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The Distributed AI Research (DAIR) Institute

@dairinstitute.bsky.social
7.1K followers 154 following 189 posts

AI is not inevitable. We DAIR to imagine, build & use AI deliberately. Website: dair-institute.org Mastodon: @DAIR@dair-community.social LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/dair-insti…

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The Distributed AI Research (DAIR) Institute @dairinstitute.bsky.social · 05/10/2026
Join us for the launch of our new resource, an archive of 2010s higher ed protest in the U.S. and Canada, designed for campus activists and others working on left and liberatory organizing. Register on Eventbrite for a panel discussion and tour of the site: www.eventbrite.com/e/launching-...
a white graphic with an image of picketing workers, carrying blue signs that read "on legal strike." Black text reads: A Decade of Mass Campus Protests Website Launch Event, October 20, 2026 9am PT/ 12PM ET

"Join the Distributed AI Research Institute as we launch 
our new resource, “A Decade of Mass Campus Protests: An Archive of U.S. and Canadian Higher Ed Activism in the 2010s.” 

This new website chronicles campus protest, especially 
anti-racist protest, during the turbulent 2010s.

Join us for a panel discussion and site tour.

Register at: bit.ly/decade-of-campus-protest
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The Distributed AI Research (DAIR) Institute @dairinstitute.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
How can we build an organized force for tech justice? Oakland Tech Week is exploring the possibilities. DAIR's @timnitgebru.blacksky.app will be there in conversation with @parismarx.com and others. Event is sold out, but visit the OTW website for info on virtual options: urlvanish.com/6fe70bc9
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The Distributed AI Research (DAIR) Institute @dairinstitute.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
Looking forward to this pre-screening panel at #OaklandTechWeek on Tuesday 9/29. DAIR's @alexhanna.bsky.social will be in good company! Register at the Oakland Tech week website: oaklandtechweek.com/sessions/gho... @mediajustice.bsky.social @ghostdoc2026.bsky.social
a black graphic with neon green text reading "Building Beyond Big Tech: Screening Announcement: New Parkway Theater, Tuesday September 29th, 5:30-8:30PM, Panel 6PM, Film starts 6:30PM. Questions? Contact eli@mediajustice.com. A black graphic with neon green text reads "Building Beyond Big Tech: Film Panel Announcement." Under it are circular photos of four speakers. Steven Renderos, Moderator, a person with light-brown skin and a beard, Dr. Alex Hanna, a person with light brown skin in a black shirt, Thema Monroe-White, a person with dark brown skin and short black hair, and Sam Biddle, a person with light skin and short dark hair.
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The Distributed AI Research (DAIR) Institute @dairinstitute.bsky.social · 17/09/2026
DAIR's @dylnbkr.bsky.social weighed in on the mythical "kill switch" for @scientificamerican.bsky.social. Mitigating the harms of AI, as with any industry or technology, will instead require robust external regulation and safeguards. www.scientificamerican.com/article/what...
black text on a white background, reads: Dylan Baker, a research engineer at the Distributed AI Research Institute, goes further: the switch metaphor itself is the problem. “There’s such a complex ecosystem and web of interconnected technologies that we’re talking about that boiling this down to a single kill switch or ‘slowdown’ is reductive,” they say.
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The Distributed AI Research (DAIR) Institute @dairinstitute.bsky.social · 11/09/2026
Join us for a virtual event to commemorate the Lampedusa shipwreck tragedy and discuss the human consequences of the growing use of surveillance, data and AI in migration control. Register here: us02web.zoom.us/webinar/regi...
flyer for DAIR virtual event on October 1, 2026 from 6-8PM CET. Hear details in post caption
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The Distributed AI Research (DAIR) Institute @dairinstitute.bsky.social · 03/09/2026
New on Mystery AI Hype Theater 3000!: @alexhanna.bsky.social and @emilymbender.bsky.social explore the gulf between what the tech companies say the impact of "AI" on labor is and the reality: job discrimination and gig-ification. Listen here: www.buzzsprout.com/2126417/epis...
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The Distributed AI Research (DAIR) Institute @dairinstitute.bsky.social · 27/07/2026
New on Mystery AI Hype Theater 3000!: AI boosters want to hand off emergency services to the bullshit generators. @emilymbender.bsky.social and @alexhanna.bsky.social take on the latest automated horrors threatening our collective health and safety. Listen here: www.buzzsprout.com/2126417/epis...
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The Distributed AI Research (DAIR) Institute @dairinstitute.bsky.social · 30/06/2026
“‘AI’ might not be good for xyz, but you can’t deny that it’s helpful for programming” -- sound familiar? In the latest episode of Mystery AI Hype Theater 3000 @emilymbender.bsky.social and @alexhanna.bsky.social challenge the bullshit. www.buzzsprout.com/2126417/epis...
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The Distributed AI Research (DAIR) Institute @dairinstitute.bsky.social · 29/04/2026
NEW: Mystery AI Hype Theater 3000 Episode 76: There's No Ghost in the Machine In which @alexhanna.bsky.social and @emilymbender.bsky.social are joined by author Carmen Maria Machado to unpack what writers are missing when they hand off their work to chatbots... www.buzzsprout.com/2126417/epis...
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The Distributed AI Research (DAIR) Institute @dairinstitute.bsky.social · 01/04/2026
NEW: Mystery AI Hype Theater 3000 - Data Centers Go Nuclear In which @mwoluchem.bsky.social and @livgar.bsky.social join @emilymbender.bsky.social and @alexhanna.bsky.social to get into data center infrastructure build out and resistance in Pennsylvania. www.buzzsprout.com/2126417/epis...
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The Distributed AI Research (DAIR) Institute @dairinstitute.bsky.social · 18/03/2026
New! Mystery AI Hype Theater 3000 episode 73: Data Centers In Space?! In which @adambecker.bsky.social joins @alexhanna.bsky.social and @emilymbender.bsky.social to laugh at tech bro's sci-fi space dreams. www.buzzsprout.com/2126417/epis...
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The Distributed AI Research (DAIR) Institute @dairinstitute.bsky.social · 27/02/2026
NEW! Mystery AI Hype Theater 3000: How the War Department Learned to Stop Worrying and Love AI @naomiaklein.bsky.social joins @emilymbender.bsky.social & @alexhanna.bsky.social to discuss how AI boosters & the US military are engaged in a lethal love affair. www.buzzsprout.com/2126417/epis...
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The Distributed AI Research (DAIR) Institute @dairinstitute.bsky.social · 16/02/2026
Introducing…new Mystery AI Hype Theater 3000 merch! Here’s our very own @emilymbender.bsky.social modelling our “Always Read The Footnotes” t-shirt along with Fresh AI Hell and Mathy Maths mugs! To get your own, and to check out the rest of our swag, head to: store.dair-institute.org
Emily Bender, a white woman with curly brown hair, glasses and a big smile, wears a red t-shirt that reads: Always Read The Footnotes. She is holding up a mug that has a yellow warning sign on it containing a black exclamation mark. The text reads: Fresh AI Hell. 
Emily Bender, a white woman with curly brown hair, glasses and a big smile, wears a red t-shirt that reads: Always Read The Footnotes. She is holding up a black mug printed with white text that reads: Tearing Down MATHY MATHS Since 2022
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The Distributed AI Research (DAIR) Institute @dairinstitute.bsky.social · 13/02/2026
NEW: Mystery AI Hype Theater 3000 Episode 71: A Bad Case of Hype-itis @emilymbender.bsky.social and @alexhanna.bsky.social tackle Dr. ChatGPT. What's the cure for an expensive and inaccessible health care system? One thing's for sure — it's not AI hype. www.buzzsprout.com/2126417/epis...
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The Distributed AI Research (DAIR) Institute @dairinstitute.bsky.social · 15/01/2026
Remember Time mag's 2025 Person of the Year "AI" cover? In the latest episode of Mystery AI Hype Theater 3000, @emilymbender.bsky.social and @alexhanna.bsky.social break down the image & take stock of the Bullshit Mountain that was the last year in "AI". www.buzzsprout.com/2126417/epis...
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The Distributed AI Research (DAIR) Institute @dairinstitute.bsky.social · 18/12/2025
NEW: Mystery AI Hype Theater 3000, Episode 68: This is What Algo-cracy Looks Like Tech bros say automation can strengthen democracy. @alexhanna.bsky.social and @emilymbender.bsky.social unpack their flimsy arguments about the democratic process. www.buzzsprout.com/2126417/epis...
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The Distributed AI Research (DAIR) Institute @dairinstitute.bsky.social · 04/12/2025
🎧 NEW Mystery AI Hype Theater 3000...in which DAIR's own @sophiesong.bsky.social joins @emilymbender.bsky.social and @alexhanna.bsky.social to talk about how some defenders of worker’s rights would rather talk to ChatGPT than, you know, actual workers. peertube.dair-institute.org/w/xt56PHSUeq...
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The Distributed AI Research (DAIR) Institute @dairinstitute.bsky.social · 24/11/2025
Catch up on the latest episode of Mystery AI Hype Theater 3000! 🎃 🔥 In which @emilymbender.bsky.social and @alexhanna.bsky.social tackle another “All Hell” episode! Join them as they work their way through the horrors... 🔥🎃 Listen here: www.buzzsprout.com/2126417/epis...
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The Distributed AI Research (DAIR) Institute @dairinstitute.bsky.social · 31/10/2025
🎧 NEW: Mystery AI Hype Theater 3000 podcast episode 65 - 'Crunching The Numbers' 📈 @emilymbender.bsky.social & @alexhanna.bsky.social talk to journalist @deccamuldowney.bsky.social about how so-called AI tools are infiltrating newsrooms, particularly when it comes to data analysis. 🔗 Below ⬇️
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The Distributed AI Research (DAIR) Institute @dairinstitute.bsky.social · 28/10/2025
POSSIBLE FUTURES WORKSHOP 🗣️ Looking for a fun, hopeful activity to stretch your imaginative muscle? 🌻 If you’re in the Seattle area, @dylnbkr.bsky.social will be hosting a free in person Possible Futures workshop on November 16 @ 2pm PST. 🪴 RSVP at www.eventbrite.com/e/dair-prese... to attend.
The cover of the zine, "Possible Futures" written in all caps in black at the top, with a white background. Then there is a blue background for most of the rest of the cover, with sketches of people all over the cover.Left, an excerpt of the zine by Adrienne who is a middle school teacher. There are a bunch of plants and crayons, with the writing." There is as much art as there is science"  

Right, an excerpt from Margaret Mitchell, AI Researcher, with a bunch of cutouts. One says ";Road to Utopia", another says "Its influence begins in the plastic years". "Always Buy" "More Performance." "Order these now." "With open eyes and open minds, we can see so much more," and there is a picture of a yellow butterfly. Then more writing, "We are fierce curious, strong" "Giving back, climb mountains howl with the wind.""
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The Distributed AI Research (DAIR) Institute @dairinstitute.bsky.social · 22/10/2025
🚨NEW🚨 from DAIR: Today we are releasing "Driven Down", a new report on how workplace technology enables Amazon to steal wages, hide labor, intensify poor working conditions, and evade responsibility. Read the full report here: drive.google.com/file/d/1yBxy...
Amazon is Building a Surveillance Empire on the Backs of Delivery Drivers. A new report from the Distributed AI Research Institute (DAIR) exposes the dark underbelly of technology-driven workplace surveillance.” Above the text is an old school television with an antenna featuring a surveillance snapshot from a camera inside of an Amazon delivery van. The Amazon logo is upside down and is a frown. Around the television are disembodied eyes and ears.
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The Distributed AI Research (DAIR) Institute @dairinstitute.bsky.social · 15/10/2025
In the latest episode of Mystery AI Hype Theater 3000, journalist @reveleth.com joins @alexhanna.bsky.social & @emilymbender.bsky.social to talk about how tech bosses love science fiction novels, but can't seem to understand them! Listen here: www.buzzsprout.com/2126417/epis...
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The Distributed AI Research (DAIR) Institute @dairinstitute.bsky.social · 13/10/2025
In her Possible Futures entry, Kathleen Siminyu writes about creating an oral archive of her elders' knowledge. "Dialects carry unique histories, proverbs, and ways of naming the world" she writes. 📖 Read the piece at www.dair-institute.org/blog/tech-fo...
Profiles of two Black women, an elder with grey hair, and a young woman wearing cornrows, facing each other. The young woman is listening on her headphones. The headphones are plugged into an electronic device which also has the structure of a tree.
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The Distributed AI Research (DAIR) Institute @dairinstitute.bsky.social · 02/10/2025
Happy 3rd birthday to the Mystery AI Hype Theater 3000 podcast! 🎂 To celebrate, @emilymbender.bsky.social and @alexhanna.bsky.social recorded a special episode to answer listener questions about the show, & reflect on the past & future of AI hype. Listen here: www.buzzsprout.com/2126417/epis...
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The Distributed AI Research (DAIR) Institute @dairinstitute.bsky.social · 19/09/2025
Join us now as @alex and @emilymbender celebrate THREE years and 250,000 downloads of The Mystery AI Hype Theater 3000 podcast! 🎉🎉 🎉
Screenshot of Alex and Emily hosting the Mystery AI Hype Theater 3000 podcast
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The Distributed AI Research (DAIR) Institute @dairinstitute.bsky.social · 28/08/2025
🎉 Congratulations to our own @milamiceli.bsky.social for being on TIME's 100 list of "innovators, leaders, & thinkers reshaping our world through groundbreaking advances in" AI. Mila is recognized for her innovative Data Workers' Inquiry, a worker led investigation of the impact of data work. 🧵
A headshot of Mila with the text "TIME 100/AI"
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The Distributed AI Research (DAIR) Institute @dairinstitute.bsky.social · 07/07/2025
The belly of surveillance capitalism can only be exposed by following the money to understanding who's complicit in the usage of tech for war crimes, genocides, any other grave injustices etc.
Diagram showing Andreessen Horowitz investments. 

Text says "Surveillance Tech They're Funding."

diagram shows list: 
Auterion
Anduril
Flock Safety
Shield AI
Skydio
Toka
Foursquare

Which cover
Surveillance Drones
AI Powered
Data Broker
Forensic Extraction
Student Monitoring
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The Distributed AI Research (DAIR) Institute @dairinstitute.bsky.social · 15/05/2025
🔇🔇🔇Join us for an honest conversation with some of the people forging a better digital future. Event will be recorded for those who can't make it. ⏰ Thursday May 30th at 10am PDT/1pm EDT ➡️ Register at www.eventbrite.com/e/imagining-... More info on our amazing speakers below🧵
A flyer of with headshots of the featured speakers. Cat Small, product designer, game maker. Rudy Fraser founder, Blacksky
Ra'il I'Nasah Kiam, indi scholar, artist. Roland X. Pulliam. Founder, heuristic instruments.
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The Distributed AI Research (DAIR) Institute @dairinstitute.bsky.social · 13/05/2025
For May Day, former content moderator Fasica & our intern Nuredin wrote a short piece imagining a safer future for content moderators. www.dair-institute.org/blog/imagini...
An abstract illustration of a content moderator, a Black woman, wearing a yellow top and pants, smiling and working on her laptop. She is sitting on a smart phone, and behind her is a writing #Content moderator, and illustrations of various buttons she uses in her work like "Remove."
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The Distributed AI Research (DAIR) Institute @dairinstitute.bsky.social · 04/05/2025
Join us tomorrow for another Mystery AI Hype Theater 3000 livestream with @alexhanna.bsky.social & @emilymbender.bsky.social. Alex & Emily will be joined by @petramolnar.com to discuss border & immigration technologies. ⏰ Monday May 5 @ 12pm PDT/ 3pm EDT/8pm BST/ ✴️ www.twitch.tv/dair_institute
The Mystery AI Hype Theater 3000 logo with each of the words written in boxes in black, white, white and yellow font, and white, blue, red and green backgrounds. The background of the whole image is purple.
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The Distributed AI Research (DAIR) Institute @dairinstitute.bsky.social · 22/04/2025
Thank you to Surveillance Watch for tracking ICE contractors, many of whom were involved in surveilling and selling data of student protestors to ICE. Go to www.surveillancewatch.io for more detailed information.
A screenshot of Surveillance Watch showing the drop down option of filtering by ICE Contractors.
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The Distributed AI Research (DAIR) Institute @dairinstitute.bsky.social · 07/02/2025
🔇🔇🔇 Will you be at the AI Action Summit next week? ➡️ If so, catch our very own Nyalleng Moorosi at the main stage on Tuesday February 11. She will be on a panel discussing sustainable AI systems, bringing calm to the dizzying AI Hype. See the program at www.elysee.fr/en/sommet-po....
An illustration of an elderly Black man with a white beard wearing a triangular straw hat, and a metallic robot looking machine behind him, facing the opposite way.Headshot of Nyalleng, a Black woman with short hair, facing the camera.
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The Distributed AI Research (DAIR) Institute @dairinstitute.bsky.social · 09/01/2025
📣Join @alexhanna.bsky.social & @emilymbender.bsky.social for the 1st Mystery AI Hype Theater 3k livestream this year. ⏰12pm pacific. ➡️https://twitch.tv/dair_institute We'll start 2025 by ridiculing ARC, o3 & all things OpenAI. Until then, catch up on prior episodes @ dair-institute.org/maiht3k/.
Mystery AI Hype Theater 3000 written in a purple background.
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The Distributed AI Research (DAIR) Institute @dairinstitute.bsky.social · 04/12/2024
We'll still be busting AI hype as we wind down in December. Join @alexhanna.bsky.social & @emilymbender.bsky.social in the next iteration of Mystery AI Hype Theater 3000 this Monday December 9 at 12pm pacific. Live Stream: www.twitch.tv/dair_institute Past Episodes: www.dair-institute.org/maiht3k/
Mystery AI Hype Theater 30000 written in white with purple background.
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