & mutually cultivated through dialogical interactions"
"the classroom is an environment where love, trust, empathy, care & humility are fostered & mutually cultivated through dialogical interactions"
September 7, 2025 at 10:06 AM
In this short piece, I lean on embodied cog sci to argue that we should refuse & resist llms in education (pp. 53-58) unesdoc.unesco.org/in/documentV...
"the classroom is an environment where love, trust, empathy, care & humility are fostered & mutually cultivated through dialogical interactions"
"the classroom is an environment where love, trust, empathy, care & humility are fostered & mutually cultivated through dialogical interactions"
Reposted by Dr Matt Mahmoudi
We’re proud to launch ICEFlightMonitor developed by Tom Cartwright & housed under HRF to monitor & analyze US immigration enforcement flights. Cartwright tracked 40,000+ ICE flights since 2020, exposing hidden operations of US immigration enforcement.
Learn more: humanrightsfirst.org/library/ice-...
Learn more: humanrightsfirst.org/library/ice-...
ICE Flight Tracking Project Now Officially Housed at Human Rights First - Human Rights First
Washington, D.C. — Human Rights First is proud to officially house an innovative initiative that monitors and analyzes U.S. immigration enforcement flights. The project was developed and led by retire...
humanrightsfirst.org
August 13, 2025 at 7:25 PM
We’re proud to launch ICEFlightMonitor developed by Tom Cartwright & housed under HRF to monitor & analyze US immigration enforcement flights. Cartwright tracked 40,000+ ICE flights since 2020, exposing hidden operations of US immigration enforcement.
Learn more: humanrightsfirst.org/library/ice-...
Learn more: humanrightsfirst.org/library/ice-...
Reposted by Dr Matt Mahmoudi
A new eyewitness who concurs, saying it's not only the IDF shooting, but personnel hired through 🇺🇸 subcontractors
"There had been so much shooting that human remains had been left there and the smell got quite bad. The security contractors had complained and the IDF said it wasn't their business."
"There had been so much shooting that human remains had been left there and the smell got quite bad. The security contractors had complained and the IDF said it wasn't their business."
August 22, 2025 at 4:16 AM
A new eyewitness who concurs, saying it's not only the IDF shooting, but personnel hired through 🇺🇸 subcontractors
"There had been so much shooting that human remains had been left there and the smell got quite bad. The security contractors had complained and the IDF said it wasn't their business."
"There had been so much shooting that human remains had been left there and the smell got quite bad. The security contractors had complained and the IDF said it wasn't their business."
Reposted by Dr Matt Mahmoudi
Tech bros drooling over Rome is wild.
The empire was a war machine built on slavery + patriarchy. If that’s your inspo, you’re not dreaming of innovation—you’re dreaming of domination
electricliterature.com/why-are-tech...
The empire was a war machine built on slavery + patriarchy. If that’s your inspo, you’re not dreaming of innovation—you’re dreaming of domination
electricliterature.com/why-are-tech...
Why Are Tech Billionaires so Obsessed with the Roman Empire? - Electric Literature
From Mark Zuckerberg to Elon Musk, too many wannabe Caesars are thriving on domination
electricliterature.com
August 18, 2025 at 10:29 AM
Tech bros drooling over Rome is wild.
The empire was a war machine built on slavery + patriarchy. If that’s your inspo, you’re not dreaming of innovation—you’re dreaming of domination
electricliterature.com/why-are-tech...
The empire was a war machine built on slavery + patriarchy. If that’s your inspo, you’re not dreaming of innovation—you’re dreaming of domination
electricliterature.com/why-are-tech...
I say *new*, but this was submitted in 2022 on the basis of longer term research Graham and I had carried out a little earlier.. for worse or for worse, I’d like to think many of insights still hold..
🚨New Article (Open Access)🚨… in which Graham Denyer Willis and I argue that, far from biometric and personal data affixed to individual bodies, Digital ID must be understood as a means of corporate-governmental conjecture in service of capital.
journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/...
journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/...
Sage Journals: Discover world-class research
Subscription and open access journals from Sage, the world's leading independent academic publisher.
journals.sagepub.com
August 18, 2025 at 8:34 AM
I say *new*, but this was submitted in 2022 on the basis of longer term research Graham and I had carried out a little earlier.. for worse or for worse, I’d like to think many of insights still hold..
🚨New Article (Open Access)🚨… in which Graham Denyer Willis and I argue that, far from biometric and personal data affixed to individual bodies, Digital ID must be understood as a means of corporate-governmental conjecture in service of capital.
journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/...
journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/...
Sage Journals: Discover world-class research
Subscription and open access journals from Sage, the world's leading independent academic publisher.
journals.sagepub.com
August 18, 2025 at 8:30 AM
🚨New Article (Open Access)🚨… in which Graham Denyer Willis and I argue that, far from biometric and personal data affixed to individual bodies, Digital ID must be understood as a means of corporate-governmental conjecture in service of capital.
journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/...
journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/...
Reposted by Dr Matt Mahmoudi
🚨 Call for Fellows 🚨
7amleh is launching a six-month, part-time Fellowship Program for 4–6 researchers working at the intersection of AI, surveillance, and digital rights in/around Palestine.
📝View fellowship details & apply: 7amleh.org/post/fellows...
7amleh is launching a six-month, part-time Fellowship Program for 4–6 researchers working at the intersection of AI, surveillance, and digital rights in/around Palestine.
📝View fellowship details & apply: 7amleh.org/post/fellows...
August 14, 2025 at 12:12 PM
🚨 Call for Fellows 🚨
7amleh is launching a six-month, part-time Fellowship Program for 4–6 researchers working at the intersection of AI, surveillance, and digital rights in/around Palestine.
📝View fellowship details & apply: 7amleh.org/post/fellows...
7amleh is launching a six-month, part-time Fellowship Program for 4–6 researchers working at the intersection of AI, surveillance, and digital rights in/around Palestine.
📝View fellowship details & apply: 7amleh.org/post/fellows...
Reposted by Dr Matt Mahmoudi
"The successful candidate will work with Professor Caroline Bassett and others in the CDH team to contribute to collaborative research projects exploring AI and the future of creativity"
3-year research associate position at Cambridge Digital Humanities.
www.cdh.cam.ac.uk/about/news/r...
3-year research associate position at Cambridge Digital Humanities.
www.cdh.cam.ac.uk/about/news/r...
Now Hiring: Research Associate (Fixed Term) - CDH
Cambridge Digital Humanities (CDH) seeks to appoint a postdoctoral researcher in Digital Humanities. The post will run for three years from Spring 2026. The successful candidate will work with Profess...
www.cdh.cam.ac.uk
August 13, 2025 at 9:49 PM
"The successful candidate will work with Professor Caroline Bassett and others in the CDH team to contribute to collaborative research projects exploring AI and the future of creativity"
3-year research associate position at Cambridge Digital Humanities.
www.cdh.cam.ac.uk/about/news/r...
3-year research associate position at Cambridge Digital Humanities.
www.cdh.cam.ac.uk/about/news/r...
Reposted by Dr Matt Mahmoudi
Give up on your personal archives while we jam all your data into the content extrusion machine.
The UK government has urged people to delete old pictures and emails as 'data centres require vast amounts of water to cool their systems'.
http://jrnl.ie/6788643
http://jrnl.ie/6788643
UK government advises people to delete old photos and emails as England faces water shortfall
The UK government has urged people to delete old pictures and emails as ‘data centres require cast amounts of water to cool their systems’.
jrnl.ie
August 12, 2025 at 5:21 PM
Give up on your personal archives while we jam all your data into the content extrusion machine.
Reposted by Dr Matt Mahmoudi
Because I am angry I will share this again. One of the reasons that Israel is able to target individuals so precisely is that it collects every phone call in Gaza and stores the recordings in Microsoft Azure, then uses AI to analyze and pick targets.
‘A million calls an hour’: Israel relying on Microsoft cloud for expansive surveillance of Palestinians
Revealed: The Israeli military undertook an ambitious project to store a giant trove of Palestinians’ phone calls on Microsoft’s servers in Europe
www.theguardian.com
August 10, 2025 at 11:22 PM
Because I am angry I will share this again. One of the reasons that Israel is able to target individuals so precisely is that it collects every phone call in Gaza and stores the recordings in Microsoft Azure, then uses AI to analyze and pick targets.
Reposted by Dr Matt Mahmoudi
The implicit threat behind the AI hype is the paradigm of Modernity; behind the relentless chiding to use AI for everything is that if you don't, you will no longer be civilised, no longer be part of a fully developed humanity.
August 9, 2025 at 5:25 AM
The implicit threat behind the AI hype is the paradigm of Modernity; behind the relentless chiding to use AI for everything is that if you don't, you will no longer be civilised, no longer be part of a fully developed humanity.
Reposted by Dr Matt Mahmoudi
I did my PhD in the 2000s, when student-initiated projects began being replaced w/ "be someone's assistant" projects. I applied for AHRC funding. No luck. Started half-time while doing my job as a British Library #maps curator half-time. Re-applied the next year. Still no luck. 1/ #academicsky 💙📚 🗃
'The number of student-initiated PhD scholarships funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) is set to fall by 60 per cent when new doctoral training arrangements come into effect next year, new figures show.' 1/3
‘Student-led’ AHRC PhD places ‘to fall by at least 60 per cent’
Internal modelling released under Freedom of Information enquiry reveals extent of PhD scholarship cuts, with academics fearing impact could be greater still
www.timeshighereducation.com
July 22, 2025 at 8:16 AM
I did my PhD in the 2000s, when student-initiated projects began being replaced w/ "be someone's assistant" projects. I applied for AHRC funding. No luck. Started half-time while doing my job as a British Library #maps curator half-time. Re-applied the next year. Still no luck. 1/ #academicsky 💙📚 🗃
Reposted by Dr Matt Mahmoudi
Major UK report on the water industry notes the challenge of "data centres for the projected increase in Artificial
Intelligence use, which have a high-water need" assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/687dfc...
Intelligence use, which have a high-water need" assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/687dfc...
assets.publishing.service.gov.uk
July 21, 2025 at 10:36 AM
Major UK report on the water industry notes the challenge of "data centres for the projected increase in Artificial
Intelligence use, which have a high-water need" assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/687dfc...
Intelligence use, which have a high-water need" assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/687dfc...
Reposted by Dr Matt Mahmoudi
Ursula K. Le Guin was "formed by the 1950s, a decade of right-wing assaults on intellectual freedom and economic equality."
@julie-phillips.com on thinking with Le Guin's writing and actions: "As the politics of anger and fear return to power, I try to find encouragement in what she did”.
@julie-phillips.com on thinking with Le Guin's writing and actions: "As the politics of anger and fear return to power, I try to find encouragement in what she did”.
July 20, 2025 at 5:34 PM
Ursula K. Le Guin was "formed by the 1950s, a decade of right-wing assaults on intellectual freedom and economic equality."
@julie-phillips.com on thinking with Le Guin's writing and actions: "As the politics of anger and fear return to power, I try to find encouragement in what she did”.
@julie-phillips.com on thinking with Le Guin's writing and actions: "As the politics of anger and fear return to power, I try to find encouragement in what she did”.
Reposted by Dr Matt Mahmoudi
The right-wing backlash against #Superman has happened before.
Here’s my @vanityfair.com report w/ the full history —starting with April 1940, when the official SS newspaper attacked the comic book hero & its creators.
Plus, that time Superman fought the KKK…
🔗 www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/st...
Here’s my @vanityfair.com report w/ the full history —starting with April 1940, when the official SS newspaper attacked the comic book hero & its creators.
Plus, that time Superman fought the KKK…
🔗 www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/st...
July 12, 2025 at 4:40 PM
The right-wing backlash against #Superman has happened before.
Here’s my @vanityfair.com report w/ the full history —starting with April 1940, when the official SS newspaper attacked the comic book hero & its creators.
Plus, that time Superman fought the KKK…
🔗 www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/st...
Here’s my @vanityfair.com report w/ the full history —starting with April 1940, when the official SS newspaper attacked the comic book hero & its creators.
Plus, that time Superman fought the KKK…
🔗 www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/st...
Reposted by Dr Matt Mahmoudi
Excited to share my latest article. It examines how humanitarian data came to be repurposed for citizenship determination, focusing on an often-overlooked form of biometric border-making: the digitized mechanisms for keeping citizens out of refugee camps. tinyurl.com/bde5a6dw
July 12, 2025 at 2:59 PM
Excited to share my latest article. It examines how humanitarian data came to be repurposed for citizenship determination, focusing on an often-overlooked form of biometric border-making: the digitized mechanisms for keeping citizens out of refugee camps. tinyurl.com/bde5a6dw
Reposted by Dr Matt Mahmoudi
My latest on “The New Artificial Intelligentsia,” part of the Legacies of Eugenics series in the Los Angeles Review of Books. Thanks to all who read + share! lareviewofbooks.org/article/the-...
The New Artificial Intelligentsia | Los Angeles Review of Books
In the fifth essay of the Legacies of Eugenics series, Ruha Benjamin explores how AI evangelists wrap their self-interest in a cloak of humanistic concern.
lareviewofbooks.org
October 18, 2024 at 4:42 PM
My latest on “The New Artificial Intelligentsia,” part of the Legacies of Eugenics series in the Los Angeles Review of Books. Thanks to all who read + share! lareviewofbooks.org/article/the-...
Reposted by Dr Matt Mahmoudi
July 11, 2025 at 2:02 PM
Reposted by Dr Matt Mahmoudi
I signed.
The AI for Good Global Summit starts in Geneva tomorrow and undersigned AI scholars, scientists, human rights advocates and experts, demand that the UN to take a firm stand against tech sector complicity in grave violations of international law, including genocide.
Sign below 👇🏽👇🏽
uncomplicit.tech
Sign below 👇🏽👇🏽
uncomplicit.tech
NO AI FOR ATROCITY CRIMES
uncomplicit.tech
July 9, 2025 at 2:09 PM
I signed.
Reposted by Dr Matt Mahmoudi
a couple of hours before my keynote, I went through an intense negotiation with the organisers (for over a hour) where we went through my slides and had to remove anything that mentions 'Palestine' 'Israel' and replace 'genocide' with 'war crimes'
1/
1/
my keynote happening in a few mins. registration here to stream it
aiforgood.itu.int/summit25/reg...
aiforgood.itu.int/summit25/reg...
July 8, 2025 at 9:58 AM
a couple of hours before my keynote, I went through an intense negotiation with the organisers (for over a hour) where we went through my slides and had to remove anything that mentions 'Palestine' 'Israel' and replace 'genocide' with 'war crimes'
1/
1/