Reposted by KinBronwyn Isaacs @find-bronwyn.bsky.social · 21/04/2026"I chose the title Dissimulation because it describes the process of using false appearances to hide a form of reality. It brings to mind a sense of trickery and illusion, which I think is quite apt when we are thinking about what is often called Artificial Intelligence" 021
Kin @cell-less.bsky.social · 18/12/2025Pre-print for anyone interested in critical perspectives on AI development: 'Whose Needs are being Met? Looking at Agency, Authority and Social Risk in Relation to Forbes’ Top 50 AI Companies': papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers....papers.ssrn.comWhose Needs are being Met? Looking at Agency, Authority and Social Risk in Relation to Forbes’ Top 50 AI CompaniesIf technological developments emerge from the necessity to 'fill needs' and as such are framed as being societally beneficial (Chandler 1995), then what might t 110
Kin @cell-less.bsky.social · 10/11/2025A nice little interview with me on Digital Arts Blog plus a few photos of my work Dissimulation, a three-screen video installation about hidden labour in AI: www.digitalartsblog.com/artist-spotl...digitalartsblog.comKin>% on Digital Fatalism, Hidden Labor, and the Politics of AI — DIGITAL ARTS BLOGKin>% (cell_less) is a UK-based PhD artist-researcher whose practice investigates narratives of technological inevitability and the ways algorithmic systems make decisions for and about us. Working ac... 030
Kin @cell-less.bsky.social · 17/09/2025Speculative futures can come from the left or the right. An interesting article on different approaches to sci-fi and how Musk, Thiel etc are attempting to 'turn its contents into tools for their own forms of memetic warfare'. artreview.com/space-racism...artreview.comSpace Racism: How the Right Captured Science FictionBefore Musk and Thiel, a shadow history throws the often idealistic hopes of progressive science-fiction cultures into stark and unstable relief 041
Kin @cell-less.bsky.social · 17/09/2025Reform MPs completely absent from Commons statement on ‘grooming gangs'. This speaks volumes. There are MPs working hard to tackle child exploitation whereas Reform can't even be bothered to turn up. thecanary.co/uk/news/2025... @thecanaryuk.bsky.socialthecanary.coReform MPs completely absent from Commons statement on 'grooming gangs'Farage himself has a notably terrible Commons attendance record. But the lack of Reform MPs at the statement is particularly egregious. 020
Kin @cell-less.bsky.social · 17/09/2025AI inevitability isn’t destiny — it’s rhetoric. Read my review of Becker’s More Everything Forever. His critique shows how Longtermism rests on speculative futures and 'troubling moral arithmetic' rather than grounded evidence. medium.com/@kin.artcoll...medium.comThe fundamental flaws of the rhetoric of AI inevitabilityReview of Adam Becker, More Everything Forever: AI Overlords, Space Empires, and Silicon Valley’s Crusade to Control the Fate of Humanity… 020
Kin @cell-less.bsky.social · 17/09/2025What is inside the black box of AI? My latest video installation is an exposé of the hidden labour that goes into making AI, specifically click-work and data-labelling which is outsourced by hugely profitable US companies often to low-paid, precarious workers. cell-less.com/2025/09/10/d...cell-less.comDissimulationThe metaphor of the ‘black box’ is commonly used to describe systems in which the inputs and outputs are known but the inner mechanisms are not. ‘Artificial intelligence’ technologies are an exampl… 010
Kin @cell-less.bsky.social · 16/09/2025Digging into the 'troubling moral arithmetic' of Longtermism, this is my review of Adam Becker's latest book More Everything Forever (Basic Books): medium.com/@kin.artcoll...medium.comThe fundamental flaws of the rhetoric of AI inevitabilityReview of Adam Becker, More Everything Forever: AI Overlords, Space Empires, and Silicon Valley’s Crusade to Control the Fate of Humanity… 010
Kin @cell-less.bsky.social · 15/09/2025Billionaires interfering with our democracy. Who would have thought it? 🙄observer.co.ukUS cash turned Tommy Robinson into the poster boy of UK f...Outside the Old Bailey in 2018, a reinvented Tommy Robinson flashed his perfect new teeth to 2,000 diehard supporters at a “free Tommy” rally on a stage ... 000
Kin @cell-less.bsky.social · 21/05/2025Really enjoyed recording this last podcast episode with Dr Eleanor Dare whose recent work includes the AI Forensics project at @camdighum.bsky.social We talk about AI and power, impossibly huge datasets, deskilling and the impacts of ChatGPT in education contexts #ai #bigtech #technewspodcasts.apple.comDigital Fatalism: Eleanor DarePodcast Episode · Digital Fatalism · 05/20/2025 · 26m 030
Reposted by KinCarissa Véliz @carissaveliz.bsky.social · 20/05/2025And.... it finally happened. #23andMe is a perfect #privacy example to learn from. When companies who amass troves of very personal data go bankrupt, the data gets sold or acquired by other companies, further complicating already questionable "consent" practices.ft.com23andMe sold out of bankruptcy to RegeneronDrugmaker’s takeover could raise privacy concerns among genetics start-up’s 15mn users 12912
Kin @cell-less.bsky.social · 14/05/2025Some photos/videos from my recent commission at NewBridge Project, Newcastle, thinking through algorithm-related issues like visibility/black-boxing/agency/public engagement through the metaphor of 'dissolving': cell-less.com/2025/05/02/t...cell-less.comThe Dissolve‘Dissolving black boxes’ (interactive installation/moving image) was an Everyday Algorithms micro-commission, supported by The NewBridge Project and curated by Shelly Knotts. The metaph… 020
Kin @cell-less.bsky.social · 14/05/2025There are 4 episodes in my podcast series interviewing artists/researchers about narratives of inevitability in technology discourses, automated decision-making and ideologies of the tech industry. It's very niche but if you're into this kind of thing, listen here: podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/d... 030
Reposted by KinDr Abeba Birhane @abeba.blacksky.app · 28/04/2025"A new dataset, visualized as maps, reveals the extent to which African workers are indirectly employed in the tech sector, doing content moderation, customer service, and data annotation for AI models, among other jobs." restofworld.org/2025/big-tec... 8280120
Reposted by KinDr Abeba Birhane @abeba.blacksky.app · 17/04/2025the ACM CHI conference has fully embraced AI snake-oil this year. this is the world-leading conference on human-computer interaction. absolutely unacceptable. if the conference won't remove these and distance itself from pseudoscience, the HCI community loses all credibility 4308
Kin @cell-less.bsky.social · 27/03/2025Great attendance at the wave of protests yesterday in Newcastle. Why is the government cutting support for disabled people yet increasing spending on defence/military? It can't go unchallenged. #WelfareNotWarfare spread the message. 020
Kin @cell-less.bsky.social · 25/03/2025Well this is kind of cool... An interactive website teaching about Dark Patterns on the internet neal.fun/dark-patterns/ 030
Kin @cell-less.bsky.social · 25/03/2025An AI-bot accuses a university scholar of being a 'terrorist'. In what crazy world does the university act on AI-fabricated claims without verifying any legitimacy? And this university was rated #1 of Best Law Schools! mondoweiss.net/2025/03/susp... @yaleisp.bsky.socialmondoweiss.netSuspended for Pro-Palestine Speech: My statement on Yale Law School’s embrace of AI-generated smearsHelyeh Doutaghi was placed on leave by Yale Law School after being falsely accused of “terrorism” over her support for Palestine. She says her case reflects the new era of Zionist McCarthyism and that... 010
Kin @cell-less.bsky.social · 25/03/2025'A study by Uplevel Data Labs tracked 800 software engineers using Copilot on GitHub and found no measurable increase in coding productivity, despite this exact use case being the one pointed to the most by AI companies'. Is anyone still convinced by AI hype? prospect.org/power/2025-0...prospect.orgBubble TroubleAn AI bubble threatens Silicon Valley, and all of us. 000
Reposted by KinSarah Myers West @smw.bsky.social · 25/03/2025The money being poured into AI far outpaces the Manhattan Project ($30b today) and Operation Warp Speed ($18b) combined, and rivals the cost of the entire Interstate Highway System ($114b) - for gains that are much much more speculative. 54217
Kin @cell-less.bsky.social · 25/03/2025With 23andMe filing for bankruptcy, there's talk of genetic data being for sale. Data from 15 million people (plus any relatives who are connected genetically). If it's sold to a company with ties to law enforcement, what could possibly go wrong...? www.eff.org/deeplinks/20... @eff.orgeff.orgA Sale of 23andMe’s Data Would Be Bad for Privacy. Here’s What Customers Can Do.The CEO of 23andMe has recently said she’d consider selling the genetic genealogy testing company–and with it, the sensitive DNA data that it’s collected, and stored, from many of its 15 million custo... 000
Kin @cell-less.bsky.social · 20/03/2025I've been endlessly obsessed with masks/pseudonyms so I love reading stuff like this: 'Our masks are not there to hide our identity but to reveal it... Masking symbolises the rejection of the cult of personality, rooted in consumer capitalism’. Written on masks at Carnival Against Capital, 1999. 040
Kin @cell-less.bsky.social · 20/03/2025Love this: 'The process of invisibilization...from the cloudification of networks to the emergence of algorithmic governance – has gone hand in hand with the evolution of media activism and hacktivist practices employing anonymity and invisibility as tactical weapons': inactual.it/zone-di-opac...inactual.itZone di opacità offensiva | InactualInactual è un collettivo artistico, editoriale e curatoriale, attivo ai confini tra arte contemporanea, tecnologia e pensiero critico. A cura di Christian Nirvana Damato, Emilia Angelucci e Giovanni R... 010
Kin @cell-less.bsky.social · 19/03/2025Spent the afternoon at a seminar on AI in schools. It was a small group but good to see that people in Newcastle are thinking critically about AI in Ed-Tech. 1/2 100
Kin @cell-less.bsky.social · 19/03/2025Alexa-enabled devices lost Amazon $25 bil from 2017-2021. How are they planning on saving it? By sending everyone's voice recordings to the cloud so that you can activate Alexa without having to actually say 'Alexa'... Are people happy to sacrifice privacy for this? arstechnica.com/gadgets/2025...arstechnica.comEverything you say to your Echo will be sent to Amazon starting on March 28Amazon is killing a privacy feature to bolster Alexa+, the new subscription assistant. 000
Kin @cell-less.bsky.social · 17/03/2025A few pics from Peter Kennard's 'Archive of Dissent'. He says that his art "rails at the waste of lives caused by the trillions spent on manufacturing weapons and the vast profits made by arms companies.” I particularly like his newer works incorporating light/projection into photomontage. 000
Reposted by KinEszter Hargittai @eszter.com · 17/03/2025I'm hiring for a postdoc! 🌟 pls help spread the word Senior Research and Teaching Associate (PostDoc) with a focus on Internet Use and Society details here: webuse.org/postdoc/ 02919
Reposted by KinTimnit Gebru @timnitgebru.blacksky.app · 16/03/2025"the Harvard Electricity Law Initiative reviewed 40 special contracts...between utilities & data centers. If these contracts offer discounted electricity rates to data centers,...other customers may end up paying for the shortfall through higher utility bills." web.archive.org/web/20250314...web.archive.orgBig Tech is striking secret deals to make you foot its electricity bill, Harvard researchers sayData centers are spiking electricity demand, and some worry states are striking deals that mean households will pay the cost. 5270146
Kin @cell-less.bsky.social · 16/03/2025Digital colonialism: 'US tech monopolies...have embedded themselves into South African society'. E.g. Operation Phakisa, 'designed to equip public schools with digital tools but, in reality, hands over the country’s educational data sovereignty to US corporations. lab.cccb.org/en/counterin...lab.cccb.orgCountering Digital Colonialism | CCCB LABA new type of dependency is emerging in which digital infrastructures replicate the old colonial logics. 0116
Kin @cell-less.bsky.social · 16/03/2025Enjoying these 'Human-Computer Counter-Choreographies' at NewBridge Project's exhibition Everyday Algorithms. 000
Reposted by KinTony Roberts @phatcontroller.bsky.social · 15/03/2025All AI is Political. AI is not a technological artifact with political features, it as a political artifact, part of an ideological project to shift authority and autonomy away from individuals, towards centralised structures of power. Ali Alkhatib ali-alkhatib.com/blog/definin...ali-alkhatib.com Ali Alkhatib: Defining AI 031
Reposted by KinTapuya: Latin American Science, Technology and Society @tapuya.org · 12/03/2025✍️[Calls & Applications] The Society for Social Studies of Science (4S) is seeking a new editor or editorial team for its Diamond Open Access journal, Engaging Science, Technology, and Society (ESTS). 🖱️More details at: tapuya.org/category/calls-applications/ @estsjournal.bsky.social 125
Reposted by KinHypervisible @hypervisible.blacksky.app · 14/03/2025End stage of technology and carceral logics.futurism.comWhat Are the Ethics of Strapping VR Headsets on Inmates in Solitary Confinement?Stuck in cramped cells for days and weeks at a time, incarcerated people are being whisked away to beautiful worlds through the magic of VR. 1210022
Kin @cell-less.bsky.social · 14/03/20252023's AI Summit was dominated by conversations about risk and safety. 2025's summit in Paris was all about growth and opportunity. Says it all really... centerforhumanetechnology.substack.com/p/policy-upd...centerforhumanetechnology.substack.com📢 Policy Update: AI Moves Fast — So Do the Policies Shaping ItLast month’s AI Action Summit in Paris marked a turning point in how world leaders talk about AI. 010
Kin @cell-less.bsky.social · 14/03/2025An event coming up at @factliverpool.bsky.social for those interested in disability arts and the potential of telepresence in performance: disabilityarts.online/events/dada-... @disabilityarts.bsky.social With Birds of Paradise and CRIPtic Arts.disabilityarts.onlineDaDa Fest: Telepresence Stage Seminar & Workshop - Disability Arts OnlineJoin Disability Arts Online and Telepresence Stage for a symposium event at DaDaFest, bringing together leading disabled-led theatre companies, digital and immersive online performance artists, and ac... 020
Kin @cell-less.bsky.social · 14/03/2025Thank you NewBridge Project for inviting me to lead the last Creative Code Club session. So many insightful comments and feedback on my latest commission as it develops in tandem with the exhibition Everyday Algorithms. 000
Kin @cell-less.bsky.social · 14/03/2025Entering the world of anthropomorphic design in chatbots... A thoughtful article about how the lack of safety features is a DESIGN CHOICE, and has led to suicides like Sewell Stezer (14 years old): centerforhumanetechnology.substack.com/p/racing-to-...centerforhumanetechnology.substack.comRacing to the Wrong Finish LineThe Human Cost of Unchecked AI Development 000
Reposted by KinBruce Wilson @brucewilson.bsky.social · 13/02/2025Elon Musk thinks the poor are a "Parasite Class", & his philosophical guru Curtis Yarvin has "joked" that they should be melted down into biodiesel. But this is a fascist ethos, & some say the true "Parasite Class" are those who have become grotesquely rich off the labor of others. 1352058711
Reposted by KinThe Capitalist Knockers @mbomboclaat.bsky.social · 13/02/2025This seems typical of the "AI will replace your job" push thats happening. It can't _actually_ do this job.. maybe it can handle like 60% of requests but it will do it poorly and anyone who needs nuance or real help will be lost. AND, it will be much more expensive. 2122
Kin @cell-less.bsky.social · 13/02/2025I think this must be my earliest digital artwork. Probably 1995. I found these as printouts in a folder marked with my name, age 6 years old. Probably also the closest to me posting a selfie on social media 😅 040
Kin @cell-less.bsky.social · 29/01/2025Wrote a little something for @disabilityarts.bsky.social. Being asked to write a music review is a special kind of joy: disabilityarts.online/magazine/rev...disabilityarts.onlineDisabled composers combine in Letting the Light In - Disability Arts OnlineLetting the Light In, a project in partnership between Drake Music Scotland, the Disabled Artist Network, Tŷ Cerdd, and NMC Recordings claims to be the first commercially released album that features ... 041
Reposted by KinDisability Arts Online @disabilityarts.bsky.social · 22/01/2025🎶 @cell-less.bsky.social listens to and reflects on 'Letting the Light In', a new album that features songs all written by disabled composers (Sonia Allori, Sarah Lianne Lewis, Jo-anne Cox, Elinor Rowlands, Leon Clowes and Sorcha Pringle). buff.ly/4hov2wF 061
Kin @cell-less.bsky.social · 22/01/2025If people in power can't explain the decisions that AI makes (in welfare, health, education, visa systems etc), then they can't be held accountable or be scrutinised. This deepens social inequalities and is not the vision of AI that we are being sold: www.techpolicy.press/the-uks-big-... 020
Kin @cell-less.bsky.social · 22/01/2025Lots I agree with in @anuradhas.bsky.social's recent @techpolicypress.bsky.social article, including how 'The government must recalibrate its relationships with tech giants, establishing itself not as a junior partner but as a firm regulator'. www.techpolicy.press/the-uks-big-...techpolicy.pressThe UK’s Big Pitch: AI Innovation Over Accountability | TechPolicy.PressThe future may indeed be built by the AI industry, writes Anuradha Sajjanhar, but who ensures it’s one worth living in for everyone? 010
Reposted by KinMario Santamaría @mariosantamaria.bsky.social · 15/11/2024‘Clouded Vision: Artists’ Insights on the Internet’ Interesting article by Mia Stern for The Brooklyn Rail about artistic practices that approach the materiality of the internet. brooklynrail.org/2024/07/art-...brooklynrail.orgClouded Vision: Artists’ Insights on the Internet | The Brooklyn RailThe idea of the internet as a shapeless mass of vapor hovering above the ground creates the illusion of a benign and intangible entity. Since its creation, artists have helped dispel this image by loo... 0134
Kin @cell-less.bsky.social · 18/12/2024Kate Crawford's 'Welcome to the psychopolitics of AI'. www.miumiu.com/content/dam/...miumiu.com 100
Kin @cell-less.bsky.social · 18/12/2024Job opportunity: Digital Community Manager, 21 hours a week, remote, at Parents & Carers in the Performing Arts. Apply here: disabilityarts.online/opportunity-... 000
Kin @cell-less.bsky.social · 18/12/2024Great to see arts organisations like @disabilityarts.bsky.social making the shift from X to Bluesky! For all things disability arts/politics/social, give them a follow if you haven't already. 020
Kin @cell-less.bsky.social · 06/12/2024Wild... Tuning into the conference Rethinking Inevitability in AI. Documentaries are now using AI images as archive evidence. Where is the integrity?! 010
Kin @cell-less.bsky.social · 22/11/2024'What the future holds for babies born today'. Does anyone actually want any of this technology? 'Renting out your fingernails as an ad for social media', smart contact lenses, sending your AI avatar on dates to see who you actually want to meet... www.technologyreview.com/2024/08/15/1... 010