iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Ben Farrand @benfarrand.bsky.social · 16/01/2026

Happy to give virtual or in-person talks for anyone who may be interested!

Reposted by Ben Farrand

Cambridge University Press - Law @cambup-law.cambridge.org · 14/01/2026

Examines the European Commission’s concerns around the economic power of the US and China, its own security vulnerabilities, and how dependent it is upon technologies produced outside of its territory. 'Geopolitical Union' by Benjamin Farrand, Coming Soon #LawSky #EU cup.org/49d4mO9

"Geopolitical Union: Europe's Attempt to Take Back Control of Technology Regulation" by Benjamin Farrand

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Ben Farrand @benfarrand.bsky.social · 02/12/2025

CJEI: no, no, don’t you see, surveillance IS privacy!

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Ben Farrand @benfarrand.bsky.social · 02/12/2025

The Court has just provided the ammunition the Commission is looking for to justify scaling back on the areas identified as structurally blocking growth in technology…

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Ben Farrand @benfarrand.bsky.social · 25/11/2025

In the same ways that The Beatles were a death metal band, maybe.

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Reposted by Ben Farrand

da share z0ne @dasharez0ne.bsky.social · 25/10/2025

BRING IT BACK - dashare.zone ADMIN

WHEN IN TIME DO WE NEED "ABANDONED MALL MUSIC" IF NOT NOW, WHEN DO WE NEED TO HEAR DA RUINS OF AMERICAN CULTURE FLOAT IN A CLOUD OF REVERB IF NOT NOW, WHEN SHOULD SLOWED DOWN MUSIC BE A BALM FOR DA EAR'S OF DA WORKING PERSON IF NOT NOW, AND DA TEXT : "I MISS VAPOR WAVE ,ALL MUSIC SHOULD BE OTHER MUSIC THATS SLOWED DOWN, ALL MUSIC SHOULD BE ABLOUT DOLPHINS AND STATUE'S, ALL MUSIC SHOULD SOUND LIKE SHIT " - DASHARE.ZONE ADMIN

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Reposted by Ben Farrand

Prof Christina Pagel @chrischirp.bsky.social · 09/10/2025

🧵🚨 The UK’s independent scientific bodies are highly vulnerable to politicisation - over the past 5 months I've been working with @martinmckee.bsky.social to map out their vulnerabilities and it's not good news. Today our report is published! www.ucl.ac.uk/policy-lab/n... 1/11

ucl.ac.uk

UK’s arm’s length public bodies are highly vulnerable to politicisation

Seven in ten Britons say it is important for top scientific institutions to be independent in exclusive new polling.

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Ben Farrand @benfarrand.bsky.social · 07/10/2025

But if people know what we’re interested in, then we might have to actually do those things! 😬

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Reposted by Ben Farrand

Alp Cenk Arslan, PhD @technopolitics.bsky.social · 02/10/2025

Thrilled to share my new short-form piece with the BISA ISET WG 🚀 My piece explores how AI governance needs to move past rigid, one-size-fits-all frameworks and embrace more adaptive, context-sensitive pathways. Grateful to @mybisa.bsky.social and @benfarrand.bsky.social for this opportunity

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Reposted by Ben Farrand

BISA - British International Studies Association @mybisa.bsky.social · 02/10/2025

Out now! A fantastic new BISA International Studies and Emerging Technologies Working Group short-form article 🎉 'Beyond frameworks: Alternative pathways for AI governance in a fragmented world' by Alp Cenk Arslan, PhD 📚 Read here 👉 ow.ly/uzcN50X5sVi Ben Farrand

Close-up of a glowing AI microchip embedded on a circuit board.

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Reposted by Ben Farrand

BISA - British International Studies Association @mybisa.bsky.social · 23/09/2025

Last chance to sign up! ⏰ Sign up to join the new International Studies and Emerging Technologies WG convenors as they introduce themselves, give a short presentation and set the agenda for this year! 🎉 Register here 👉 buff.ly/4nl02IH @benfarrand.bsky.social

buff.ly

What does the von der Leyen II Commission hold for EU digital sovereignty?- International Studies and Emerging Technologies Working Group (ISET) | BISA

- International Studies and Emerging Technologies Working Group (ISET) Working Group

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Ben Farrand @benfarrand.bsky.social · 06/09/2025

True, a lot of it also depends on how ‘lawful access’ is defined. Some arguing it means ‘without breaching TPMs to access’. That would be my reading based on measure 1.2 of the copyright chapter of the general purpose AI Code of Practice

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Ben Farrand @benfarrand.bsky.social · 06/09/2025

Is the issue that they think there could possibly be value chain liability, maybe?

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Ben Farrand @benfarrand.bsky.social · 06/09/2025

Commission published a Code of Practice which is more detailed here: ec.europa.eu/newsroom/dae.... Seems to suggest they view it as falling within the TDM exception unless rights are specifically reserved.

ec.europa.eu

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Ben Farrand @benfarrand.bsky.social · 06/09/2025

From my reading of Article 53(1)(c), it’s for GEN AI providers that place the product on the market. AI providers are defined under Article 3 as those putting the product on the market, so arguably it wouldn’t apply to independent researchers. Just my reading though!

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Ben Farrand @benfarrand.bsky.social · 06/09/2025

The UN Cybercrime Convention under Article 14 maybe? I think the US is likely to adopt it unless something changes (which wouldn’t surprise me).

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Reposted by Ben Farrand

BISA - British International Studies Association @mybisa.bsky.social · 04/09/2025

Make sure you sign up to join the new International Studies and Emerging Technologies WG convenors as they introduce themselves, give a short presentation and set the agenda for this year! 🎉 Register here 👉 buff.ly/qBpUNff @benfarrand.bsky.social

buff.ly

What does the von der Leyen II Commission hold for EU digital sovereignty?- International Studies and Emerging Technologies Working Group (ISET) | BISA

- International Studies and Emerging Technologies Working Group (ISET) Working Group

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Reposted by Ben Farrand

Corporate Europe Observatory (CEO) @corporateeurope.org · 26/08/2025

Clean Industrial Deal… or Dirty Industrial Deal? The so-called #CID may sound green — but it’s not clean and definitely not climate-friendly. Born out of heavy polluter lobbying, it weakens rules and funnels public money to big industry, while ignoring real climate solutions.

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Reposted by Ben Farrand

BISA - British International Studies Association @mybisa.bsky.social · 20/08/2025

@benfarrand.bsky.social & Dr Mike Bourne are the new International Studies and Emerging Technologies WG conveners! 🌟 They are calling for expressions of interest! Presenting work, writing small articles and discussing your work-in-progress 🎉 Find out more here 👉

buff.ly

New conveners and call for expressions of interest- International Studies and Emerging Technologies Working Group (ISET) | BISA

- International Studies and Emerging Technologies Working Group (ISET) Working Group

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Ben Farrand @benfarrand.bsky.social · 13/08/2025

Slightly diminish a band: Jane’s Craving

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Ben Farrand @benfarrand.bsky.social · 09/04/2025

‘I’m not owned, I’m not owned’ I continue to insist as I slowly shrink tariffs on corncobs.

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Ben Farrand @benfarrand.bsky.social · 09/04/2025

You’re charging me $5 dollars for drinking the coffee I bought? No, you’re paying ME $5 dollars so I can drink that coffee. Also I’m charging you for that mug.

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Ben Farrand @benfarrand.bsky.social · 07/04/2025

Oh absolutely, it’s just the EU wasn’t particularly vocal about it until maybe the past 10-12 years. Also, EU’s commitment to its own values is occasionally pretty shaky.

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Ben Farrand @benfarrand.bsky.social · 07/04/2025

Yeah, you can see this in various ways during the 2nd Obama Administration, before a clearer divergence in values starts getting more explicit in 2016.

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Ben Farrand @benfarrand.bsky.social · 07/04/2025

I think a bit like Fukuyama, Angell’s argument was somewhat misunderstood/misrepresented by critics immediately after WWI. Angell never said it couldn’t happen, only that it would be economically ruinous.

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Ben Farrand @benfarrand.bsky.social · 07/04/2025

Well, quick and easy, sure, if you don’t mind cratering while you do it. It’s like the ‘cheap, fast, good, pick two’ dilemma, except instead of ‘good’ it’s ’no recession’. :D more seriously, in some respects both Brexit and this are motivated by the same perceived sense global injustice, ≠ reality

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Ben Farrand @benfarrand.bsky.social · 07/04/2025

Meanwhile the US doesn’t really fit the model because it’s both engaging in what could be considered extreme mercantilist practice abroad but active trashing of the state internally, creating god knows what kind of aberration.

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Ben Farrand @benfarrand.bsky.social · 07/04/2025

I think we’ll see multilateralism largely deprioritised as bilateralism and regionalism pick up apace, as each state/region tries to influence global trade, through strategic investment, incentives for preferentialism, and int orgs used predominantly to exert influence rather than cooperate

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Ben Farrand @benfarrand.bsky.social · 07/04/2025

In some respects we’ll see a return to a quasi-mercantilist approach, where balance of trade is seen as important, state-and-industry building prioritised internally and exerting trade and regulatory power to control supply chains externally.

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Ben Farrand @benfarrand.bsky.social · 07/04/2025

States and regions are going to become increasingly security-oriented and geostrategic. Regional relations will become more important, FDI will be viewed more suspiciously, and control over ‘natural’ resources whether minerals or data will be prioritised

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Ben Farrand @benfarrand.bsky.social · 07/04/2025

But if globalisation is meant to equate with the liberal international economic order where commitments to ‘free and fair’ trade under auspices of international organisations are the aim, then we are seeing a paradigm change I think.

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Ben Farrand @benfarrand.bsky.social · 07/04/2025

If you understand it as all tariffs all the time forever more, then no, it’s unlikely the current insanity is going to be permanent. If you think of globalisation = inter-connectedness, global supply chains etc, then no, it’s not dead, because these will always exist in some form.

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Ben Farrand @benfarrand.bsky.social · 07/04/2025

Whether this is the ‘death of globalisation’ ultimately depends on how you understand globalisation. 🧵

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Ben Farrand @benfarrand.bsky.social · 26/03/2025

Oops accidentally invited my arch nemesis to my Signal group chat. #OOPSEC

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Ben Farrand @benfarrand.bsky.social · 16/03/2025

So, seems as good a time as any to announce it, if you’re interested in the EU’s digital sovereignty agenda and how it has shaped technology regulation, my book ‘Geopolitical Union: Europe’s Attempt to Regain Control of Technology Regulation’ is under contract with Cambridge University Press!

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Ben Farrand @benfarrand.bsky.social · 14/02/2025

Maybe I should start using this thing. Got a lot to say about digital sovereignty, and I guess this is as good a place as any to talk about it.

media.tenor.com

a cartoon batman is holding his hand to his face and says " hmm "

Alt: a cartoon batman is holding his hand to his face and says " hmm "

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Reposted by Ben Farrand

Eva Michaels @evamichaels.bsky.social · 14/01/2025

Delighted to find out that not everyone is tired of reading about European strategic autonomy in security & defence: Monika Sus and I wrote about this (open access) in @europeansecurity.bsky.social and it's become the most-read article over the past year www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....

tandfonline.com

(Not) Coming of age? Unpacking the European Union’s quest for strategic autonomy in security and defence

Russia’s large-scale aggression against Ukraine brought back the debate about the European Union’s strategic autonomy ambitions in security and defence. The notion had slipped off the EU’s radar fo...

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Reposted by Ben Farrand

Simon Usherwood @simonusherwood.bsky.social · 12/12/2024

I present the full delegations for the UK-EU PPA PDF version: bit.ly/UshGraphic135 Some comments in order 1/

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Jacob Öberg @profjacob.bsky.social · 04/12/2024

🚨🚨 A new report by @thecitp.bsky.social shows that #Brexit deals £3bn blow to UK food exports as British food sales to the EU have fallen by almost a fifth since the end of the Brexit transition period. Grim #brexitdisaster 🧵 www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/poli...

independent.co.uk

Brexit hits UK food exports by £3bn as Starmer urged to strike deal with Brussels

British food sales to the EU have fallen by almost a fifth since the end of the Brexit transition period, a new report shows

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Ben Farrand @benfarrand.bsky.social · 04/12/2024

Random thought of the day: does an interest in cyberpunk engender an interest in cybersecurity, or does an interest in cybersecurity engender an interest in cyberpunk?

media.tenor.com

a robot with a flashlight and a sticker that says ' warning '

Alt: a robot with a flashlight and a sticker dancing like a hunting cat, as a cyborg responds in kind

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Ben Farrand @benfarrand.bsky.social · 25/11/2024

Naturally. If it helps, we can also talk at cross-purposes about the marketplace of beverages too.

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Ben Farrand @benfarrand.bsky.social · 25/11/2024

Optimist: The cup is half full Pessimist: The cup is half empty Law and technology scholar: cups may appear neutral but their contents are anything but, so we must regulate the structure of these cups according to our preferred liquids

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Ben Farrand @benfarrand.bsky.social · 20/11/2024

Brilliant! Any chance I could be added to this list? :)

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Reposted by Ben Farrand

Mujtaba Rahman @mijrahman.bsky.social · 12/11/2024

Can someone please do a starter pack of 🇪🇺 watchers and include me on it? ☺️😃🤷🏾🙈. I'll do it if I have to 😝

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