iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Critical Internet Studies Institute @criticalinternet.bsky.social · 07/10/2026

Developed by the Parabola Center for Law & Policy, Fairplay, & @criticalinternet.bsky.social, this model "Student-First AI Policy" provides strict criteria to review & evaluate the use of AI products in schools

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Sam Hinds @samanthahinds.bsky.social · 06/10/2026

Chicago, one week! Rogue agents & the patter of Hugging Face Finnegan’s Wake. Register ccct.uchicago.edu/events/every... @3ctworkshop.bsky.social

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BostonJoan 🏳️‍🌈 🦫 @bostonjoan.bsky.social · 23/09/2026

Hey hey Chicago, @criticalinternet.bsky.social is coming to the University of Chicago to kick off our new public service campaign: “EVERYONE HATES AI” An evening of improv for the phreaks, geeks, and weirdos who love technology, but hate technofascism. Afterwards, let’s hit the karaoke bar.

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2026-10-12-TTP-Al.pdf
Learn more and register at ccct.uchicago.edu
Co-sponsored by the Department of Anthropology
This event is free and open to the public.
If you need assistance to attend, please contact coct@uchicago.edu
Tuesday, October 13, 2026, 5:00-6:30pm
Swift Lecture Hall, 1025 E. 58th St.
Everyone Hates AI
THEORIZING THE PRESENT
Drive
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Everyone Hates Al
Tuesday, October 13, 2026 5:00-6:30pm
Swift Lecture Hall
An evening of improv for the phreaks, geeks, and weirdos who love technology, but hate technofascism.
Audience volunteers will join Joan Donovan and Sam Hinds of the Critical Internet Studies Institute to perform a live theatrical reading of the conversations among OpenAl bots as they hacked into Hugging Face, described recently in The Guardian as "a strange new version of English that reads like a cross between James Joyce's Finnegans Wake and tech bro jargon.'
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Expect brainmaxxing, aura farming, and tin-foil hats, followed by an open discussion on election politics, Al, activism, and the problems of Silicon Valley.

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Critical Internet Studies Institute @criticalinternet.bsky.social · 16/09/2026

Demands to slow #AI down have social & historical context: "Data centers are not inert buildings, but political weapons...the action of opposing #datacenters is in many cases opposing the militarization of the internet." www.criticalinternet.org/research

criticalinternet.org

Research — The Critical Internet Studies Institute

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Critical Internet Studies Institute @criticalinternet.bsky.social · 02/09/2026

Incitement against U.S. data centers is an emerging political flashpoint as we approach the 2026 U.S. midterm elections. Our briefing includes a syllabus with expanded resources from @ainowinstitute.bsky.social, @dairinstitute.bsky.social, @techequity.bsky.social, & more www.criticalinternet.org

Page excerpted from the Critical Internet Studies Institute briefing "Refusing Data Centers," with an image of graffiti visible that reads, "Trump uses A.I. 2 Torture Americans"

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Critical Internet Studies Institute @criticalinternet.bsky.social · 02/09/2026

NEW: "Refusing Data Centers" is our briefing on the networked groups, influencers, & conspiratorial beliefs that constitute a burgeoning U.S. #datacenter opposition movement www.criticalinternet.org/research

criticalinternet.org

Research — The Critical Internet Studies Institute

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Critical Internet Studies Institute @criticalinternet.bsky.social · 19/08/2026

We are watching the growing phenomena of De-Flock Halloween. Anyone else? 🎃

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Hypervisible @hypervisible.blacksky.app · 30/07/2026

This tech fundamentally alters the way people are able to express their basic human rights, and is incompatible with any society that claims to be free. As people understand the capabilities of the tech and how widespread it is, the backlash is entirely understandable.

bostonglobe.com

Why Flock surveillance cameras are drawing fierce backlash across Massachusetts - The Boston Globe

People tolerate Ring cameras, cellphones, and CCTV cameras — but Flock Safety has some filling city council meetings in protest.

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BostonJoan 🏳️‍🌈 🦫 @bostonjoan.bsky.social · 30/07/2026

New segment of The Glitch Report linked below, where we chat about the lawsuit over calling Kash Patel a CHUD, a deeper diver into Russia and Australia’s new charges against the founder of Telegram, Musk defends Grok in a lawsuit over AI generated nudes. We wrap up on how authors are countering AI.

youtube.com

Boston Public Radio, The Curiosity Desk, & The Culture Show Live Thursday, July 30, 2026

YouTube video by GBH News

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BostonJoan 🏳️‍🌈 🦫 @bostonjoan.bsky.social · 27/06/2026

Every platform is a tool, a tactic and a territory. Distorted and polarizing opinions dominate discourse and tech policies change frequently disrupting the expected flows. It was inevitable that the annihilation of the disinformation research field happened as we convened on “the design paradigm.”

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The Privacy Center @georgetownprivacy.bsky.social · 16/06/2026

We’re excited to have a new incredible Distinguished Fellow join our team! Please join us in welcoming @hypervisible.blacksky.app! Read more about his work here: www.law.georgetown.edu/privacy-tech...

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Nora Benavidez @attorneynora.bsky.social · 01/06/2026

The surveillance state is horrible & only expanding. That's why we @freepress.bsky.social launched the #SOS initiative -- to build a hub w/ civil rights groups for multi-state & local action fighting gov't & corporate spying. Join our kickoff event this Wed. 6/3 @ 3pm with a bang-up set of allies.

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Stephen C. Rea @stevierea.bsky.social · 21/05/2026

I joined @bostonjoan.bsky.social today on GBH Boston to talk about the ICSD attack and the research we do at @criticalinternet.bsky.social to understand networked incitement and political violence. You can check out our conversation here:

youtube.com

Boston Public Radio, The Curiosity Desk, & The Culture Show Live Thursday, May 21, 2026

YouTube video by GBH News

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BostonJoan 🏳️‍🌈 🦫 @bostonjoan.bsky.social · 13/05/2026

I win the quote of the day. New from @washingtonpost.com on the anonymous account that has captured Musk’s attention and is begging for a job by lavishing Musk with lots of compliments. www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2...

Washington post screenshot:
*Musk loves to be glazed, and this person is the doughnut factory," Joan Donovan, assistant professor of journalism and emerging media studies at Boston University, said of Freeze. She described the account's adulation of Musk as a "cultural hack," and added, "It's very clear to me that this communication is for one person alone."
Business

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Critical Internet Studies Institute @criticalinternet.bsky.social · 11/05/2026

"What we know about conspiracies is that they’re incredibly sticky, & they keep people on, & they keep people coming back." –CISI Founder @bostonjoan.bsky.social, quoted in @washingtonpost.com on "false flag" conspiracy theories www.washingtonpost.com/business/202...

washingtonpost.com

First came the shooting. Then, the conspiracy theories.

After the shooting at the White House correspondents’ dinner, online influencers quickly spread conspiracy theories that it was an elaborate hoax.

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BostonJoan 🏳️‍🌈 🦫 @bostonjoan.bsky.social · 06/05/2026

I am officially on the books as a contributor at @wgbh.org! I love working with the crew at The Curiosity Desk. Tune in everyday to the show at 1pm. I’ll be on most Thursdays for the next few weeks. I am fascinated by radio and this feels like a dream assignment as I learn how to be a journalist.

youtube.com

Boston Public Radio, The Curiosity Desk, & The Culture Show Live Thursday, April 30, 2026

YouTube video by GBH News

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Critical Internet Studies Institute @criticalinternet.bsky.social · 25/04/2026

WATCH: "Information is fast & free; knowledge is slow & expensive." CISI founder @bostonjoan.bsky.social speaks to for @thebulletin.org on "expertise on demand" & the "disaster" of integrating AI models into newsrooms & classrooms www.youtube.com/live/Hfcuj-K...

youtube.com

Expertise on Demand: AI in Journalism, Academia, and Thought Leadership

YouTube video by Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists

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AI Now Institute @ainowinstitute.bsky.social · 01/04/2026

Today, we're launching our interactive North Star Data Center Policy Toolkit to stop, slow, and restrict the rapid expansion of US AI data centers. The toolkit and training series lay out affirmative local, state, and federal policies to protect communities: datacenters.ainowinstitute.org 🧵

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EPIC @epic.org · 02/04/2026

On Tuesday, EPIC and 63 other civil society organizations sent a letter strongly opposing plans to integrate facial recognition into Meta glasses to Meta, Ray-Ban’s parent company, the White House, the FTC, the DOJ, several state attorneys general, and the leaders of key congressional committees.

epic.org

EPIC Joins Coalition Call to Halt Meta’s Plans for Facial Recognition ‘Smart’ Glasses

<p>On Tuesday, EPIC joined 63 other civil society organizations in a letter vehemently opposing plans to integrate facial recognition into Meta glasses.</p>

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Sam Hinds @samanthahinds.bsky.social · 18/03/2026

Read @edwardongwesojr.com on “the attempt to shift Pax Americana’s oil diplomacy to Pax Silica’s silicon statecraft—from hydrocarbons & Treasuries to GPUs & data centers & AI models & the kill chains they power” www.thetechbubble.info/p/how-much-a...

thetechbubble.info

How Much a Dollar Cost?

The AI Bubble in 2026 (2/4)

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Critical Internet Studies Institute @criticalinternet.bsky.social · 09/03/2026

"Humans are no longer in the decision loop, but AI is being programmed to kill." –CISI Founder @bostonjoan.bsky.social on AI warfare as experimental & extractive, on @wgbh.org www.youtube.com/live/5wk4LtO...

youtube.com

Boston Public Radio, The Curiosity Desk, & The Culture Show Live March 6, 2026

YouTube video by GBH News

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Alondra Nelson @alondra.bsky.social · 23/02/2026

The Epstein files document what many women researchers have long experienced but rarely seen laid bare so starkly: exclusion operating behind closed doors, shaping who gets funded, invited, mentored, and taken seriously. How many of these networks, norms, and gatekeepers remain in place?

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Hypervisible @hypervisible.blacksky.app · 09/02/2026

If you hated that Ring ad, have I got a book for you.

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BostonJoan 🏳️‍🌈 🦫 @bostonjoan.bsky.social · 04/02/2026

This is situation is entirely predictable and can be prevented. @criticalinternet.bsky.social conducts in-depth research on election disinformation and political violence. Already, organized right wing vigilante groups are publicly filming voting stations and ballot boxes for intimidation.

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Hypervisible @hypervisible.blacksky.app · 29/01/2026

“If this technology had existed in earlier decades, it would have been used to track civil rights activists, LGBTQ+ patrons visiting gay bars, women trying to vote, or enslaved people escaping bondage. None of those acts were considered “legal” at the time.”

jsonline.com

This surveillance system treats ordinary people as suspects | Opinion

Flock’s surveillance network spans at least 5,000 police departments, and the ACLU believes the real number is over 7,000.

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BostonJoan 🏳️‍🌈 🦫 @bostonjoan.bsky.social · 20/01/2026

Disinformation research is forbidden knowledge. We cant back down and re-orient our field to appease the dominant political ideology. We need to be advancing public knowledge about media manipulation and disinformation. Why? Because disinformation is a tool of the powerful to suppress opposition

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halloweentime goblin 👻 @sasscarpone.bsky.social · 02/01/2026

tag yourself i’m ’being kind of mean’

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Critical Internet Studies Institute @criticalinternet.bsky.social · 16/12/2025

"Instead of thinking of technological change as the death knell of news media, there is a huge opportunity ahead for education of the general public on the ethics & methods of journalism." –CISI Founder @bostonjoan.bsky.social in @niemanlab.org

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Anna Merlan @annamerlan.bsky.social · 24/11/2025

I talked to Joan Donovan about Twitter's very old foreign influence problem, which was unmasked in the funniest possible way over the weekend: www.motherjones.com/politics/202...

motherjones.com

Twitter's foreign influence problem is nothing new

The platform's just-debuted geolocation tool illuminates a disturbing and persistent issue.

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Critical Internet Studies Institute @criticalinternet.bsky.social · 29/10/2025

“I think they are a profoundly antisocial technology that should be rejected in every way possible...Their very existence is toxic to the social fabric.” –CISI Co-Director @hypervisible.blacksky.app quoted in @theverge.com www.theverge.com/tech/807834/...

theverge.com

Privacy laws can’t keep up with ‘luxury surveillance’

“It’s not clear to me that a small red light would be sufficient notification in some states for someone to consent to being recorded.”

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Critical Internet Studies Institute @criticalinternet.bsky.social · 23/09/2025

Thursday webinar: Catch CISI Co-Director @hypervisible.blacksky.app on AI, libraries, & privacy

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BostonJoan 🏳️‍🌈 🦫 @bostonjoan.bsky.social · 19/09/2025

I wanted to follow up on the meme discussion with a longer piece about how to understand memes as cultural artifacts with their own politics. www.bostonglobe.com/2025/09/19/o...

bostonglobe.com

The memes that may — or may not — shed light on Charlie Kirk’s killing - The Boston Globe

Are the alleged shooter’s messages left, right, or just ragebait?

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Alondra Nelson @alondra.bsky.social · 13/09/2025

Dr. Donovan @bostonjoan.bksy.social breaks it down.

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BostonJoan 🏳️‍🌈 🦫 @bostonjoan.bsky.social · 12/09/2025

I’m putting this information out here so that press and police can begin to understand what’s actually motivating Kirk’s murder.

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Critical Internet Studies Institute @criticalinternet.bsky.social · 12/09/2025

Thank you! We have been deep in the work this week, so this is very appreciated. More to come.

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Eric Holthaus @ericholthaus.com · 12/09/2025

If you want to figure out something productive to do in the aftermath of this horrific week, donating to @criticalinternet.bsky.social is a good place to start. I just did.

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