Aaron Martin
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empo11on.bsky.social
Aaron Martin
@empo11on.bsky.social
750 followers 320 following 66 posts
Assistant Professor of Media Studies and Data Governance at UVA

https://sixfouronea.net/
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empo11on.bsky.social
Aaron Martin @empo11on.bsky.social · Jul 29
New paper out in @bigdatasoc.bsky.social on #humanitarian #data #sovereignty💥

doi.org/10.1177/2053...

My deep gratitude to @kerenweitzberg.bsky.social, @margchee.bsky.social, @emryss.bsky.social, Quito Tsui, Paul Currion, @sophiebt.bsky.social, and @massimomarelli.bsky.social for the inspiration ❤️
Why sovereignty matters for humanitarian data - Aaron Martin, 2025
Technological interventions in aid are both complex and deeply ambiguous. Nonetheless, many contemporary controversies surrounding humanitarian data reflect und...
doi.org
Reposted by Aaron Martin
rob-sheridan.com
Silicon Valley, 1990s: Free and open access to all the world’s knowledge will usher a new utopian age of information!

Silicon Valley, 2025:
Enable chats with Satan [enabled] Premium subscription required
November 15, 2025 at 1:28 AM
Reposted by Aaron Martin
uvadatascience.bsky.social
We are proud to share that Professor Aaron Martin (@empo11on.bsky.social) co-edited Data Protection in Humanitarian Action, marking 10 years of ICRC & UNHCR data frameworks. A milestone on how data protection drives responsible humanitarian action. Read open access: https://bit.ly/47TYiIm
Data Protection in Humanitarian Action: Responding to Crises in a Data-Driven World
This book is the product of a collaboration between the data protection offices of the ICRC and UNHCR, alongside the Global Privacy Assembly, to reflect on a decade of progress in data protection in h...
bit.ly
November 12, 2025 at 5:13 PM
empo11on.bsky.social
"At least 49 family members and colleagues of Afghans affected by the UK Ministry of Defence's mass data breach have been killed, according to research submitted to a parliamentary committee."

www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2025...
At least 49 relatives and colleagues of Afghans in data leak have been killed, study suggests
Research also finds 200 of 231 people notified by MoD of breach reported threats to themselves or families
www.theguardian.com
October 31, 2025 at 3:23 PM
Reposted by Aaron Martin
alexhanna.bsky.social
This is sounding more and more like the Council of Nicea who meet behind closed doors and poke the chatbot until it says it feels something.

arstechnica.com/information-...
Expert panel will determine AGI arrival in new Microsoft-OpenAI agreement
New deal extends Microsoft IP rights until 2032 or until AGI arrives.
arstechnica.com
October 29, 2025 at 5:19 AM
Reposted by Aaron Martin
ubisurv.net
Call for Abstracts / Panels

PLANETARY SURVEILLANCE

#SSN2026 – the 11th Biennial Surveillance Studies Network Conference

9-12 June 2026

Université Catholique de Lille, France

Details: surveillance-studies.net/conference/

Submissions (open soon): ssn2026.sciencesconf.org
Conference – Surveillance Studies Network
surveillance-studies.net
October 28, 2025 at 10:44 PM
empo11on.bsky.social
💥 New book out with @icrc.org's @massimomarelli.bsky.social and @universityofexeter.bsky.social's Ana Beduschi 💥

ᴅᴀᴛᴀ ᴘʀᴏᴛᴇᴄᴛɪᴏɴ ɪɴ ʜᴜᴍᴀɴɪᴛᴀʀɪᴀɴ ᴀᴄᴛɪᴏɴ: ʀᴇꜱᴘᴏɴᴅɪɴɢ ᴛᴏ ᴄʀɪꜱᴇꜱ ɪɴ ᴀ ᴅᴀᴛᴀ-ᴅʀɪᴠᴇɴ ᴡᴏʀʟᴅ

👉 doi.org/10.4324/9781...

It's an open-access collection thanks to @ecpcmaastricht.bsky.social 🧡
Data Protection in Humanitarian Action | Responding to Crises in a Dat
This book is the product of a collaboration between the data protection offices of the ICRC and UNHCR, alongside the Global Privacy Assembly, to reflect on a
doi.org
October 27, 2025 at 2:23 PM
Reposted by Aaron Martin
jackhamilton.bsky.social
deleted social media from my phone a while back so haven't been around much lately but dropping in here to share something I wrote about d'angelo, whose music meant the world to me slate.com/culture/2025...
The Man Behind Two of the Greatest Albums of the Century Is Gone
D’Angelo fused hip-hop with R&B like no one had before—then kept on exploring.
slate.com
October 15, 2025 at 7:53 PM
Reposted by Aaron Martin
junoryleejournalism.com
David Simon, creator of ‘The Wire’, being interviewed by Ari Shapiro (NPR)
SHAPIRO: OK, so you've spent your career creating television without Al, and I could imagine today you thinking, boy, I wish I had had that tool to solve those thorny problems... SIMON: What? SHAPIRO: ...Or saying... SIMON: You imagine that? SHAPIRO: ...Boy, if that had existed, it would have screwed me over. SIMON: I don't think Al can remotely challenge what writers do at a fundamentally creative level. SHAPIRO: But if you're trying to transition from scene five to scene six, and you're stuck with that transition, you could imagine plugging that portion of the script into an Al and say, give me 10 ideas for how to transition this. SIMON: I'd rather put a gun in my mouth.
October 9, 2025 at 4:42 AM
empo11on.bsky.social
<< Overregulation of nuclear power has worsened the climate crisis, [Garry Tan] added. “What if we do that to the age of intelligence? The future won’t repeat but it will rhyme.” >>

www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2...
Inside billionaire Peter Thiel’s private lectures: Warnings of ‘the Antichrist’ and U.S. destruction
In leaked recordings of private lectures by tech billionaire Peter Thiel he argued that “the Antichrist” is likely to take the form of a critic of technology.
www.washingtonpost.com
October 10, 2025 at 2:55 PM
empo11on.bsky.social
Reuters: 'The modernization of the US Army's battlefield communications network being undertaken by Anduril, Palantir and others is rife with "fundamental security" problems and vulnerabilities; should be treated as a "very high risk," according to an internal memo.'

www.reuters.com/business/aer...
Anduril and Palantir battlefield communication system has deep flaws, Army memo says
The much-needed modernization of the U.S. Army's battlefield communications network being undertaken by Anduril, Palantir and others is rife with "fundamental security" problems and vulnerabilities, and should be treated as a "very high risk," according to a recent internal Army memo.
www.reuters.com
October 10, 2025 at 1:46 PM
Reposted by Aaron Martin
jhereia.bsky.social
We are hiring! The DTD Lab invites applications for our 2026 postdoctoral cohort. Areas I'd love to supervise: gender/techno-authoritarianism, data visibility, urban governance, night studies, cultural practices, and all things related to tech policy. More info:
jobs.virginia.edu/us/en/job/R0...
This is a screenshot of a webpage. It says: Opportunities University of Virginia’s Digital Technology for Democracy (DTD) Lab invites applications for 2-year postdoctoral fellowships. The fellowships will begin in August of 2026 and run through August 2028. Application Deadline: December 15, 2025; notifications to made in March 2026. Interested in learning more? Join us for a Zoom info session in October or November.
October 10, 2025 at 1:17 PM
empo11on.bsky.social
Has anyone written about which theories of addiction (e.g. choice, disease/neurobiological, learning, etc.) underlie different regulatory proposals meant to address social media addiction? It would be fun to unpack assumptions made about addiction and how specific measures address these (or not).
October 9, 2025 at 4:14 PM
Reposted by Aaron Martin
felipedlh.bsky.social
You cannot be fucking serious
SCOOP: Apple Quietly Made ICE Agents a Protected Class
Internal emails show tech giant used anti-hate-speech rules meant for minorities to block an app documenting immigration enforcement.
migrantinsider.com
October 8, 2025 at 4:35 PM
Reposted by Aaron Martin
lorenzofb.bsky.social
Here's an updated list of all the technology ICE has in its arsenal to mass deport people.

We've added new sections on cell-site simulators and cellphone location data.

techcrunch.com/2025/10/08/h...
Here's the tech powering ICE's deportation crackdown  | TechCrunch
From phone spyware and facial recognition to phone unlocking technology and databases and more, this tech powers Trump's deportation machine.
techcrunch.com
October 8, 2025 at 5:11 PM
Reposted by Aaron Martin
josephcox.bsky.social
All anyone wanted to do with OpenAI's new Sora 2 app was make clips of copyrighted characters. Now they can't, they're pissed. Literally what is the point of this app www.404media.co/sora-2-conte...
People Are Crashing Out Over Sora 2’s New Guardrails
OpenAI’s Sora 2 platform started just one week ago as an AI-generated copyright infringement free-for-all. Now, people say they’re struggling to generate anything without being hit with a violation er...
www.404media.co
October 8, 2025 at 2:57 PM
Reposted by Aaron Martin
molly.wiki
"[Ars Technica] asked Cruz's office to explain why a senator pressuring Wikipedia is appropriate while an FCC chair pressuring ABC is not and will update this article if we get a response."

arstechnica.com/tech-policy/...
Ted Cruz picks a fight with Wikipedia, accusing platform of left-wing bias
Cruz sends letter demanding answers from Wikimedia Foundation.
arstechnica.com
October 7, 2025 at 7:09 PM
Reposted by Aaron Martin
stephenturner.us
Want to be my boss? We're looking for an Associate Dean for Research here at the UVA School of Data Science apply.interfolio.com/168251 🧬🖥️🧪
Apply - Interfolio {{$ctrl.$state.data.pageTitle}} - Apply - Interfolio
apply.interfolio.com
October 7, 2025 at 12:30 PM
Reposted by Aaron Martin
datasociety.bsky.social
How is AI changing the nature of scams? @lanalanalana.bsky.social & @alicetiara.bsky.social spoke to @alixdunn.com on @themaybe.org to explain how AI automates & scales the work already being done in massive, exploitative “cybercrime compounds” around the world. www.themaybe.org/podcast/gotc...
The Maybe
www.themaybe.org
October 3, 2025 at 3:40 PM
Reposted by Aaron Martin
jhereia.bsky.social
I have a short piece on smart infrastructure and techno-authoritarianism in Brazil in the new journal Dialogues on Digital Society ✨ Available here: doi.org/10.1177/2976...
If you cannot access it through your library, ping me and I will make sure you get a copy.
It is a screenshot of a short commentary paper titled "Smart infrastructure, techno-authoritarianism, and the threat to democracy in Brazil," written by Jess Reia and published in the journal Dialogues on Digital Society. It features an abstract and keywords. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1177/29768640251382644
October 1, 2025 at 3:33 PM
empo11on.bsky.social
Melissa Villa-Nicholas analyzes this phenomenon in depth in her Data Borders book in terms of the “data body milieu”

www.ucpress.edu/books/data-b...
October 1, 2025 at 2:31 PM
Reposted by Aaron Martin
theverge.com
The UK announces mandatory digital ID plans
The UK announces mandatory digital ID plans
Big Brother is watching.
buff.ly
September 26, 2025 at 11:20 AM
Reposted by Aaron Martin
lsepoliticsblog.bsky.social
As Keir Starmer anounces a new Digital ID scheme, we revisit an article from the summer, warning that past attempts at introducing a national identity card point to a moral minefield without necessarily helping tackle irregular immigration.

blogs.lse.ac.uk/politicsandp...
The Britcard – progressive or concerning? | British Politics and Policy at LSE
The Government is considering Labour Together's proposal to introduce mandatory digital ID cards in an effort to tackle irregular migration. There are problems with that.
blogs.lse.ac.uk
September 26, 2025 at 5:03 PM
Reposted by Aaron Martin
kerenweitzberg.bsky.social
As I said on BBC this morning, the Britcard isn't a carefully thought-out digitization strategy; it's a reactive policy response to right-wing populism & moral panic about asylum seekers. A piece from earlier this year w/ @margchee.bsky.social & @empo11on.bsky.social
blogs.lse.ac.uk/politicsandp...
The Britcard – progressive or concerning? | British Politics and Policy at LSE
The Government is considering Labour Together's proposal to introduce mandatory digital ID cards in an effort to tackle irregular migration. There are problems with that.
blogs.lse.ac.uk
September 26, 2025 at 3:27 PM
Reposted by Aaron Martin
emryss.bsky.social
Apple demands EU scrap landmark digital rules
Apple demands EU scrap landmark digital rules
Big Tech rules have become a point of tension in trade talks with Donald Trump’s administration
on.ft.com
September 25, 2025 at 6:03 AM
Reposted by Aaron Martin
petertl.bsky.social
New argument against AI regulation just dropped. Checkmate, atheists.
www.wsj.com/tech/peter-t...
For about a year now, Thiel has been publicly laying out his understanding of biblical prophecies and the potential for the rapid advance of technology to bring about an apocalyptic future. In a lecture Monday, he encouraged an audience to continue working toward scientific progress, whether in AI or other forms of technology. Fearing or regulating it, or opposing technological progress, would hasten the coming of the Antichrist, Thiel said, according to people who attended.
September 24, 2025 at 6:57 AM