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Ayona Datta

@ayonadatta.bsky.social
1.1K followers 318 following 47 posts

Prof of Human Geography, FAcSS, University College London, UK PI: ERC Adv Grant www.regionalfutures.org Researching #digitalisation #urbanisation #futures #globalsouth Editor: urbangeography.bsky.social Web: ayonadatta.com

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Reposted by Ayona Datta
keep your electric eye on me @ubisurv.net · 09/09/2026
@mehdighassemi.bsky.social and I have a piece out on #NEOM 's dreams of "digital air" in this excellent new special Mediapolis dossier on The Synthetic City. #smartcities #AI #AIcities www.mediapolisjournal.com/dossiers/dos...
mediapolisjournal.com
Dossier: The Synthetic City
Dossier editors: Scott Rodgers, Helena Atteneder, Lou Brandner, Marcos Dias, Diogo Pereira Henriques and Sara Trentham-Black Scott Rodgers, Helena Atteneder, Lou Brandner, Marcos Dias, …
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Fenna Imara Hoefsloot @fennaimara.bsky.social · 10/08/2026
New paper out with @ayonadatta.bsky.social in @proghumgeog.bsky.social: we use topology (yes, the maths of doughnuts) to rethink how digital tech reshapes territory. Boundaries stop being lines and start being stretchy continuums. Presence is relational. Land stays stubborn. doi.org/10.1177/0309...
doi.org
Sage Journals: Discover world-class research
Subscription and open access journals from Sage, the world's leading independent academic publisher.
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Ayona Datta @ayonadatta.bsky.social · 04/06/2026
Look forward to delivering Singapore Journal of Tropical Geography plenary in @rgs.org conference in London, 4th Sept Titled 'Time-bound: Entanglements of digitalisation and urbanisation across global peripheries' with discussants @profgillian.bsky.social @robkitchin.bsky.social & Balawansuk Lynrah
event.ac2026.exordo.com
RGS-IBG Annual International Conference 2026 | Ex Ordo
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Rob Kitchin @robkitchin.bsky.social · 05/05/2026
Embodied statecraft: The endurance of zhǐ jiè (pointing at the boundary) in Taiwan's land digitalisation by Wen-I Lin and @ayonadatta.bsky.social in Political Geography www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
sciencedirect.com
Embodied statecraft: The endurance of zhǐ jiè (pointing at the boundary) in Taiwan's land digitalisation
This paper examines the practice of "embodied statecraft" as fundamental to Taiwanese government’s ‘One Nation, One Map’ (ONOM) land digitalisation in…
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Reposted by Ayona Datta
Ookwee @ookwee.bsky.social · 01/01/2026
1er Janvier 2026, 08h15, je viens de faire la connaissance d’Ayona Datta (en pensant à @mhoussayh.cpesr.fr ). Merci à la prof de géographie de l’aînée pour cette découverte et merci/pas merci de demander à des enfants de 15 ans de comprendre tous les concepts présentés dans ce type d’articles.
fr.wikipedia.org
Ayona Datta — Wikipédia
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Fenna Imara Hoefsloot @fennaimara.bsky.social · 09/01/2026
📢 CfP 'Researching the Digitalising State' RGSIBG 2026, London 2026. We will explore methods for researching the digitalising state and its challenges: restricted access, confidentiality barriers, outsourced governance, and rapidly changing technologies. www.regionalfutures.org/all-outputs/...
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Anwesha Aditi @anweshaaditi.bsky.social · 03/09/2025
Grateful to present my work at Regional Futures conference at UCL @uclgeography.bsky.social 🌍✨ So much to learn, share & take back, from thought-provoking panels to inspiring conversations in between. Huge thanks to @ayonadatta.bsky.social & the team for making this space so rich & welcoming!
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UCL Press @uclpress.bsky.social · 07/08/2025
Congratulations to @ayonadatta.bsky.social and Fenna Imara Hoefsloot! Their #OpenAccess book Informational Peripheries published earlier this week. Read & download free at: bit.ly/4l76QR4 #UrbanTheory #Digitalisation #DataPolitics
bit.ly
Informational Peripheries
Urbanisation and urban life in a digital age needs to be examined through a lens of information – encompassing both its politics and its geographies. The periphery in an information age is located sim...
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Reposted by Ayona Datta
Fenna Imara Hoefsloot @fennaimara.bsky.social · 05/08/2025
Informational Peripheries is out now with @uclpress.bsky.social! It brings together critical perspectives on how information flows (or doesn’t) across the edges of systems: archives, infrastructures, digital divides, and more. Edited with @ayonadatta.bsky.social 🙌 uclpress.co.uk/book/informa...
uclpress.co.uk
Informational Peripheries
Urbanisation and urban life in a digital age needs to be examined through a lens of information – encompassing both its politics and its geographies. The periphery in an information age is located sim...
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Ayona Datta @ayonadatta.bsky.social · 05/08/2025
Our 'Informational Peripheries' book is now published and out for the world to read in paperback and online free #openaccess. Edited with @fennaimara.bsky.social It has been a pleasure working with @uclpress.bsky.social Read & download free at: bit.ly/4l76QR4 @uclgeography.bsky.social
bit.ly
Informational Peripheries
Urbanisation and urban life in a digital age needs to be examined through a lens of information – encompassing both its politics and its geographies. The periphery in an information age is located sim...
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UCL Department of Geography @uclgeography.bsky.social · 31/07/2025
🌍 Fieldwork in the Global South: @ayonadatta.bsky.social maps how digital tech reshapes urban peripheries, from Nairobi to Mumbai. 🛰️ Read the full story: tinyurl.com/ucl-digimap #UCLGeography #Fieldwork #UrbanGeography #DigitalUrbanisation @ucl.ac.uk @erc.europa.eu
A deindustrialising powerloom town which is now a burgeoning global logistics centre in the peripheries of Mumbai. Photo: Ayona DattaA deindustrialising powerloom town which is now a burgeoning global logistics centre in the peripheries of Mumbai. Photo: Ayona DattaA deindustrialising powerloom town which is now a burgeoning global logistics centre in the peripheries of Mumbai. Photo: Ayona Datta
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Digital Geographies Research Group @dgrgrgs.bsky.social · 19/06/2025
Our first keynote of #DGRGSymposium2025 was given by the amazing @ayonadatta.bsky.social of UCL: Fantasies of territorial calculability: Automated Ignorance (AI) in digitalising land in the global south
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Margot Finn @eicathomefinn.bsky.social · 06/06/2025
'Last month...something else happened in academia: Yale-NUS College, a liberal arts college founded by the National University of Singapore and Yale University in 2012, quietly ceased to exist. And with it, thousands of books and DVDs disappeared.'
timeshighereducation.com
Yale-NUS’ book dumping was a tiny crime against culture
A library is not a fast-fashion store. You don’t discard last season’s items because nobody wanted them, says Andrew Hui
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Michèle Champagne @michelechampagne.com · 05/06/2025
Why the Corderie felt dated: it was rife with the same kind of mandatory solutionism that has gotten us nowhere for decades. “Ratti’s sprawling [Venice] biennale is awash in the optimism of design solutions. Even the path to population collapse is paved in innovation.” — @novakovicto.bsky.social
azuremagazine.com
Carlo Ratti’s Abundance Agenda
At the Venice Corderie, a staggering quantity of installations fosters a messy synthesis of (human and artificial) intelligence and folly.
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Dialogues on Digital Society @dialoguesdigsoc.bsky.social · 15/05/2025
Submission to our special issue on Authoritarianism in the Digital Age close tomorrow. Get your proposal in! More details here: journals.sagepub.com/page/dds/cal...
journals.sagepub.com
Sage Journals: Discover world-class research
Subscription and open access journals from Sage, the world's leading independent academic publisher.
042
Reposted by Ayona Datta
UCL Department of Geography @uclgeography.bsky.social · 12/05/2025
🖋️ Are you a @ucl.ac.uk Geography PhD Student or Early Career Researcher? Join the Linescapes: The Role of Sketches and Illustrations in Geographical Research workshop on 29 May: bit.ly/Linescapes #UCLGeography #GeographyPhD #EarlyCareerResearcher #ResearchWorkshop #SketchingInGeography #Linescapes
bit.ly
"Linescapes: The Role of Sketches and Illustrations in Geographical Research"
We invite UCL PhD Students and Early Career Researchers -both physical and human geography—to sign up for our interactive workshop: “ Linescapes: The Role of Sketches and Illustration in Geographical ...
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Ayona Datta @ayonadatta.bsky.social · 28/04/2025
📣 New book cover!!!! INFORMATIONAL PERIPHERIES: RETHINKING THE URBAN IN A DIGITAL AGE Free OA with a fantastic lineup of authors. It's been a pleasure working with @fennaimara.bsky.social Shoutout to @uclpress.bsky.social for being so supportive and organised. uclpress.co.uk/book/informa...
uclpress.co.uk
Informational Peripheries
Urbanisation and urban life in a digital age needs to be examined through a lens of information – encompassing both its politics and its geographies. The periphery in an information age is located sim...
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Reposted by Ayona Datta
Fenna Imara Hoefsloot @fennaimara.bsky.social · 28/04/2025
Cover reveal! ✨ Our new book, 'Informational Peripheries: Rethinking the Urban in a Digital Age,' will be available this August! Get a first look here: uclpress.co.uk/book/informa... There will also be a digital open access version 🙌 @uclpress.bsky.social @ayonadatta.bsky.social
uclpress.co.uk
Informational Peripheries
Urbanisation and urban life in a digital age needs to be examined through a lens of information – encompassing both its politics and its geographies. The periphery in an information age is located sim...
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Reposted by Ayona Datta
Surveillance in the Majority World Network @surveillancemw.bsky.social · 21/04/2025
> The debates on ‘Silicon Savannah’: “The state as auteur: Timing digitisation in Africa’s Silicon Savannah” by @ayonadatta.bsky.social & @fennaimara.bsky.social - De Gruyter Handbook of Digital Criminology: An Interdisciplinary Guide Edited by Mareile Kaufmann & @heidimorklomell.bsky.social
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Ayona Datta @ayonadatta.bsky.social · 21/04/2025
Look forward to delivering a keynote on 'Fantasies of Artificial everything: Automated Ignorance (AI) in the making of Digitalising States" in workshop organised by Singapore Management University (SMU) Urban Institute. drive.google.com/file/d/1Q6-N...
drive.google.com
Programme Outline Technocratic Governance Workshop.pdf
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Reposted by Ayona Datta
Ayona Datta @ayonadatta.bsky.social · 18/04/2025
Very honoured to co-author first article 'State as Auteur' in @dialoguesdigsoc.bsky.social Thanks @robkitchin.bsky.social for invitation & commentators @jpaddie.bsky.social @xazaaradjame.bsky.social @princeguma.bsky.social @andretwp.bsky.social Jack Odeo, Nancy Odendaal. with @fennaimara.bsky.social
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Dialogues on Digital Society @dialoguesdigsoc.bsky.social · 17/04/2025
Commentaries on this article engage with, expand, and critique the article's position, further complicating the novel agenda it brings to research into digital societies. This is complemented by a response from Datta and Hoefsloot continuing this dialogue.... 4/7
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Dialogues on Digital Society @dialoguesdigsoc.bsky.social · 17/04/2025
The first edition of Dialogues on Digital Society is out at last. It features an editorial by the Editorial team, @kylzjarrett.bsky.social, @robkitchin.bsky.social, @pinkydigital.bsky.social, Jing Hiah, and @steelecat717.bsky.social .... 1/7 #DDS @journals.sagepub.com journals.sagepub.com/home/DDS
journals.sagepub.com
Sage Journals: Discover world-class research
Subscription and open access journals from Sage, the world's leading independent academic publisher.
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Ayona Datta @ayonadatta.bsky.social · 18/04/2025
Very honoured to co-author first article 'State as Auteur' in @dialoguesdigsoc.bsky.social Thanks @robkitchin.bsky.social for invitation & commentators @jpaddie.bsky.social @xazaaradjame.bsky.social @princeguma.bsky.social @andretwp.bsky.social Jack Odeo, Nancy Odendaal. with @fennaimara.bsky.social
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Fenna Imara Hoefsloot @fennaimara.bsky.social · 17/04/2025
Excited that our research article with commentaries and response is out now in the inaugural issue of @dialoguesdigsoc.bsky.social! Honoured to be amongst so many people I look up to in the launch of this great new journal. journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1... @ayonadatta.bsky.social
journals.sagepub.com
Sage Journals: Discover world-class research
Subscription and open access journals from Sage, the world's leading independent academic publisher.
051
Reposted by Ayona Datta
Dialogues on Digital Society @dialoguesdigsoc.bsky.social · 17/04/2025
These are followed by the first article by @ayonadatta.bsky.social and @fennaimara.bsky.social advocating for consideration of time and timing for understanding statecraft in Kenya's Silicon Savannah journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.... 3/7
journals.sagepub.com
Sage Journals: Discover world-class research
Subscription and open access journals from Sage, the world's leading independent academic publisher.
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Reposted by Ayona Datta
UCL Sociology Network @uclsociology.bsky.social · 10/04/2025
UCL Sociology Network PhD Inaugural Student Conference 2025 (3 June). This 1 day conference will be an exciting opportunity for PhDs to engage with doctoral research from 24 UK universities across a range of disciplines, all with a focus on sociological research / methodology tinyurl.com/5hbpyx9e
UCL Sociology Network PhD Inaugural Student Conference 2025
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Ayona Datta @ayonadatta.bsky.social · 10/04/2025
The Staggering Ecological Impacts of Computation and the Cloud thereader.mitpress.mit.edu/the-staggeri... #Anthropology #Computing #Environment via @mitpress.bsky.social
thereader.mitpress.mit.edu
The Staggering Ecological Impacts of Computation and the Cloud
Anthropologist Steven Gonzalez Monserrate draws on five years of research and ethnographic fieldwork in server farms to illustrate some of the diverse environmental impacts of data storage.
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Reposted by Ayona Datta
Margot Finn @eicathomefinn.bsky.social · 09/04/2025
'Bluesky has overtaken its flailing rival X in hosting posts related to new academic research, indicating the platform is fast becoming the go-to place for scholars to share their work.'
timeshighereducation.com
X’s dominance ‘over’ as Bluesky becomes new hub for research
Data indicates more scholars turning to alternative social media site to post about their work after Elon Musk’s Twitter takeover
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Reposted by Ayona Datta
UCL Department of Geography @uclgeography.bsky.social · 07/04/2025
🚨 Job Alert! We're hiring a Project Administrative Officer for the Regional Futures project! Join the team and help drive research on digitalisation and urbanisation in the Global South. Apply by 22 April 2025! 🌍 🔗 tinyurl.com/ucl-rf #GeographyJobs #UCLCareers #UrbanStudies #Digitalisation
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Ayona Datta @ayonadatta.bsky.social · 09/04/2025
We are hiring a Project Administrative Officer in the @erc.europa.eu funded REGFUT project. Check out the advert below 👇 to apply. More details on the project here: www.regionalfutures.org
regionalfutures.org
Regional Futures | Dynamics of digitalisation-as-urbanisation
Ayona Datta and team of 12 researchers, in London, Nairobi, Guadalajara and Mumbai are conducting the first comprehensive South-South research on the dynamics of digitalisation-as-urbanisation. Learn ...
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Ayona Datta @ayonadatta.bsky.social · 03/04/2025
If you are a published author, check your name on the LibGen database which list works illegally used by Meta to train AI. 30 of my books and papers are in this database. The sheer scale of this intellectual theft is beyond imagination. www.theatlantic.com/technology/a...
theatlantic.com
The Unbelievable Scale of AI’s Pirated-Books Problem
Meta pirated millions of books to train its AI. Search through them here.
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Patrick Dunleavy @patrickdunleavy.bsky.social · 03/04/2025
Beyond the usual suspects – how to make stakeholder analysis more inclusive blogs.lse.ac.uk/impactofsoci...
blogs.lse.ac.uk
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Academy of Social Sciences @acadsocsciences.bsky.social · 01/04/2025
We are delighted to welcome 64 outstanding social scientists, who highlight the importance of the #socialsciences in understanding & tackling some of society’s most pressing challenges, to our Fellowship. Look out for some of our new Fellows later today. See the list➡️ acss.org.uk/news/the-aca...
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Ayona Datta @ayonadatta.bsky.social · 01/04/2025
Very honoured to be elected Fellow of the Academy of Social Sciences @acadsocsciences.bsky.social www.ucl.ac.uk/news/2025/ap...
ucl.ac.uk
Seven UCL academics elected as Fellows of the Academy of Social Sciences
Seven academics from across UCL have been elected as Fellows of the Academy of Social Sciences in recognition of their excellence in fields including economics, education and gender inequality, with w...
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Ayona Datta @ayonadatta.bsky.social · 27/03/2025
The lovely editors of the Urban Geography journal @urbangeography.bsky.social at the end of a long day conferencing in #AAG2025 @geographers.bsky.social
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Shannon Mattern @shannonmattern.bsky.social · 26/03/2025
"... AI hype has emerged in the context of such fatigue. Promising to automate a workforce for each of us, this hype, like crypto hype before it" — and big data hype before that, and... — "reinforces a future of individualized economic power with a sexier allure than attending a town hall."
techpolicy.press
Future Fatigue: How Hype has Replaced Hope in the 21st Century | TechPolicy.Press
To resist AI hype, we must not reassert the fiction that we could “return” to a functional democracy, writes Eryk Salvaggio.
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Ayona Datta @ayonadatta.bsky.social · 26/03/2025
📣 For those in #AAG2025 @geographers.bsky.social who are interested in a critical discussion of Artificial Intelligence in urban contexts, come join us tomorrow Wednesday 26 March for a triple session on 'Urban AI Spectrums' Rm 330A, Level 3, Huntington Place. With a fantastic lineup of speakers.👇
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Lori Emerson @loriemerson.net · 22/03/2025
speaking my language - I'm still convinced radio is the future: "Radio is the ultimate internet circumvention tool because it is not the internet. And it can’t be tracked." #othernetworks www.radioworld.com/columns-and-...
radioworld.com
Why We Need “Shortwave 2.0” - Radio World
Debate about the future of shortwave broadcasting focuses on the correct observation that shortwave listening is no longer a mainstream activity in most of the world.
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Ayona Datta @ayonadatta.bsky.social · 22/03/2025
The Unbelievable scale of AIs pirated book problem. www.theatlantic.com/technology/a...
theatlantic.com
The Unbelievable Scale of AI’s Pirated-Books Problem
Meta pirated millions of books to train its AI. Search through them here.
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Ayona Datta @ayonadatta.bsky.social · 15/01/2025
Thrilled to announce our triple session on 'Urban AI Spectrums' in the @geographers.bsky.social #AAG2025 meeting in Detroit. Co-organised with Federico Cugurullo and Caprotti. Join us on 26 March 2025, Room 330A, Level 3, Huntington Place. www.regionalfutures.org/all-outputs/...
regionalfutures.org
'Urban AI Spectrums' triple session at the AAG 2025, Detroit — Regional Futures
Urban AI spectrums Sponsored by the Cyberinfrastructure Specialty Group (CISG) and the Digital Geographies Specialty Group (DGSG) in AAG Organisers: Federico Cugurullo (Trinity College Dubli...
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Sarah Marie Hall @smhall.bsky.social · 16/03/2025
Labour Party, 2025
The everything is burning cartoon, with the speech changed to "cut welfare"
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Sam Kinsley @samkinsley.uk · 13/03/2025
For a ‘digital studies’ What would a ‘digital studies’ list and maybe an online reading group(?) mean today, in 2025?
samkinsley.com
For a ‘digital studies’
What would a ‘digital studies’ list and maybe an online reading group(?) mean today, in 2025?
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Claire Mercer @clairemercer.bsky.social · 27/02/2025
Come and join us at LSE! Job ad for Asst Prof in Urban Environmental Geography jobs.lse.ac.uk/Vacancies/W/...
jobs.lse.ac.uk
Assistant Professor in Urban Environmental Geography
Assistant Professor in Urban Environmental Geography, , <p style="text-align: center;"><em><span>As an equal opportunities employer strongly committed to diversity and inclusion, we&nbsp;encourage app...
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Ayona Datta @ayonadatta.bsky.social · 26/02/2025
📣 CfP ALGORITHMIC REFUSAL. We have extended the deadline to 28th February. Looking for a couple more papers to complete the double session. Sponsored by Digital Geographies and Urban Geographies Research Groups at @rgsibg.bsky.social
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Andrea Pollio @andretwp.bsky.social · 24/02/2025
Big thanks to @ayonadatta.bsky.social and @fennaimara.bsky.social for allowing us to think with their work !
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Ayona Datta @ayonadatta.bsky.social · 24/02/2025
📣 Pleased to announce response paper with @fennaimara.bsky.social out on @dialoguesdigsoc.bsky.social responding to brilliant commentaries by @andretwp.bsky.social Jack Odeo @jpaddie.bsky.social @xazaaradjame.bsky.social @princeguma.bsky.social Nancy Odendaal. journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/...
journals.sagepub.com
Timing the state - Ayona Datta, Fenna Imara Hoefsloot, 2025
We wish to express our gratitude to the interlocutors for their considered and thoughtful commentaries on our article. They invoke new questions around the powe...
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Luciano Floridi @floridi.bsky.social · 08/02/2025
Ever wondered whether all those health-related apps are any good? Spoiler: not so much. We just showed it in: "An App a Day will (Probably Not) Keep the Doctor Away: An Evidence Audit of Health and Medical Apps Available on the Apple App Store" link.springer.com/ar... OA: papers.ssrn.com/sol3...
link.springer.com
An App a Day will (Probably Not) Keep the Doctor Away: An Evidence Audit of Health and Medical Apps Available on the Apple App Store
Minds and Machines - There are more than 350,000 health apps available in public app stores. The extolled benefits of health apps are numerous and well documented. However, there are also concerns...
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