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ubisurv.net
keep your electric eye on me
@ubisurv.net
4.1K followers 1.8K following 1.7K posts

David Murakami Wood (DMW)
Canada Research Chair in Critical Surveillance & Security Studies
Director, CSS/Lab, uOttawa
Co-editor-in-Chief, Surveillance & Society
Surveillance / Security / Cities / Technology / Human Rights / Environment
https://ubisurv.net .. more

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Sociology 28%
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ubisurv.net
keep your electric eye on me @ubisurv.net · Nov 24
For those just arriving here, I have 3 starter packs (bsky only allows 150 people/pack):
1. #Surveillance Studies Starter Pack (full): go.bsky.app/HYGu6oX
2. #Surveillance Studies Extension Pack (growing): go.bsky.app/HoDHyNe
3. Critical #SmartCities Starter Pack (growing): go.bsky.app/H1Xd6SL

Reposted by David Murakami Wood

aerialeverything.cryptoanarchy.network
Not (A.) I. @aerialeverything.cryptoanarchy.network · 7h
New @techpolicypress.bsky.social
podcast featuring @hypervisible.blacksky.app just dropped

techpolicy.press/through-to-t...
Through to Thriving: Protecting Our Privacy with Chris Gilliard | TechPolicy.Press
Tech Policy Press fellow Anika Collier Navaroli in conversation with Critical Internet Studies Institute privacy researcher and advocate Chris Gilliard.
techpolicy.press

Reposted by Gavin L. Foster, Andrew Scott, Martin O’Neill , and 3 more

zackpolanski.bsky.social
Zack Polanski @zackpolanski.bsky.social · 11h
The Labour Government reeling off the same far-right talking points on immigration. And look who is celebrating. The far-right.

There is a political alternative that won’t ever scapegoat those fleeing war, persecution and torture

join.greenparty.org.uk
Mahmood furious over asylum seeker taxi bills. Overton window has been obliterated

Reposted by David Murakami Wood

ntusikov.bsky.social
Natasha Tusikov @ntusikov.bsky.social · 19h
Shameful Canada: Security officials detain human rights expert on way to Canada for people's tribunal on Palestine, claim former UN official Peter Falk is a "national security" risk. www.cbc.ca/news/canada/...
Prominent legal scholar detained at Canadian border while on his way to a conference on Palestine | CBC News
A well-known academic and former UN special rapporteur says he was detained by customs agents in Toronto while on his way to speak at a conference on human rights violations against Palestinians.
www.cbc.ca

Reposted by Martin Paul Eve, David Murakami Wood, Kathleen Kennedy , and 1 more

sonjadrimmer.bsky.social
Sonja Drimmer @sonjadrimmer.bsky.social · 1d
Please believe me when I say that this meaningless, historically suspect slogan is being used to sell "AI." Here it is in the just-released November 2025 report on AI by Microsoft. www.microsoft.com/en-us/resear...
The history of human progress is, in many ways, the history of technology's diffusion. Among these advances, a few-what economists call general-purpose technologies-have had the greatest impact on humanity. The printing press democratized knowledge. The steam engine powered industry. Electricity transformed daily life and enabled computing. And the internet connected the world, accelerating the exchange of ideas, trade, and collaboration across borders.

Reposted by David Murakami Wood

casefullofbees.bsky.social
BriefcaseFullOfBees🐝 @casefullofbees.bsky.social · 1d
For the bees! (Honestly a lot of insects rely on leaves)
#info #bees #insects #themoreyouknow

Reposted by Dirk Pilat, David Murakami Wood

theguardian.com
The Guardian @theguardian.com · 1d
Israel breaching international law by limiting Gaza aid, says Unrwa official
Israel breaching international law by limiting Gaza aid, says Unrwa official
Natalie Boucly says supplies are ready but only about half of what is needed is getting into territory Israel is breaching international law by continuing to impose restrictions on aid flows into Gaza, where the population remains critically short of food and life-saving goods as winter sets in, a senior official at the UN agency for Palestinian refugees has said. In an interview during a recent visit to Brussels, Natalie Boucly, an Unrwa deputy commissioner general, said the whole world – including the EU and US – needed to increase the pressure on Israel’s government to ensure the unrestricted flow of aid into Gaza. Continue reading...
www.theguardian.com

Reposted by David Murakami Wood, Simon Lester

emma-briant.co.uk
Dr Emma L Briant @emma-briant.co.uk · 1d
British Columbia’s Attorney General says she’s “deeply disturbed” that the social media company X has filed a legal challenge against an order to remove a non-consensual intimate image from the internet. www.ctvnews.ca/vancouver/ar...
B.C. Attorney General ‘deeply disturbed’ by social media giant’s intimate image case
British Columbia’s Attorney General says she’s “deeply disturbed” that the social media company X has filed a legal challenge against an order to remove a non-consensual intimate image from the intern...
www.ctvnews.ca

ubisurv.net
keep your electric eye on me @ubisurv.net · 2d
'US is planning for the long-term division of #Gaza into a “green zone” under Israeli and international military control, where reconstruction would start, and a “red zone” to be left in ruins.'

www.theguardian.com/world/2025/n...

Oh, and currently most Palestinians are in the red zone...
US military planning for divided Gaza with ‘green zone’ secured by international and Israeli troops
Exclusive: Almost all Palestinians have been displaced to ‘red zone’ where no reconstruction is planned
www.theguardian.com

ubisurv.net
keep your electric eye on me @ubisurv.net · 2d
A few years ago I was talking around the place about #surveillance, #security and "ambient government." Looking back on it, I don't think I've bettered how I discussed this back then. So here is the talk I gave in Victoria back in 2014. Plus, I look so young!

www.youtube.com/watch?v=kR6d...
Vanishing Surveillance: Securityscapes and Ambient Government
YouTube video by David MW
www.youtube.com

Reposted by Joanna Bryson, Meredith Broussard, Ian Hall , and 10 more

felipegaonar.bsky.social
Felipe Gaona @felipegaonar.bsky.social · 2d
Open AI loses copyright case in Germany.

Judge Elke Schwager summarized the case saying that if you want to build something and need components, "then you purchase them and do not use the property of others."
Blow for OpenAI in Germany as court rules song lyrics used illegally
A German court ruled on Tuesday that OpenAI violated copyright on nine popular songs in a lawsuit that marked another attempt to prevent the free use of artists' content online. The Munich Regional Co...
www.yahoo.com

Reposted by Christopher Wright, David Murakami Wood, Ian Butler , and 1 more

brenttoderian.bsky.social
Brent Toderian @brenttoderian.bsky.social · 2d
Climate knowledge has been taken hostage to prevent climate action.

“It didn’t happen by accident. It’s the product of a deliberate and systematic assault on knowledge by some of the richest people on Earth. Preventing climate breakdown means protecting ourselves from the storm of lies.”
Dark forces are preventing us fighting the climate crisis – by taking knowledge hostage | George Monbiot
The fundamental problem is this: that most of the means of communication are owned or influenced by the very rich, says Guardian columnist George Monbiot
www.theguardian.com

Reposted by Steve Peers, Tim Bale, Patrick Walsh , and 9 more

stephencollins.bsky.social
Stephen Collins @stephencollins.bsky.social · 3d
Every ad now
[Scene is a kitchen - a middle aged woman called JANET is boiling peas at the stove. A younger more colourfully dressed woman named LIZ approached her.] JANET: Ugh... LIZ: What's up? JANET: I am so bored of cooking peas! LIZ: Have you tried... AI peas? JANET: AI peas? LIZ: They're peas with AI! [Liz holds up to us a packet of peas labelled: Pea-i AI - Peas with AI]. LIZ: Al-powered peas harness the potential of your peas JANET: What LIZ [Now a voiceover as we cut to a whizzy technology diagram of peas all connected by meaningless dotted lines] Why not take your peas to the next level with Al Peas' new Al tools to power your peas? [Show a techno diagram of a pea with a label reading 'AI' pointing to a random zone in it] LIZ: Each pea has Al in a way we haven't quite worked out yet but it's fine [Show Janet and Liz now in a Matrix-style world of peas] LIZ: With Al peas you can supercharge productivity and make AI work for your peas! JANET: What LIZ: Shut up LIZ: Our game-changing Pea-Al gives you the freedom to unlock the potential of the power of the future of your peas workflow From opening the bag of peas to boiling the peas to eating the peas To spending millions on adding Al to the peas and then having to work out what that even means. JANET: Is it really necessary to- LIZ [Grabbing Janet by the collar]: THE PEAS HAVE GOT AI, JANET [Cut to an advert ending screen, with the bag of peas and the slogan: AI PEAS: Just 'Peas' for god's sake buy the AI peas. [Ends]

Reposted by David Murakami Wood

ricochetmedia.bsky.social
Ricochet Media @ricochetmedia.bsky.social · 3d
Canada’s next extractive industry: How #AI is following the fossil fuel playbook.

Ottawa is betting on artificial intelligence. Just like #BigOil, Big Tech is building infrastructure that will be nearly impossible to dismantle.

New from @terraloire.bsky.social:

ricochet.media/climate/cana...
Canada's next extractive industry: How AI is following the fossil fuel playbook
Ottawa is betting nearly a billion on artificial intelligence, ignoring warnings of its environmental risks. Just like Big Oil, Big Tech is building infrastructure that will be nearly impossible to di...
ricochet.media

Reposted by Shannon Vallor, Juliet B. Schor, Fabián Muniesa , and 4 more

josephcox.bsky.social
Joseph Cox @josephcox.bsky.social · 3d
New: Google has chosen a side in Trump's mass deportation campaign. Google is hosting a CBP facial recognition app to hunt immigrants; no indication Google will remove. At same time Google takes down apps for reporting ICE sightings

“Big tech has made their choice”

www.404media.co/google-has-c...
Google Has Chosen a Side in Trump's Mass Deportation Effort
Google is hosting a CBP app that uses facial recognition to identify immigrants, while simultaneously removing apps that report the location of ICE officials because Google sees ICE as a vulnerable gr...
www.404media.co

ubisurv.net
keep your electric eye on me @ubisurv.net · 3d
As far as I can see, all of this makes AI-generated text virtually indistinguishable from average student work, or even low end professional academic writing, which makes my job even harder...

Reposted by David Murakami Wood

georgemonbiot.bsky.social
George Monbiot @georgemonbiot.bsky.social · 3d
1. Placing these two graphs side by side shows why we have a prisons crisis. They can also be seen as a kind of Authoritarianism Index, showing the trend in state attitudes.
On the left is the Crime Survey for England and Wales.
On the right is the UK prison population.
🧵1/8
Crime survey for England Wales, showing strong decline since 1996. Source: Office for National Statistics. https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/crimeandjustice/bulletins/crimeinenglandandwales/yearendingjune2025 UK prison population, showing major rise in England and Wales during the period in which crime has fallen. Source: House of Commons Library https://commonslibrary.parliament.uk/research-briefings/sn04334/

ubisurv.net
keep your electric eye on me @ubisurv.net · 4d
Finally published! I have a chapter, 'Platform City People', out in this fully #openaccess book, Being Human in the Digital World, edited by Val Steeves and Beate Roessler, from Cambridge. Please read everything in it!

www.cambridge.org/core/books/b...
Platform City People (Chapter 2) - Being Human in the Digital World
Being Human in the Digital World - November 2025
www.cambridge.org

Reposted by David Murakami Wood

josephcox.bsky.social
Joseph Cox @josephcox.bsky.social · 4d
New: a judge has ruled that Flock surveillance images are public records that can be requested by anyone. Shows that at least in some cases, police cannot withhold the data collected by its surveillance systems.

www.404media.co/judge-rules-...
Judge Rules Flock Surveillance Images Are Public Records That Can Be Requested By Anyone
A Washington judge said images taken by Flock cameras are "not exempt from disclosure" in public record requests.
www.404media.co

Reposted by David Murakami Wood

themoscowtimes.com
The Moscow Times @themoscowtimes.com · 5d
A new government decree expands Roskomnadzor’s authority to isolate or reroute internet traffic inside Russia in case of “specific threats.”
After Expanding Online Control, Lawmaker Insists Russia Will Stay Connected to Global Web - The Moscow Times
A senior lawmaker in Russia’s lower-house State Duma said Tuesday that the government has no plans to disconnect the country’s internet from the global web following debate over a decree that grants n...
www.themoscowtimes.com

Reposted by Fabián Muniesa, Stephen Ryan, David Murakami Wood

aljazeera.com
Al Jazeera English @aljazeera.com · 5d
Since the ceasefire took effect one month ago, Israeli attacks have killed at least 242 Palestinians and injured 622.
How many times has Israel violated the Gaza ceasefire? Here are the numbers
Since the ceasefire took effect one month ago, Israeli attacks have killed at least 242 Palestinians and injured 622.
bit.ly

Reposted by David Murakami Wood

elkeschwarz.bsky.social
Elke Schwarz @elkeschwarz.bsky.social · 5d
Europe is next

Reposted by David Murakami Wood

vashetc.bsky.social
vee.soy @vashetc.bsky.social · 6d
Just now seeing that this March event has been posted. I’m so excited for this and so grateful for this group of brilliant minds. I’ve been learning so much from them!

You can register here: www.disconetwork.org/disco-events...
A brown flyer titled: Against surveillance and spectacle: building global resistance to tech-mediated oppression Tuesday March 10 2026 from 4-5:30 est Weiser hall tenth floor and Zoom The description: What does it mean to be in community? This panel brings together activists, scholars, and writers to explore connections between critical social issues—health justice, discrimination, technofascism, and surveillance—and the possibilities of grassroots response. Panelists will discuss tensions between collectivizing and collaborating: How do we negotiate care when our access to care hinges on being identified and enumerated by the state? What tactics for resistance might we use in digital communities that are subject to increased surveillance? How can we be there for and with each other? All are welcome, and we strongly encourage undergraduate and graduate students to attend. Refreshments will be provided to the first 100 in-person attendees. Advance registration is recommended: Register to attend in-person: https://myumi.ch/kPNb2 Register to attend on Zoom: https://myumi.ch/g3bqG What does it mean to be in community? This panel brings together activists, scholars, and writers to explore connections between critical social issues—health justice, discrimination, technofascism, and surveillance—and the possibilities of grassroots response. Panelists will discuss tensions between collectivizing and collaborating: How do we negotiate care when our access to care hinges on being identified and enumerated by the state? What tactics for resistance might we use in digital communities that are subject to increased surveillance? How can we be there for and with each other? All are welcome, and we strongly encourage undergraduate and graduate students to attend. Refreshments will be provided to the first 100 in-person attendees. Advance registration is recommended: Register to attend in-person: https://myumi.ch/kPNb2 Register to attend on Zoom: https://myumi.ch/g3bqG

Reposted by Peter Thorne, James M. Bullock, Dominik Wiedenhofer , and 4 more

jasonhickel.bsky.social
Jason Hickel @jasonhickel.bsky.social · 6d
Yes, this is correct. And the reason is because our capitalist classes have decided that it is not sufficiently profitable, so they're not going to do it.

We must understand this reality. Capital *cannot* be relied upon to address the climate crisis.

Reposted by Helen Jarvis, David Murakami Wood

patrickdunleavy.bsky.social
Patrick Dunleavy @patrickdunleavy.bsky.social · 6d
Terror definition too broad, Starmer to be told
New advice could undermine the Palestine Action ban www.newstatesman.com/politics/uk-...
Terror definition too broad, Starmer to be told
New advice could undermine the Palestine Action ban
www.newstatesman.com

Reposted by David Murakami Wood

theintercept.com
The Intercept @theintercept.com · 6d
“YouTube is furthering the Trump administration’s agenda to remove evidence of human rights violations and war crimes.”
YouTube Quietly Erased More Than 700 Videos Documenting Israeli Human Rights Violations
The tech giant deleted the accounts of three prominent Palestinian human rights groups — a capitulation to Trump sanctions.
interc.pt

ubisurv.net
keep your electric eye on me @ubisurv.net · 6d
New American, Trump-ally, owners of notorious #spyware firm, #NSOGroup, say that they 'want to use NSO’s eavesdropping and surveillance technologies to “achieve a safer world.”' Sure, sure...

www.wsj.com/tech/israeli...
Israeli Spyware Maker NSO Gets New Owners, Leadership and Seeks to Mend Reputation
Investors led by Hollywood producer Robert Simonds have taken a controlling stake in the company behind Pegasus, and former Trump official David Friedman has been named executive chairman.
www.wsj.com

Reposted by David Murakami Wood

lorak.bsky.social
Lora Kolodny @lorak.bsky.social · 7d
Demand for subsea cables is increasing as tech giants race to develop computation-intensive artificial intelligence models and connect their growing networks of data centers. - via @cnbc.com www.cnbc.com/2025/11/08/b...
Underwater cables are a vital piece of the AI buildout and internet — investment is booming
Over 95% of international data and voice traffic travels through subsea telecom cables. Tech giants Meta, Google, Amazon and Microsoft are investing for AI.
www.cnbc.com

Reposted by David Murakami Wood

bloomberg.com
Bloomberg News @bloomberg.com · 7d
A 450-foot Prometheus. A 500-foot George Washington. Tech investors are racing to build colossal monuments celebrating Western power.
America’s Tech Right Is Obsessed With Building Giant Statues
With proposals for a 450-foot statue of Prometheus on Alcatraz and a 650-foot George Washington, MAGA adherents are racing to build America’s largest statue.
bloom.bg

Reposted by David Murakami Wood

eric-reinhart.com
Eric Reinhart @eric-reinhart.com · 7d
I have a feature essay for The Guardian today on the mirage of AI medicine, why care cannot be automated, and how overwhelming uptake of AI by American health capitalism threatens to undermine the very possibility of democracy.
www.theguardian.com/us-news/ng-i...
What we lose when we surrender care to algorithms | Eric Reinhart
A dangerous faith in AI is sweeping American healthcare – with consequences for the basis of society itself
www.theguardian.com

Reposted by Graham Webster, David Murakami Wood

davekarpf.bsky.social
Dave Karpf @davekarpf.bsky.social · 7d
Bahahahahaha The New York Times just printed an opinion piece declaring "AI is intelligent, so long as we redefine what intelligence means to include it. And soon AI will be conscious, because we'll just redefine consciousness too!"

Nothing means anything! Yay!

www.nytimes.com/2025/11/08/o...
Opinion | A.I. Is on Its Way to Something Even More Remarkable Than Intelligence
www.nytimes.com