Timnit Gebru

@timnitgebru.bsky.social

30K followers 810 following 990 posts

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Founder: The Distributed AI Research Institute @dairinstitute.bsky.social.

Author: The View from Somewhere, a memoir & manifesto arguing for a technological future that serves our communities (to be published by One Signal / Atria .. more

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Timnit Gebru is an Eritrean Ethiopian-born computer scientist who works in the fields of artificial intelligence (AI), algorithmic bias and data mining. She is a co-founder of Black in AI, an advocacy group that has pushed for more Black roles in AI development and research. She is the founder of the Distributed Artificial Intelligence Research Institute (DAIR). .. more

Computer science 77%

Mathematics 7%

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Timnit Gebru @timnitgebru.bsky.social · Apr 15

🔇🔇🔇Announcing new work from DAIR which is very close to my heart, 3 years in the making.

When #TigrayGenocide, the deadliest genocide of the 21st century thus far, started in November 2020, it was 1 month before I got fired from Google. 🧵

english.elpais.com/internationa...

Ethiopia’s forgotten war is the deadliest of the 21st century, with around 600,000 civilian deaths

Estimates by European institutions and academics say over half a million non-combatants have died during the Tigray conflict as a result of a government blockade that kept out humanitarian aid

english.elpais.com

Reposted by Timnit Gebru

Zecharias Zelalem @zekuzelalem.bsky.social · 20h

There has been genocide in each year of the 2020ies so far, what a cursed decade. A decade we kicked off with a deadly pandemic, lest we forget.

Here's to bucking the trend in 26.

Wishing you a happy new year friends.

Reposted by Timnit Gebru

The Stories We Tell @storieswetell303.bsky.social · 2d

Here is part 1. We start with what Émile Torres called the "backbone" of TESCREAL in my interview with him: transhumanism. I examine its deep connection with Eugenics (from the very beginning), and how/why it has become so popular and influential within Silicon Valley. Hope you enjoy!

Transhumanism & The Eternal Return of Eugenics

From Peter Thiel to Sam Altman, the AI race has some weird and dark underlying philosophies

windblowncuriosities.substack.com

Timnit Gebru @timnitgebru.bsky.social · 2d

When asked, Evan noted that he wanted to create this documentary after trying to understand why the biggest migrant group to Europe was from Eritrea, with no internal known war (this documentary was created before the current genocidal war on Tigray started).

Timnit Gebru @timnitgebru.bsky.social · 2d

The documentary The Sound of Torture, shows some of these unspeakable kidnappings in the Sinai, and filmmaker Evan Williams’ recently released documentary Escaping Eritrea shows why people go through such lengths to escape.

Timnit Gebru @timnitgebru.bsky.social · 2d

Eritreans, including the dictator’s son, are so desperate to escape that they take treacherous routes through Libya, the Mediterranean and even war torn Tigray and Yemen, often human trafficked and tortured for ransom.

Timnit Gebru @timnitgebru.bsky.social · 2d

Oganizations such as the United Nations have rightfully called this modern day slavery. And during times of war, such as now, the penalty for attempting to escape can be death, with a shoot to kill policy for those caught crossing the border, often minors.

Timnit Gebru @timnitgebru.bsky.social · 2d

It is illegal to leave Eritrea for people between the ages of 5 to 55. What's more, there is indefinite conscription into the military starting at 16, with no end in sight, where people can spend decades laboring with little to no pay and little food.

Timnit Gebru @timnitgebru.bsky.social · 2d

and now is the only country in the world aside from North Korea whose population has zero access to COVID-19 vaccines (the Eritrean government is now the only country in Africa not to have signed the WHO COVAX agreement).

Timnit Gebru @timnitgebru.bsky.social · 2d

In this 2008 Al Jazeera interview, when asked about potential elections in Eritrea, he sarcastically responds, “What elections?”

The country has been called the North Korea of Africa (but surpasses it as the most censored country in the world),

Timnit Gebru @timnitgebru.bsky.social · 2d

Eritrea is the only country in the world that has never had elections, and has never instituted its constitution. It has zero free press, no parliament or no independent arm of government except for the ruthless dictator Isaias Afewerki who has ruled with impunity for 30 years.

Timnit Gebru @timnitgebru.bsky.social · 2d

(even imprisoning them in shipping containers in temperatures that induce one’s skin to be stuck to the walls), with no due process or trial. That includes American citizen Ciham Ali who was imprisoned at 15 years old in 2012 and hasn’t been heard from since."

Timnit Gebru @timnitgebru.bsky.social · 2d

Below is an excerpt from what I wrote before to explain what these monsters are sending these young people to.

"Eritrea boasts the longest detained journalist in the world, and with over 360 detention facilities (many underground) in a country of 45 kmi², the regime has disappeared all dissidents

Timnit Gebru @timnitgebru.bsky.social · 2d

As @meron.bsky.social posted, Eritrean asylum seekers set to be deported by ICE are saying they'd rather commit suicide than face the monstrous regime. This happened before when Habtom committed suicide in Canada after his asylum was denied. 💔
www.cbc.ca/andthewinner....

Timnit Gebru @timnitgebru.bsky.social · 3d

plus affected communities plus journalists your source has been trying to discredit, feel free.

Timnit Gebru @timnitgebru.bsky.social · 3d

You don't need to be an "epidemiology expert" to know whether your water bills have suddenly shot up because of the data center.

I truly won't litigate this on this cite. If you want to believe misinformation from people with an agenda who have zero expertise on the matter over the actual experts

Timnit Gebru @timnitgebru.bsky.social · 3d

he's the one who has been going mysteriously viral on this so-called revelation he's been trying to sell.

Timnit Gebru @timnitgebru.bsky.social · 3d

Its interesting that you have read some blogposts by a random effective altruist who is out to "prove" this issue but discount first hand knowledge from affected communities without even knowing what evidence they've been armed with.

I assume that's where you got the "information" from because...

Timnit Gebru @timnitgebru.bsky.social · 3d

disparaging view of the actual affected people on the ground who know their condition first hand more so than anyone else.

Timnit Gebru @timnitgebru.bsky.social · 3d

Yes they have. They have alerted the media, they have talked to their local lawmakers, they have protested, they have contacted their datacenter, and they have done a ton of research. The person who is the main originator of this "data center water use is fake" misinformation also has a similarly...

Timnit Gebru @timnitgebru.bsky.social · 3d

(deleted too)

Timnit Gebru @timnitgebru.bsky.social · 3d

Its a masterpiece!

Timnit Gebru @timnitgebru.bsky.social · 3d

And a bunch of other experts describing exactly how the data center exacerbate the situation?

Why is this article "bad"?

Why are people SO out to attempt to prove that the "data center water issue is fake" even when people are telling us their water bills are increasing as a result in other areas?

Reposted by Timnit Gebru

Brian Minsker @bminsker.bsky.social · 4d

Death of the Author by @nnedi.bsky.social TLDR: #AfricanFuturism a disabled first-generation African immigrant woman writes a book about robots after humans are gone and becomes famous, but that really undersells one of the best books I read this year. Can't go wrong with any of her books, actually.

Timnit Gebru @timnitgebru.bsky.social · 4d

So many good suggestions on this thread!

Anna Gifty @itsafronomics.bsky.social · 4d

In 2026, I want to read.... a lot.

Please suggest a book I should read to better understand the world around me or to simply enjoy this place a little bit more. #booksky #readsky

Timnit Gebru @timnitgebru.bsky.social · 4d

This book sounds fascinating. Just ordered👇🏽

Beronda L. Montgomery @berondam.bsky.social · 4d

Can I suggest my own? 😂
When Trees Testify: Science, Wisdom, History & America's Black Botanical Legacy. I explore 7 trees & the cotton shrub--the science of them, personal/family history related to them & their intersections with Black history.
It's out Jan 20, 2026
us.macmillan.com/books/978125...

When Trees Testify

This stunning cultural and personal reclamation of Black history and Black botanical mastery offers up lessons from the natural world shared through the stor...

us.macmillan.com

Timnit Gebru @timnitgebru.bsky.social · 4d

I see. I thought your sarcasm saying it doesn't take Sherlock Holmes to figure it out was directed at me, hence my reaction. Apologies.

Reposted by Timnit Gebru, Neil Pederson

Beronda L. Montgomery @berondam.bsky.social · 4d

When Trees Testify

This stunning cultural and personal reclamation of Black history and Black botanical mastery offers up lessons from the natural world shared through the stor...

us.macmillan.com

Reposted by Timnit Gebru

Anna Gifty @itsafronomics.bsky.social · 4d

In 2026, I want to read.... a lot.

Please suggest a book I should read to better understand the world around me or to simply enjoy this place a little bit more. #booksky #readsky

Reposted by Timnit Gebru

geoffrey (festively) @parsnip.bsky.social · 4d

seems incredibly obvious by now that these should not be consumer-facing tech but that is what the companies making them want them to be

The Washington Post @washingtonpost.com · 5d

Adam Raine’s life hurtled toward tragedy soon after he began talking with ChatGPT about homework. Analysis of his ChatGPT account shows how the chatbot became a confidant as he planned to end his life.

74 suicide warnings and 243 mentions of hanging: What ChatGPT said to a suicidal teen

Analysis of high-schooler Adam Raine’s ChatGPT account by attorneys for his parents shows how the chatbot became a confidant as he planned to end his life.

www.washingtonpost.com

Reposted by Timnit Gebru

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