Sim
@ratemypraxis.com
tech policy researcher and creative technologist
Homepage: https://2nd.systems
Mastodon: @sim@post.lurk.org
Homepage: https://2nd.systems
Mastodon: @sim@post.lurk.org
Reposted by Sim
"10a labs", a 'security research' firm employed by the big AI companies has begun collecting information and attacking organised opposition to data centres, framing them as "NIMBYS" and wildly exaggerating claims.
www.datacenterdynamics.com/en/news/grou...
www.datacenterdynamics.com/en/news/grou...
![Data Center Watch has published a report claiming that $64 billion worth of American data center projects were ‘threatened’ because of grassroots opposition.
Data Center Watch picture
A map produced by Data Center Watch tracking opposition to data centers in America
– Data Center Watch
The organization is backed by 10a Labs, an intelligence company specializing in AI security. Led by Robert McKenzie, a former adjunct professor of international and public affairs at Columbia University, it provides “intelligence collection, investigative research, and analysis for AI unicorns, Fortune 10 companies, and US tech leaders.”
The report claimed that $18bn worth of projects were ‘blocked’ and a further $46bn more were ‘delayed’ in the two years prior to March 2025.
It primarily attributed this opposition to local concern, identifying several “common themes” of opposition, such as “higher utility bills, water consumption, noise, impact on property value, and green space preservation.”
However, the report’s claims should be read with close attention to its definitions. For instance, ‘blocked’ projects include cases where a “company submits a new proposal with similar characteristics in a different but nearby location after withdrawing a previous project.”
Two examples, which amount to $14.5bn out of the total $18bn, fit this criterion.
The first is attributable to Tract, a company specializing in ‘master-planned’ data center parks, which withdrew a $14bn, 1,000-acre project located in Maricopa County, Arizona, in May 2024. Tract then announced in August of the same year that they had acquired a land parcel - double the size of the original project - within the same county for a data center park.
Whether Tract had already intended to develop a second facility prior to the withdrawal of the first is unclear. Grant von Rooyen, Tract’s CEO, previously told DCD that the company “very rarely [goes] into a market with only one solution… [Tract] will ultimately have multiple s…](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:66lbtw2porscqpmair6mir37/bafkreihtwegmocoffjawkkb5v5gtnkxsca76piog2t6mexzippglpwjnza@jpeg)
May 20, 2025 at 1:02 PM
"10a labs", a 'security research' firm employed by the big AI companies has begun collecting information and attacking organised opposition to data centres, framing them as "NIMBYS" and wildly exaggerating claims.
www.datacenterdynamics.com/en/news/grou...
www.datacenterdynamics.com/en/news/grou...
"If I can say no I should say no because it gives other people the option" ‼️
A solid tool we have to fight against the normalization of inappropriate and secretive uses of our data is to accept friction and opt-out when we can, when we know we can.
A solid tool we have to fight against the normalization of inappropriate and secretive uses of our data is to accept friction and opt-out when we can, when we know we can.
Had a lot of fun recording this! Thanks to @anikacolliernavaroli.com and @techpolicypress.bsky.social for the opportunity. www.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.
www.techpolicy.press
November 17, 2025 at 5:22 AM
"If I can say no I should say no because it gives other people the option" ‼️
A solid tool we have to fight against the normalization of inappropriate and secretive uses of our data is to accept friction and opt-out when we can, when we know we can.
A solid tool we have to fight against the normalization of inappropriate and secretive uses of our data is to accept friction and opt-out when we can, when we know we can.
Reposted by Sim
If you're in need of positive and rather wholesome news, there's a high school teacher named Bryan who took a ton of freely licensed celebrity headshots at the New York Film Festival last month for Wikipedia, and I truly can't believe how drastic the upgrade is for some articles (thread)
November 1, 2025 at 1:21 PM
If you're in need of positive and rather wholesome news, there's a high school teacher named Bryan who took a ton of freely licensed celebrity headshots at the New York Film Festival last month for Wikipedia, and I truly can't believe how drastic the upgrade is for some articles (thread)
Reposted by Sim
🔥🔥🔥
“AI” isn’t a tool or technology or even a cluster of technologies with a misleading name. It’s the infrastructure at the foundation of a form of capitalism dependent on data brokering. We should be teaching our students about this and not teaching them about “responsible” use.
September 28, 2025 at 2:46 AM
🔥🔥🔥
Reposted by Sim
Now this is a journalist who deserves respect.
August 26, 2025 at 1:01 AM
Now this is a journalist who deserves respect.
Reposted by Sim
In answer to your question, yes he is.
Why publish one story about A.I. gone wrong when you can publish two?
Here's my other story today on how the NYPD used facial recognition tech to arrest the wrong man for public lewdness.
The perp was 5'6''. Cops charged Trevis Williams, who is 6'2''.
www.nytimes.com/2025/08/26/n...
Here's my other story today on how the NYPD used facial recognition tech to arrest the wrong man for public lewdness.
The perp was 5'6''. Cops charged Trevis Williams, who is 6'2''.
www.nytimes.com/2025/08/26/n...
How the N.Y.P.D.’s Facial Recognition Tool Landed the Wrong Man in Jail
www.nytimes.com
August 26, 2025 at 7:34 PM
In answer to your question, yes he is.
Reposted by Sim
Last day to apply to our Fall classes eligible for extended application!
APPLICATIONS EXTENDED UNTIL THURSDAY at 11:59pm ET! You can still apply to three Fall classes:
🃏 Poetics & Politics of Sampling
♦️ OOPS! (Off-Purpose Software)
🃏 Interrogating Computational Approaches to Art
༻ Apply at forms.gle/hp5phtw1sPum...
Scholarships available!
🃏 Poetics & Politics of Sampling
♦️ OOPS! (Off-Purpose Software)
🃏 Interrogating Computational Approaches to Art
༻ Apply at forms.gle/hp5phtw1sPum...
Scholarships available!
August 7, 2025 at 9:15 PM
Last day to apply to our Fall classes eligible for extended application!
Reposted by Sim
The prospect of Google Zero — when referral traffic falls to zero — would have massive implications for news media, but also for so many people who run websites.
It was great to chat with @mattdpearce.com again to get his insights on what it all means.
It was great to chat with @mattdpearce.com again to get his insights on what it all means.
Google has long been a key source of traffic for news and all manner of sites across the web.
This week @mattdpearce.com joins @parismarx.com to discuss how Google’s pursuit of AI is causing fewer people to click through, causing traffic to plummet.
Full ep: techwontsave.us/episode/288_...
This week @mattdpearce.com joins @parismarx.com to discuss how Google’s pursuit of AI is causing fewer people to click through, causing traffic to plummet.
Full ep: techwontsave.us/episode/288_...
August 7, 2025 at 4:54 PM
The prospect of Google Zero — when referral traffic falls to zero — would have massive implications for news media, but also for so many people who run websites.
It was great to chat with @mattdpearce.com again to get his insights on what it all means.
It was great to chat with @mattdpearce.com again to get his insights on what it all means.
Reposted by Sim
📢 NEW: Our introductory tip sheet on digital security for journalists & civil servants working under pressure. 📢
Co-authors @bostonjoan.bsky.social & @threatc.at offer 📌 five basic steps 📌 for truth-telling practitioners to protect their work & their communities www.criticalinternet.org/research
Co-authors @bostonjoan.bsky.social & @threatc.at offer 📌 five basic steps 📌 for truth-telling practitioners to protect their work & their communities www.criticalinternet.org/research
Research — The Critical Internet Studies Institute
www.criticalinternet.org
March 19, 2025 at 3:15 PM
📢 NEW: Our introductory tip sheet on digital security for journalists & civil servants working under pressure. 📢
Co-authors @bostonjoan.bsky.social & @threatc.at offer 📌 five basic steps 📌 for truth-telling practitioners to protect their work & their communities www.criticalinternet.org/research
Co-authors @bostonjoan.bsky.social & @threatc.at offer 📌 five basic steps 📌 for truth-telling practitioners to protect their work & their communities www.criticalinternet.org/research
Reposted by Sim
“GPT-5 is the first time that it feels like talking to an expert in any topic — a Ph.D.-level expert,” OpenAI CEO Sam Altman said.
August 7, 2025 at 8:36 PM
“GPT-5 is the first time that it feels like talking to an expert in any topic — a Ph.D.-level expert,” OpenAI CEO Sam Altman said.
Reposted by Sim
SCOOP: A CBP agent wore Meta's AI smart glasses to an immigration raid in Los Angeles. CBP has no deal with Meta so it's possibly his own personal device
www.404media.co/a-cbp-agent-...
www.404media.co/a-cbp-agent-...
A CBP Agent Wore Meta Smart Glasses to an Immigration Raid in Los Angeles
Video obtained and verified by 404 Media shows a CBP official wearing Meta's AI glasses, which are capable of recording and connecting with AI. “I think it should be seen in the context of an agency t...
www.404media.co
August 7, 2025 at 7:39 PM
SCOOP: A CBP agent wore Meta's AI smart glasses to an immigration raid in Los Angeles. CBP has no deal with Meta so it's possibly his own personal device
www.404media.co/a-cbp-agent-...
www.404media.co/a-cbp-agent-...
Reposted by Sim
Discovered today that not everyone considers this nine year old viral tweet a seminal text in the field of social media studies but I do
August 2, 2025 at 8:15 AM
Discovered today that not everyone considers this nine year old viral tweet a seminal text in the field of social media studies but I do
Reposted by Sim
Amazon union organizer Chris Smalls has been severely beaten and faces ongoing mistreatment in Israeli detention. He is the only Black person who was on the Gaza freedom flotilla. Graphics: Gazafreedomflotilla ig
July 29, 2025 at 2:26 PM
Amazon union organizer Chris Smalls has been severely beaten and faces ongoing mistreatment in Israeli detention. He is the only Black person who was on the Gaza freedom flotilla. Graphics: Gazafreedomflotilla ig
I'm v excited to support this online course that explores affordances, risks, and other ideas in the computational art realm :+) apply by Sunday 08/03 if you'd like to join! Full and partial scholarships available ❤
What is a poetic computation work made of? What are its materials?
Join us this September to discuss what's behind computational art in Interrogating Computational Approaches to Art, a 5-week class taught online by Yelly Arenyeka with Lee Nok’si Livingston and Sim.
༻ Apply @ sfpc.study
Join us this September to discuss what's behind computational art in Interrogating Computational Approaches to Art, a 5-week class taught online by Yelly Arenyeka with Lee Nok’si Livingston and Sim.
༻ Apply @ sfpc.study
July 28, 2025 at 9:27 PM
I'm v excited to support this online course that explores affordances, risks, and other ideas in the computational art realm :+) apply by Sunday 08/03 if you'd like to join! Full and partial scholarships available ❤
Reposted by Sim
⚡ Use the Internet Archive like a Hacker-Librarian! 🔮
A hands-on workshop to demystify the CLI and use it as a superpower for archiving, accessing, and uploading content to @archive.org.
Hosted by @zkavclub.bsky.social and @tommi.space
🗓️ Jul 3, 16:00 UTC (9 PDT, 18 CEST)
ℹ️ Info + registration
A hands-on workshop to demystify the CLI and use it as a superpower for archiving, accessing, and uploading content to @archive.org.
Hosted by @zkavclub.bsky.social and @tommi.space
🗓️ Jul 3, 16:00 UTC (9 PDT, 18 CEST)
ℹ️ Info + registration
July 2, 2025 at 6:58 PM
⚡ Use the Internet Archive like a Hacker-Librarian! 🔮
A hands-on workshop to demystify the CLI and use it as a superpower for archiving, accessing, and uploading content to @archive.org.
Hosted by @zkavclub.bsky.social and @tommi.space
🗓️ Jul 3, 16:00 UTC (9 PDT, 18 CEST)
ℹ️ Info + registration
A hands-on workshop to demystify the CLI and use it as a superpower for archiving, accessing, and uploading content to @archive.org.
Hosted by @zkavclub.bsky.social and @tommi.space
🗓️ Jul 3, 16:00 UTC (9 PDT, 18 CEST)
ℹ️ Info + registration
Reposted by Sim
🌎🍃 ITP Resident Mary Mark (aka Dr Markhvida) took us to the NYU Climate Initiative Conference, where she presented her research with ITP Prof. Yuliya Parshina-Kottas, visualizing climate disasters before they happen so that communities can feel prepared and empowered.
June 24, 2025 at 4:26 PM
🌎🍃 ITP Resident Mary Mark (aka Dr Markhvida) took us to the NYU Climate Initiative Conference, where she presented her research with ITP Prof. Yuliya Parshina-Kottas, visualizing climate disasters before they happen so that communities can feel prepared and empowered.
Reposted by Sim
Palantir used to have affinity groups and DEI as late as 2022, and I had the logos saved on my phone because they pissed me off so much and of course they buried those pages. But I never forgot.
June 20, 2025 at 11:48 PM
Palantir used to have affinity groups and DEI as late as 2022, and I had the logos saved on my phone because they pissed me off so much and of course they buried those pages. But I never forgot.
Reposted by Sim
A reporter from The City had overheard one agent say to another minutes before Lander’s arrest, “Do you want to arrest the Comptroller?”
www.thecity.nyc/2025/06/17/b...
www.thecity.nyc/2025/06/17/b...
Brad Lander Detained by Masked Federal Agents Inside Immigration Court
The arrest came in his latest visit to the courthouse to speak with migrants there.
www.thecity.nyc
June 17, 2025 at 5:20 PM
A reporter from The City had overheard one agent say to another minutes before Lander’s arrest, “Do you want to arrest the Comptroller?”
www.thecity.nyc/2025/06/17/b...
www.thecity.nyc/2025/06/17/b...
wth
After 17 years, Mozilla will shut down Pocket on July 8, 2025, with data export available until October 8, 2025. Fakespot will also be discontinued on June 10, 2025
buff.ly
May 23, 2025 at 2:49 AM
wth
Reposted by Sim
Signal has introduced a new screenshot security setting on Windows 11, protecting your chats from Windows Recall, a privacy-invasive feature that takes periodic screenshots of your open apps. This setting is enabled by default on Signal desktop on Windows 11.
buff.ly/xAwBlvv
buff.ly/xAwBlvv
May 22, 2025 at 11:06 AM
Signal has introduced a new screenshot security setting on Windows 11, protecting your chats from Windows Recall, a privacy-invasive feature that takes periodic screenshots of your open apps. This setting is enabled by default on Signal desktop on Windows 11.
buff.ly/xAwBlvv
buff.ly/xAwBlvv
Reposted by Sim
NEW: Senate Democrats are pushing to reform major aspects of the Privacy Act, including the long-panned "routine use" exemption. The law was passed 50 years ago amid rampant government abuses and rising public fears that mirror many of those rattling Americans today.
www.wired.com/story/democr...
www.wired.com/story/democr...
March 31, 2025 at 8:48 PM
NEW: Senate Democrats are pushing to reform major aspects of the Privacy Act, including the long-panned "routine use" exemption. The law was passed 50 years ago amid rampant government abuses and rising public fears that mirror many of those rattling Americans today.
www.wired.com/story/democr...
www.wired.com/story/democr...
Reposted by Sim
new database of 200+ social media research tools (via Coalition for Independent Technology Research) airtable.com/apphRmVsFpqb...
#digitalmethods #internetstudies #opensource @digitalmethods.net
#digitalmethods #internetstudies #opensource @digitalmethods.net
Airtable | Everyone's app platform
Airtable is a low-code platform for building collaborative apps. Customize your workflow, collaborate, and achieve ambitious outcomes. Get started for free.
airtable.com
March 20, 2025 at 1:45 PM
new database of 200+ social media research tools (via Coalition for Independent Technology Research) airtable.com/apphRmVsFpqb...
#digitalmethods #internetstudies #opensource @digitalmethods.net
#digitalmethods #internetstudies #opensource @digitalmethods.net
Reposted by Sim
Facial recognition company Clearview attempted to buy Social Security numbers and mugshots for its database.
🔗 www.404media.co/facial-recog...
🔗 www.404media.co/facial-recog...
Facial Recognition Company Clearview Attempted to Buy Social Security Numbers and Mugshots for its Database
Clearview AI spent nearly a million dollars in a bid to purchase “690 million arrest records and 390 million arrest photos” from all 50 states, court records reveal.
www.404media.co
March 19, 2025 at 7:43 PM
Facial recognition company Clearview attempted to buy Social Security numbers and mugshots for its database.
🔗 www.404media.co/facial-recog...
🔗 www.404media.co/facial-recog...
Reposted by Sim
NEW: Dataminr, an official X partner, is helping the LAPD surveil protests against the Israeli war on Gaza across both in LA and across the United States. This includes tipping the department off about protests that are still in the planning stages. theintercept.com/2025/03/17/l...
LAPD Surveilled Gaza Protests Using This Social Media Tool
Police records obtained by The Intercept show Dataminr tracked Gaza-related protests and other constitutionally protected speech.
theintercept.com
March 17, 2025 at 4:02 PM
NEW: Dataminr, an official X partner, is helping the LAPD surveil protests against the Israeli war on Gaza across both in LA and across the United States. This includes tipping the department off about protests that are still in the planning stages. theintercept.com/2025/03/17/l...