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Dr. Chinasa T. Okolo

@chinasa.bsky.social
6.3K followers 45 following 855 posts

AI Researcher, Policy Strategist, & Technorealist. Founder, Technecultura. Columnist, Science Magazine. Cornell Computer Science PhD. TIME100 AI. Forbes Under 30 AI. Critically examining global equity in AI. 👩🏾‍💻: www.chinasatokolo.com 📩: bit.ly/contactCTO

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Dr. Chinasa T. Okolo @chinasa.bsky.social · 6h
“There is no established path showing that today’s AI systems will surpass the smartest humans, much less a scientific basis for calculating the likelihood that such systems will destroy humanity.” thebulletin.org/2026/09/how-...
thebulletin.org
How the bad science of AI doomerism is good for big business
There is no clear path showing that today’s AI systems will lead to superintelligence, much less a basis for calculating the probability of doom.
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Chanda Prescod-Weinstein 🌌 @chanda.blacksky.app · 03/10/2026
Please learn to disagree with Black women without questioning our expertise
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Alondra Nelson @alondra.bsky.social · 03/10/2026
To think that there is nothing to be learned and innovated on from the safety practices of other industries is lunacy. AI tools are power. They are not magical or exempt from safety practices that work for other complex systems. Governing AI requires disenchantment; break the spell.
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Dr. Chinasa T. Okolo @chinasa.bsky.social · 03/10/2026
Finished my first week in the U.S. Senate, and in one of the many policy proposals I was asked to review, I had to point out how the billions of dollars being spent on AI safety research by effective altruism organizations poses a serious conflict of interest.
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Democracy Now! @democracynow.org · 01/10/2026
AI safety expert Timnit Gebru says tech leaders are promoting greatly exaggerated claims about "superintelligence" and "existential risk" as a way to distract from the real threat — their own unregulated companies.
democracynow.org
The Real Existential Risk Is AI CEOs Avoiding Oversight: “Alternative Nobel” Winner Timnit Gebru
We speak to the prominent AI researcher and leading critic of the AI industry, Timnit Gebru, who was recently awarded a 2026 Right Livelihood Award for her work investigating the harms and hype behind...
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Dr. Chinasa T. Okolo @chinasa.bsky.social · 03/10/2026
Truly despicable!
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Dr. Chinasa T. Okolo @chinasa.bsky.social · 03/10/2026
The Nigerian president released an AI-generated video to address the country on Independence Day this past Thursday 🤦🏾‍♀️ Many people don’t know that when the President of Gabon released an AI-generated video after not being seen for a few months in 2019, a coup happened shortly after.
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Dr. Chinasa T. Okolo @chinasa.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
It’s very concerning that Cornell hasn’t sent any emails to alumni regarding the fraternity rape investigation. I’m getting most of my updates from our student newspaper and Reddit.
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Dr. Chinasa T. Okolo @chinasa.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
Started my fellowship in the Senate earlier this week, and my dad doesn’t understand why I don’t have my own office (this is my first job in D.C. where I haven’t had my own space). He also asked why they didn’t put “Dr.” on my ID 🤣
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Dr. Chinasa T. Okolo @chinasa.bsky.social · 27/09/2026
"The idea that the ruling Communist Party could lose control over a technology is almost unfathomable. The authorities have successfully policed other potentially destabilizing technologies before, most notably the internet." www.nytimes.com/2026/09/27/w...
nytimes.com
The Surprising Reasons China Is Skeptical of A.I. Safety Calls
In China, A.I. doomsday warnings can feel distinctly Western or like a ploy to stop Chinese A.I. companies from trying to overtake their U.S. rivals.
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Dr. Chinasa T. Okolo @chinasa.bsky.social · 26/09/2026
Really glad someone is writing about this! I instantly knew the “National Academy of Artificial Intelligence” was a scam. I’ve also been repeatedly contacted by the “American Society for AI” over the past year, and had to block many people associated with that organization on LinkedIn.
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Dr. Chinasa T. Okolo @chinasa.bsky.social · 26/09/2026
Had a brief, but nice trip to Brown University! My first time in Rhode Island, and I look forward to coming back.
A bear statue on the quad area at Brown University. The sky is overcast and it’s raining. A campus wall that reads BROWN upon a red decal and a blue glass background. 
Quad area of Brown with a statue and seating upon the grass.
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Dr. Chinasa T. Okolo @chinasa.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
I got an invitation to a policy roundtable that had interesting words like “practical worldbuilding”, “abundance”, and an organization that works on “welfare of future sentient beings”… Looked up funding info for the hosting organizations, and of course they’re funded by major effective altruists 😬
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Dr. Chinasa T. Okolo @chinasa.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
Last week, I shared my perspectives on emerging data center resistance in South Africa with Rest of World and realized I had much more to write on the subject, so here’s a new edition of Digital Cognoscente! chinasa.substack.com/p/scaling-re...
chinasa.substack.com
Scaling Responsible Data Center Stewardship Across Africa
Perspectives on data center expansion in Africa and what governments must do to encourage sustainable growth.
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Dr. Chinasa T. Okolo @chinasa.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
Transitioning from researching AI governance over the past four years to now being directly embedded in AI politics will be quite interesting!
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Dr. Chinasa T. Okolo @chinasa.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
"There are robust, decades-old legal frameworks that give companies that make AI systems a powerful set of incentives to be responsible stewards...Characterizing AI as an existential threat to humanity opens the door to undermining those frameworks." www.brookings.edu/articles/is-...
brookings.edu
Is the AI existential threat real—and can regulatory action prevent it? | Brookings
Scholars from across Brookings address the risks of AI and what regulatory actions are necessary to prevent them.
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Dr. Chinasa T. Okolo @chinasa.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
Placed within my first choice Congressional office! Looking forward to what I’m sure will be an exciting year working on AI policy 🏛️🤖
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Dr. Chinasa T. Okolo @chinasa.bsky.social · 21/09/2026
"The metaphors we humans use in framing LLMs can pivotally affect not only how we interact with these systems and how much we trust them, but also how we view them scientifically, and how we apply laws to and make policy about them." www.science.org/doi/full/10....
science.org
The metaphors of artificial intelligence
A few months after ChatGPT was released, the neural network pioneer Terrence Sejnowski wrote about coming to grips with the shock of what large language models (LLMs) could do: “Something is beginning...
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Dr. Chinasa T. Okolo @chinasa.bsky.social · 21/09/2026
"If Anthropic, OpenAI, and other AI giants want to keep referring to themselves as labs, they should adhere to scientific best practices: open-sourcing code, preregistering studies, and, most important, subjecting research to independent peer review." www.theatlantic.com/technology/2...
theatlantic.com
There’s No Such Thing as an AI ‘Lab’
The term lends an air of scientific rigor to what are really billion-dollar corporations.
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Dr. Chinasa T. Okolo @chinasa.bsky.social · 20/09/2026
“Economists in China — even those closest to the state — have openly warned that the government is pouring too many resources into a technology that creates relatively few jobs, while doing too little to save the broader economy.” www.nytimes.com/2026/09/20/b...
nytimes.com
In China, A.I. Is Moving Forward While the Economy Lags Behind (Gift Article)
As Xi Jinping arrives in the United States this week for a state visit, China’s advances in artificial intelligence will be in the air. Less discussed: China’s economy in its worst shape in decades.
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Tressie McMillan Cottom @tressiemcphd.bsky.social · 20/09/2026
Semi regular reminder that when (white) men declare the end of humanity they usually mean the end of their dominance.
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Dr. Chinasa T. Okolo @chinasa.bsky.social · 20/09/2026
I’m under the weather, so I wasn’t able to travel to NYC for an UNGA event, and my sister just called me to tell me that multiple people have come up to her thinking she’s me 🤣
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Dr. Chinasa T. Okolo @chinasa.bsky.social · 19/09/2026
Interviewed with congressional offices over the past week, and hopefully, my biggest selling point is that I will bring a more objective understanding of AI capabilities to inform the legislative process. In one interview, I outright said: “I don’t believe in the concept of existential risk.” 🫡
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Dr. Chinasa T. Okolo @chinasa.bsky.social · 19/09/2026
The ducks and I enjoyed the sunset on the Capitol 🦆🌅
A sunset on the Capitol Reflecting Pool
Ducks lined up against the Capitol Reflecting Pool upon a sunset in the background A sunset upon the Capitol building
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Prisonculture @prisonculture.bsky.social · 18/09/2026
No Black person turned you into an anti-Black racist. You are just anti-Black and racist.
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Dr. Chinasa T. Okolo @chinasa.bsky.social · 15/09/2026
We start matching into Congressional offices/committees today! There’s almost double the positions available than fellows, so this will be an interesting experience.
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Dr. Chinasa T. Okolo @chinasa.bsky.social · 15/09/2026
The chill in the D.C. air is slowly creeping in…🍂
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Dr. Chinasa T. Okolo @chinasa.bsky.social · 13/09/2026
Finally realized that Instagram keeps showing me ads for vaccines and biotech companies, because its algorithm assumes I’m a medical doctor 🤣
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Dr. Chinasa T. Okolo @chinasa.bsky.social · 12/09/2026
Need to figure out how I can finesse free tickets to the National Geographic museum…
static.klipy.com
Rb2g Ruben Thinking Deeply
ALT: Rb2g Ruben Thinking Deeply
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Dr. Chinasa T. Okolo @chinasa.bsky.social · 12/09/2026
This advertisement for a cash cow degree program at Carnegie Mellon is truly absurd. I’m not sure why they felt the need to denigrate the social sciences when these fields are central to the program they’re promoting 🤔
Advertisement for a degree program at Carnegie Mellon that reads:

Realized a BA in Political Science or Sociology doesn't automatically pay rent? Let's fix that.
Bureaucracy, rigid budgets, and "the way things have always been done kill great civic ideas. To break through, you need to measure, analyze, and communicate human impact with undeniable empirical proof. The MSPPM at Carnegie Mellon U...
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Dr. Chinasa T. Okolo @chinasa.bsky.social · 12/09/2026
Got my first award on Reddit earlier this week and it felt pretty nice 😁
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Dr. Chinasa T. Okolo @chinasa.bsky.social · 09/09/2026
I'll be spending the next year as a Legislative AI Fellow within the AAAS Science & Technology Policy Fellowship! After researching and engaging in global AI governance over the past 4 years, it’s a privilege to have a rare opportunity to support AI legislation in Congress.
A C-SPAN congressional directory booklet, with a nametag for Chinasa, and a AAAS STPF pen on a brown wooden table and a blue backgroundThe auditorium in the AAAS building in Washington, D.C. A black screen with AAAS logo in Blue and the Science logo in red is in the background.Outside of the AAAS building in Washington, D.C., with a stone facade that has "American Association for the Advancement of Science" inscribed.
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Dr. Chinasa T. Okolo @chinasa.bsky.social · 06/09/2026
I'll be keeping a close eye on this: "In June, First Deputy CEO Alexander Vedyakhin told Reuters that Sberbank was focusing on countries in Africa, Asia, Latin America, and Oceania that want their own AI but cannot afford to build it themselves." www.atlanticcouncil.org/dispatches/r...
atlanticcouncil.org
Russia wants to sell ‘sovereign AI’ abroad. Here’s what it’s really selling.
Russia’s new AI law puts domestic models under state control. Moscow now wants to sell the same model abroad.
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Dr. Chinasa T. Okolo @chinasa.bsky.social · 05/09/2026
Very insightful work from members of Queer in AI detailing their engagement in U.S. AI policy initiatives. It was one of the resources I referenced in my efforts setting the foundation for AI policy engagement at Black in AI this summer. dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/...
dl.acm.org
Challenges to Grassroots Organization Engagement with AI Policy | Proceedings of the 2026 ACM Conference on Fairness, Accountability, and Transparency
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Dr. Chinasa T. Okolo @chinasa.bsky.social · 05/09/2026
Finding a pawpaw is top of my D.C. bucket list. I still haven’t had one yet 😅
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Afrobarometer @afrobarometer.bsky.social · 05/09/2026
Ahead of African Union Day (9 September), we consider: How do Africans view the continental body? Majorities say the AU has a positive influence on their country (55%) and recognises their country's interests (56%). Our latest piece in @thecontinent.org has more details. #VoicesAfrica
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Dr. Chinasa T. Okolo @chinasa.bsky.social · 04/09/2026
For the first time since I moved to D.C. three years ago, I have to commute by Metro (yes, I started a new role 😉) and it’s such a big shift from being able to walk. Fortunately the commute is <25 minutes, so not too bad!
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Dr. Chinasa T. Okolo @chinasa.bsky.social · 31/08/2026
I find it interesting just how much more time it takes to review lower-quality paper submissions than it does good ones.
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Dr. Chinasa T. Okolo @chinasa.bsky.social · 31/08/2026
"There is no neutral encounter with AI. AI is about power, and such is used to control the aesthetics of certain groups in society." www.techpolicy.press/how-ai-hype-...
techpolicy.press
How AI Hype Helps Render Women Invisible
AI images are a new form of structural violence, writes Eugenia Stamboliev—not through what we see, but through whom we do not see.
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Dr. Chinasa T. Okolo @chinasa.bsky.social · 30/08/2026
“Ultimately, effective knowledge translation requires policymakers and researchers to recognise each other’s contexts, constraints, and conceptual frameworks.“ policyreview.info/articles/ana...
policyreview.info
Troubling translation: Sociotechnical research in AI policy and governance
The common call for researchers to simply “translate” sociotechnical insights into policy overlooks the complex dynamics of policymaking. Using two case studies, the article shows how meaningful relat...
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Dr. Chinasa T. Okolo @chinasa.bsky.social · 27/08/2026
Next week, I’ll be presenting my new paper, “Examining Policy Barriers for AI Startup Growth in Africa,” for the AI Made in Africa webinar series! Date: Wednesday, September 2nd, 2026 Time: 14:00 – 15:30 CAT / 8:00 – 9:30 AM EDT RSVP: www.globalcenter.ai/news/ai-made...
a flyer for a webinar with photos of six panelists arranged in a 3x2 format. Chinasa is featured on the top right hand corner. a cover for Chinasa's newest research paper "Examining Policy Barriers for AI Startup Growth in Africa" published underneath the AI Made in Africa Policy Paper Series
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Dr. Chinasa T. Okolo @chinasa.bsky.social · 27/08/2026
Next week, I’ll be presenting my new paper, “Examining Policy Barriers for AI Startup Growth in Africa,” for the AI Made in Africa webinar series! Date: Wednesday, September 2nd, 2026 Time: 14:00 – 15:30 CAT / 8:00 – 9:30 AM EDT RSVP: www.globalcenter.ai/news/ai-made...
a flyer for a webinar with photos of six panelists arranged in a 3x2 format. Chinasa is featured on the top right hand corner. a cover for Chinasa's newest research paper "Examining Policy Barriers for AI Startup Growth in Africa" published underneath the AI Made in Africa Policy Paper Series
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CheStyle @chestyle.bsky.social · 24/08/2026
stop playing with Black women
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Dr. Chinasa T. Okolo @chinasa.bsky.social · 26/08/2026
"Those who believe in free, open, and responsive institutions must recognize how critically linked science is to democracy itself and defend its integrity with every tool at their disposal." www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
science.org
A democracy tax in support of science
Over the past 19 months, the devastating effects of federal cuts to science funding in the United States have become plain: Young researchers are leaving scientific fields. Labs are struggling to fund...
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Dr. Chinasa T. Okolo @chinasa.bsky.social · 21/08/2026
Some of the undergrads I advised at Cornell are now finishing their PhDs, I love it 🥹
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Dr. Chinasa T. Okolo @chinasa.bsky.social · 20/08/2026
I recently provided commentary to Rest of World regarding Mark Zuckerberg’s “AI For Everyone” manifesto, focusing on Meta’s overstated economic benefits of data centers. restofworld.org/2026/mark-zu...
restofworld.org
“It’s laughable”: Global AI experts challenge Zuckerberg’s “AI for everyone”
Observers scrutinize Meta founder’s argument about AI’s potential as an equalizer and enabler.
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Dr. Chinasa T. Okolo @chinasa.bsky.social · 20/08/2026
I get a lot of outreach from undergrads, and it’s quite interesting how those who address me by “Chinasa” and not by “Dr. Okolo” tend to come from a certain demographic…🤔 #noticing
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Dr. Chinasa T. Okolo @chinasa.bsky.social · 18/08/2026
"...lead author Martin Schindler warned that AI may add only 0.2% to GDP over the coming decade...Only under a best-case scenario, where electricity, connectivity and digital infrastructure improve substantially, could that figure rise to roughly 4%." insights.techcabal.com/ai-productiv...
insights.techcabal.com
AI Productivity in Africa: What the IMF's 0.2% Forecast Really Means
The IMF says AI could add just 0.2% to Africa's GDP. Here's why productivity depends on infrastructure, skills and economic transformation.
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Dr. Chinasa T. Okolo @chinasa.bsky.social · 18/08/2026
The sunset in D.C. was truly breathtaking last evening! 🌅
Sunset in DC near the Australian embassy, a mirrored building with copper-orange panels. There is a church on the right with a stone facade. A view of 15th street in Washington DC with office buildings and an orange/purple/blue sunset in the background. The newly-rebuilt National Geographic museum upon a sunset.
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