Jen Raso
@jenraso.bsky.social
Assistant Prof at McGill's Faculty of Law | McCAIS leadership team | Researching digital government, AI systems, and other socio-legal-technical things | www.jenraso.com
Pinned
Jen Raso
@jenraso.bsky.social
· Mar 26
How does the design of digital govt infrastructure impact decision-making & accountability? @jenraso.bsky.social & I argue that data-sharing arrangements underlying digital govt programs are dispersing responsibilities within decision-making, generating what we call 'bureaucratic disempowerment' 1/4
Data Entry and Decision Chains: Distributed Responsibility and Bureaucratic Disempowerment in the UK’s Universal Credit Programme
Abstract. Digitalising public programmes creates new accountability challenges, many of which are under-theorised. Using Universal Credit to illustrate its
academic.oup.com
Thrilled that this piece by @victoriaadamant.bsky.social and I is finally out! Thanks to so many, including my @mcgill.ca law colleagues who generously shared comments early on, and to the @datasociety.bsky.social Keywords of the Digital State collection which planted early seeds for this paper.
Reposted by Jen Raso
What’s darkly funny is that there’s an old CIA manual about this, and how if enough people do it, it can destabilize a country. It’s still on their website right now after being declassified in 2008.
February 7, 2026 at 10:32 PM
What’s darkly funny is that there’s an old CIA manual about this, and how if enough people do it, it can destabilize a country. It’s still on their website right now after being declassified in 2008.
Reposted by Jen Raso
"The human body is an obstacle to efficiency (...) [but] real learning is slow. It is not oriented towards immediate use and immediate disposal." Efficiency in edu & research cheapens our work. We are already squeezed by new managerialism, time to reclaim our agency. #ResistAI
Learning is complex, messy, emotional: AI can’t replicate that
ChatGPT and other AI tools may seem irresistible. But educators should beware, as they could end up trading away the thing that gives them value — the rich experience of slow learning
www.irishexaminer.com
February 8, 2026 at 6:00 PM
"The human body is an obstacle to efficiency (...) [but] real learning is slow. It is not oriented towards immediate use and immediate disposal." Efficiency in edu & research cheapens our work. We are already squeezed by new managerialism, time to reclaim our agency. #ResistAI
Reposted by Jen Raso
I'd watch a muppet show movie where the muppets infiltrate an academic conference.
February 7, 2026 at 2:45 PM
I'd watch a muppet show movie where the muppets infiltrate an academic conference.
Reposted by Jen Raso
Comics offer a powerful way to teach about the political economy of “AI” systems and the human labor upon which these technologies rely. #EduSky
🚨NEW INQUIRY! - Behind the Face of AI🚨
In this short comic, two data workers describe their work impersonating an “AI” chatbot for a major social media platform. Sleepless nights, penalties for sounding “too human,” and emotional drain are just a few of the job hazards.
➡️ data-workers.org/france
In this short comic, two data workers describe their work impersonating an “AI” chatbot for a major social media platform. Sleepless nights, penalties for sounding “too human,” and emotional drain are just a few of the job hazards.
➡️ data-workers.org/france
February 7, 2026 at 2:45 AM
Comics offer a powerful way to teach about the political economy of “AI” systems and the human labor upon which these technologies rely. #EduSky
Reposted by Jen Raso
It’s Mechanical Turks all the way down. bsky.app/profile/sonj...
This is one argument I make in the book I’m writing, so difficult to condense in a post but: the tech industry loves a historical precedent. It’s part of their pitch. Amazon named its microlabor service the Mechanical Turk! Historians like me need to be careful about legitimizing this very thing.
February 6, 2026 at 1:19 PM
It’s Mechanical Turks all the way down. bsky.app/profile/sonj...
Reposted by Jen Raso
waymo executives admit what we all knew to begin with, that their self driving AI is really just remote operators in the philippines.
February 6, 2026 at 1:13 PM
waymo executives admit what we all knew to begin with, that their self driving AI is really just remote operators in the philippines.
Reposted by Jen Raso
Reposted by Jen Raso
Unlike Canada, Europe is actually taking steps to secure its digital autonomy.
This one stood out: “The Austrian military said it has also switched to LibreOffice, a software package with word processor, spreadsheet and presentation programs that mirrors Microsoft 365’s Word, Excel and PowerPoint.”
This one stood out: “The Austrian military said it has also switched to LibreOffice, a software package with word processor, spreadsheet and presentation programs that mirrors Microsoft 365’s Word, Excel and PowerPoint.”
France dumps Zoom and Teams as Europe seeks digital autonomy from the U.S.
Around Europe, governments and institutions are seeking to reduce their use of digital services from U.S. Big Tech companies and turning to domestic or free alternatives.
www.thestar.com
February 4, 2026 at 10:47 AM
Unlike Canada, Europe is actually taking steps to secure its digital autonomy.
This one stood out: “The Austrian military said it has also switched to LibreOffice, a software package with word processor, spreadsheet and presentation programs that mirrors Microsoft 365’s Word, Excel and PowerPoint.”
This one stood out: “The Austrian military said it has also switched to LibreOffice, a software package with word processor, spreadsheet and presentation programs that mirrors Microsoft 365’s Word, Excel and PowerPoint.”
Reposted by Jen Raso
A problem is that there are many of us who read about, research, and publish on AI (and have been doing so for years), but the university puts us on the same playing field of decision-making about it with those who have not.
I’m gonna name it. This isn’t a case of “legitimately differing opinions.” It is blatant professorial malpractice to adopt/allow genAI (or really *any* new edtech) just b/c we are told that we must. Especially in the humanities classroom, the only “ethical use” or reasonable stance is to keep it out
February 4, 2026 at 1:53 PM
A problem is that there are many of us who read about, research, and publish on AI (and have been doing so for years), but the university puts us on the same playing field of decision-making about it with those who have not.
Reposted by Jen Raso
Canada did a consultation on a new national AI strategy, formed an expert task force to write 32 reports, then used AI to analyze the responses & reports. The result is a summary that strings together 100s of vague action items & flattens nuance and policy trade-offs into false consensus
February 4, 2026 at 7:37 PM
Canada did a consultation on a new national AI strategy, formed an expert task force to write 32 reports, then used AI to analyze the responses & reports. The result is a summary that strings together 100s of vague action items & flattens nuance and policy trade-offs into false consensus
Reposted by Jen Raso
Interested in discussing how Artificial Intelligence can be helpful or hurtful to academia? 🤖
As a newly minted UKRN (@ukrepro.bsky.social) Local Network Lead, I'm co-organizing a hybrid event about this next Friday (30th January)
Join us at @livunipsyc.bsky.social or online via Teams!
As a newly minted UKRN (@ukrepro.bsky.social) Local Network Lead, I'm co-organizing a hybrid event about this next Friday (30th January)
Join us at @livunipsyc.bsky.social or online via Teams!
January 22, 2026 at 5:39 PM
Interested in discussing how Artificial Intelligence can be helpful or hurtful to academia? 🤖
As a newly minted UKRN (@ukrepro.bsky.social) Local Network Lead, I'm co-organizing a hybrid event about this next Friday (30th January)
Join us at @livunipsyc.bsky.social or online via Teams!
As a newly minted UKRN (@ukrepro.bsky.social) Local Network Lead, I'm co-organizing a hybrid event about this next Friday (30th January)
Join us at @livunipsyc.bsky.social or online via Teams!
Reposted by Jen Raso
I think I might take one of these "under 20 minutes" AI skills courses the UK Govt. seems very keen on everyone doing and live-post it here... Maybe we can all learn something together! The press release sends me to aiskillshub.org.uk/aiskillsboost/ - let's go and see!
AI Skills Boost - AI Skills Hub
aiskillshub.org.uk
January 28, 2026 at 12:07 PM
I think I might take one of these "under 20 minutes" AI skills courses the UK Govt. seems very keen on everyone doing and live-post it here... Maybe we can all learn something together! The press release sends me to aiskillshub.org.uk/aiskillsboost/ - let's go and see!
Reposted by Jen Raso
A great thread on AI-driven epistemic contamination
Academic publishing is currently experiencing a viral spread of “zombie citations.” I tried following one to see how these references are infecting academic knowledge systems codeactsineducation.wordpress.com/2026/01/30/t...
Tracing the social half-life of a zombie citation
Photo by Henrik L. on Unsplash Academic publishing is currently experiencing a viral spread of “zombie citations.” This term refers to references of academic publications that do not ex…
codeactsineducation.wordpress.com
January 31, 2026 at 2:12 PM
A great thread on AI-driven epistemic contamination
Reposted by Jen Raso
I'm teaching a large undergrad course next year called "Media
Misinformation" and am looking for a textbook -- especially from a Canadian or global perspective.
Suggestions?
Also pls send me links to key accessible articles or blog posts etc, including your own, if you think it'd be a good fit? 🙏
Misinformation" and am looking for a textbook -- especially from a Canadian or global perspective.
Suggestions?
Also pls send me links to key accessible articles or blog posts etc, including your own, if you think it'd be a good fit? 🙏
January 29, 2026 at 4:21 PM
I'm teaching a large undergrad course next year called "Media
Misinformation" and am looking for a textbook -- especially from a Canadian or global perspective.
Suggestions?
Also pls send me links to key accessible articles or blog posts etc, including your own, if you think it'd be a good fit? 🙏
Misinformation" and am looking for a textbook -- especially from a Canadian or global perspective.
Suggestions?
Also pls send me links to key accessible articles or blog posts etc, including your own, if you think it'd be a good fit? 🙏
Reposted by Jen Raso
Reposted by Jen Raso
💔
Solidarity with Muslim Quebecers who I know are hurting today.
Solidarity with Muslim Quebecers who I know are hurting today.
Today marks the 9th anniversary of the Quebec City mosque shooting, where 6 Muslim Quebecers were killed and 19 were seriously injured.
We have an obligation to never forget the Quebec City mosque attack
#RememberJan29
We have an obligation to never forget the Quebec City mosque attack
#RememberJan29
We have an obligation to never forget the Quebec City mosque attack
January 29 is the anniversary of the Quebec City mosque shooting of 2017, a chance to reflect on a senseless attack on a community.
cultmtl.com
January 29, 2026 at 3:34 PM
💔
Solidarity with Muslim Quebecers who I know are hurting today.
Solidarity with Muslim Quebecers who I know are hurting today.
I saw this phenomenon on display first hand at a student-led symposium @lawmcgill.bsky.social yesterday. By contrast, the students enrolles in my Regulating AI seminar (in which we are reading Karen GAO's Empire of AI from cover to cover) are overwhelmingly women and not at all enamoured by AI.
There is indeed a gender gap in AI use. The problem is not that women aren’t using AI enough
The problem is men tend gravitate towards the overconfident voice, and overestimate their ability to identify slop
www.gov.uk/government/p...
The problem is men tend gravitate towards the overconfident voice, and overestimate their ability to identify slop
www.gov.uk/government/p...
January 29, 2026 at 5:56 PM
I saw this phenomenon on display first hand at a student-led symposium @lawmcgill.bsky.social yesterday. By contrast, the students enrolles in my Regulating AI seminar (in which we are reading Karen GAO's Empire of AI from cover to cover) are overwhelmingly women and not at all enamoured by AI.
Reposted by Jen Raso
This is not a government that is in any way serious about preparing Canada for surviving in a Great Power world.
Analysts and critics need to stop giving Carney the benefit of the doubt. This is his plan. It's a bad plan, it's the wrong plan, and it's not going to work.
Analysts and critics need to stop giving Carney the benefit of the doubt. This is his plan. It's a bad plan, it's the wrong plan, and it's not going to work.
Canada: 2,600 of the 7,600 foreign affairs ministry staff have received layoff notices
There’s still no foreign policy or national security policy
But Carney did a pivotal speech at Davos so there’s that
cheknews.ca/union-questi...
There’s still no foreign policy or national security policy
But Carney did a pivotal speech at Davos so there’s that
cheknews.ca/union-questi...
Union questions why Global Affairs issuing layoff warnings before policy review
Thousands of employees at Global Affairs Canada have been issued notices warning they may lose their jobs, months before a foreign policy review is completed to give the department updated priorities.
cheknews.ca
January 28, 2026 at 10:15 PM
This is not a government that is in any way serious about preparing Canada for surviving in a Great Power world.
Analysts and critics need to stop giving Carney the benefit of the doubt. This is his plan. It's a bad plan, it's the wrong plan, and it's not going to work.
Analysts and critics need to stop giving Carney the benefit of the doubt. This is his plan. It's a bad plan, it's the wrong plan, and it's not going to work.
Reposted by Jen Raso
This applies tenfold for academia.
Grindset/hustle culture means that, in a workforce larger than any in history, each person has to be individually more productive than their parents or grandparents were while experiencing ever-increasing precarity. And yet people embrace this instead of rioting. Make it make sense.
www.ft.com/content/d0b7...
No thank you.
No thank you.
January 29, 2026 at 1:37 PM
This applies tenfold for academia.
Reposted by Jen Raso
Carney's dangerous austerity plan means fewer food inspectors & less capacity to track food borne illness. As the US is gutting its food safety regulations & Canada imports over half our food from the US, how does cutting food inspection here make us safer? www.thestar.com/politics/fed...
Food inspection agency to cut more than 1,300 jobs, says union
The union representing employees at the Canadian Food Inspection Agency says staff have been told there will be 1,371 agency jobs cut as part of the government's cost-cutting exercise.
www.thestar.com
January 29, 2026 at 12:36 PM
Carney's dangerous austerity plan means fewer food inspectors & less capacity to track food borne illness. As the US is gutting its food safety regulations & Canada imports over half our food from the US, how does cutting food inspection here make us safer? www.thestar.com/politics/fed...
Reposted by Jen Raso
Carney wants to expand trade to new markets, focusing on defence, technology, AI and innovation
This is an experienced Canadian diplomat who got laid off this week.
Make it make sense
This is an experienced Canadian diplomat who got laid off this week.
Make it make sense
January 25, 2026 at 1:43 PM
Carney wants to expand trade to new markets, focusing on defence, technology, AI and innovation
This is an experienced Canadian diplomat who got laid off this week.
Make it make sense
This is an experienced Canadian diplomat who got laid off this week.
Make it make sense
Reposted by Jen Raso
stop using AI to do your research. it hallucinates too often. if you want an answer to something, post something arrogant on the appropriate subreddit. something like: "this item performs 10% better than everything else. only idiots deny this." this will bait nerds into doing your research for you.
January 26, 2026 at 7:53 AM
stop using AI to do your research. it hallucinates too often. if you want an answer to something, post something arrogant on the appropriate subreddit. something like: "this item performs 10% better than everything else. only idiots deny this." this will bait nerds into doing your research for you.
Reposted by Jen Raso
@schumer.senate.gov & @hakeem-jeffries.bsky.social would fail a basic org sociology course, which is a problem for all of us, not to mention the country.
Here's the deal:
1. ICE has a known organizational culture
2. That culture centers on violence, racism, personalistic loyalty, & impunity
1/
Here's the deal:
1. ICE has a known organizational culture
2. That culture centers on violence, racism, personalistic loyalty, & impunity
1/
Dems coalescing around 5 restrictions on ICE, I'm told:
DHS required to cooperate with state probes (big)
CBP stays at border
warrants for arrests
IDs, bodycams
ICE out of churches, schools
"That package unites a lot of Dems," Sen Chris Murphy tells me on the pod:
newrepublic.com/article/2057...
DHS required to cooperate with state probes (big)
CBP stays at border
warrants for arrests
IDs, bodycams
ICE out of churches, schools
"That package unites a lot of Dems," Sen Chris Murphy tells me on the pod:
newrepublic.com/article/2057...
A Dem Senator’s Harsh Takedown of Trump Hits Home: “Breaking Point”
As Trump scrambles to contain the damage from the latest ICE horrors, Senator Chris Murphy offers a sharp indictment of Trump-ICE lawlessness—and explains how Dems can meet the urgency of the moment.
newrepublic.com
January 27, 2026 at 2:14 PM
@schumer.senate.gov & @hakeem-jeffries.bsky.social would fail a basic org sociology course, which is a problem for all of us, not to mention the country.
Here's the deal:
1. ICE has a known organizational culture
2. That culture centers on violence, racism, personalistic loyalty, & impunity
1/
Here's the deal:
1. ICE has a known organizational culture
2. That culture centers on violence, racism, personalistic loyalty, & impunity
1/
Reposted by Jen Raso
This sounds great!
I thought I knew it already, but I actually had read another piece:
Gulland, Anne. “Slow Productivity Worked for Marie Curie — Here’s Why You Should Adopt It, Too.” Nature 632, no. 8024 (August 8, 2024): 461–63. doi.org/10.1038/d415....
I thought I knew it already, but I actually had read another piece:
Gulland, Anne. “Slow Productivity Worked for Marie Curie — Here’s Why You Should Adopt It, Too.” Nature 632, no. 8024 (August 8, 2024): 461–63. doi.org/10.1038/d415....
Slow productivity worked for Marie Curie — here’s why you should adopt it, too
Do fewer things, work at a natural pace and obsess over quality, says computer scientist Cal Newport, in his latest time-management book.
doi.org
January 27, 2026 at 5:16 PM
This sounds great!
I thought I knew it already, but I actually had read another piece:
Gulland, Anne. “Slow Productivity Worked for Marie Curie — Here’s Why You Should Adopt It, Too.” Nature 632, no. 8024 (August 8, 2024): 461–63. doi.org/10.1038/d415....
I thought I knew it already, but I actually had read another piece:
Gulland, Anne. “Slow Productivity Worked for Marie Curie — Here’s Why You Should Adopt It, Too.” Nature 632, no. 8024 (August 8, 2024): 461–63. doi.org/10.1038/d415....
Reposted by Jen Raso
Turns out Just Walk Out was not only fauxtomation but also not a compelling business model.
Amazon's latest pivot: Bye-bye, automated grocery stores
Amazon is closing its Fresh grocery stores and Go convenience stores, the company said Tuesday. It will convert some stores to Whole Foods locations.
www.businessinsider.com
January 27, 2026 at 4:43 PM
Turns out Just Walk Out was not only fauxtomation but also not a compelling business model.