iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Reposted by Sidney Rothstein

Britt Paris @hellobrittparis.bsky.social · 19h

Register for our AAUP webinar for the 3rd segment of our Toolkit series on intervening in institutional procurement TODAY Wednesday 10/7 at 3pm ET introducing our "Strategy Playbook for Addressing AI at Work" resource with Cynthia Conti-Cook! www.aaup.org/event/strate...

aaup.org

Strategy Playbook for Addressing AI at Work

This webinar spotlights a strategy procurement playbook that outlines various tools and strategies for workers in higher education to democratize procurement practices around AI and other technologies...

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Sidney Rothstein @sidneyrothstein.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

Good ep, but took about 45 min before I realized it was about a weirdo named Elon and not Chad

Two pics of Chad muska, one on a rail and one with a large boombox

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Catherine D'Ignazio (she/her/ella) @kanarinka.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

MIT spent $3 million on 500 AI-capable surveillance cameras while laying people off, shutting down libraries, and canceling journal subscriptions. In this article, 4 faculty & I discuss our new arts initiative to celebrate surveillance and repression on college campuses: fnl.mit.edu/how-we-learn...

fnl.mit.edu

How We Learned to Stop Worrying and Love Campus Surveillance – MIT Faculty Newsletter

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Elise Gould @elisegould.bsky.social · 17/09/2026

New data alert 🚨 - CEO pay surged in 2025, rising 14% to an average $27.9 million - CEOs are paid 325 times as much as the typical worker in their industry - Between 1978 and 2025, top CEO pay rose 1,316% compared to only a 28% increase for typical workers www.epi.org/blog/ceo-pay... #EconSky

epi.org

CEO pay surged in 2025: CEOs are paid 325 times as much as the typical worker

Key findings: CEO pay at the top 350 U.S. firms rose 14.0% in 2025 to an average of $27.9 million. CEOs made 325 times as much as the typical worker in 2025. It hasn’t always been this way. In 1965, C...

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Henry Farrell @himself.bsky.social · 15/09/2026

7. Everyone would be better off. Well maybe not everyone. Jensen Huang would certainly have a very big sad. But is that a bug or a feature? I think the course is clear. The labs _need_ their workers to unionize if they want to save their profit model. AI Labs of the world unite! [finis].

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Sidney Rothstein @sidneyrothstein.bsky.social · 01/09/2026

Is the Ill-fitting suit + baseball cap thing still happening?

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Reposted by Sidney Rothstein

JS Tan @js-tan.bsky.social · 17/08/2026

My book AGAINST TECH OLIGARCHY, out Sept 15, is available for pre-order at againsttecholigarchy.com. It chronicles the rise of tech workers' activism, how they courageously came together to challenge the industry's most powerful bosses, and how their movement changed Silicon Valley forever. 1/

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Sidney Rothstein @sidneyrothstein.bsky.social · 06/08/2026

Not to mention they’ll need a lot more than 15 mil!

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Sidney Rothstein @sidneyrothstein.bsky.social · 21/05/2026

So much value: "Samsung's operating profit in the January to March quarter jumped about 750% from a year earlier." So much solidarity: "The union said that 23,000 workers who were making less advanced chips for companies like Tesla and Nvidia should not be left behind." www.bbc.com/news/article...

bbc.com

Samsung strike on hold as workers push for AI bonus

The walkout, which was due to start on Thursday, has been suspended while union members vote on a tentative deal.

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Sidney Rothstein @sidneyrothstein.bsky.social · 10/05/2026

Yes, and it’s also true that the peer review process has been exceptionally, though unevenly, helpful for much of my work. Sounds like we need to found a new journal with clear commitments. One irony is that it’s digital tools (though not AI) that could make that possible

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Sidney Rothstein @sidneyrothstein.bsky.social · 08/05/2026

Shame on @wiley.com for extorting authors to feed our work to their AI contractors

I acknowledge and accept that Wiley will use my submission data, whether my manuscript is accepted or rejected for publication, with Wiley’s internal AI tools solely to improve submission, screening, and peer review workflows in accordance with Wiley’s privacy policy. For example, Wiley's AI tools can extract text from my manuscript to autofill required metadata fields, saving me time from manual input.

This journal requires that you confirm all items above in order to proceed. Please correct items above to continue or consider a different journal

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Sidney Rothstein @sidneyrothstein.bsky.social · 14/04/2026

And everyone says it's toddlers who are bad at sharing www.nytimes.com/2026/04/11/u...

nytimes.com

3 Men Are Arrested in $1 Million Lego Theft in California

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Phoebe Cohen @phoebefossil.bsky.social · 27/02/2026

Talk alert! Weds, March 4th - @peterbrannen.bsky.social in conversation with me and @sidneyrothstein.bsky.social at Williams College! CO2, geology, AND capitalism. 7:00pm in Wachenheim Room B11, open to the public, books for sale & signing (& cookies) to follow: events.williams.edu/event/the-st...

A square image showing the cover of a book called "the story of CO2 is the story of everything" by Peter Brannen, advertising a talk on March 4th at Williams College from 7-8:30 PM in Bronfman auditorium. Open to the public.

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Sidney Rothstein @sidneyrothstein.bsky.social · 17/02/2026

🚨We're hiring! 🚨 Williams College Department of Political Science is looking for a one-year visiting assistant professor of political science in comparative politics. (Preferred regional focus: Africa and/or South Asia) apply.interfolio.com/181758 Closes Feb 23, 2026

image of williams college nestled in the lush green hills of berkshire county

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Sidney Rothstein @sidneyrothstein.bsky.social · 05/02/2026

Few books have made such an impact on my thinking recently as Brannen's "The Story of CO2." Can't wait to discuss with @peterbrannen.bsky.social on March 4th. Come by if you're in Western Mass, and if you're not, go get yourself this book!

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Carola Westermeier @c-westermeier.bsky.social · 26/11/2025

Fantastic opportunity for PhD students working in the fields of political economy and economic sociology to receive valuable feedback and connect to other researchers in their field. Organized by the wonderful PhD students of the @mpifg.bsky.social Send them your abstracts!

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Cecilia Rikap @ceciliarikap.bsky.social · 07/10/2025

A must read paper on how Big Tech uses start-ups from Spain and Brazil to advance their political interests 👇👇👇

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Sidney Rothstein @sidneyrothstein.bsky.social · 06/10/2025

And if you’re interested in dependent development, you’ll love the recent special issue published by @compchange.bsky.social (and guest edited by @aritassinari.bsky.social, @fbulfone.bsky.social, and Aldo Madariaga) doi.org/10.1177/1024... 13/n

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Sidney Rothstein @sidneyrothstein.bsky.social · 06/10/2025

Speaking of other research, the article builds directly on existing research on Big Tech’s power and political influence. See especially: @lobbycontrol.bsky.social @corporateeurope.org @somoamsterdam.bsky.social @margaridasilva.bsky.social @maxheermann.bsky.social @maximilianiras.bsky.social

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Sidney Rothstein @sidneyrothstein.bsky.social · 06/10/2025

(In ongoing research, I am exploring the character of this dependence – what exactly do the *economic* aspects of dependent development look like in digital capitalism?) 11/n

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Sidney Rothstein @sidneyrothstein.bsky.social · 06/10/2025

But given startups’ economic/technological dependence on Big Tech, it seems unlikely they would ever propose policies that would threaten Big Tech – because doing so would also threaten their own interests. 10/n

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Sidney Rothstein @sidneyrothstein.bsky.social · 06/10/2025

… because Big Tech can revoke support whenever their “clients” even think about threatening Big Tech’s interests. (See the case of the EDRi) www.ft.com/content/7427... 9/n

"But Joe McNamee, director of European Digital Rights (EDRi), a group that promotes tighter privacy rules, disputes that they have been able to muster the same firepower as US tech groups. Mr. McNamee occupies a unique position. EDRi used to be supported by Google when it campaigned for net neutrality. But when his group started lobbying on tougher privacy rights, it lost Google's financial backing."

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Sidney Rothstein @sidneyrothstein.bsky.social · 06/10/2025

(3) given that startups’ political advocacy depends on Big Tech’s resources, it is extremely unlikely that startups will promote policies that reduce dependence on Big Tech… 8/n

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Sidney Rothstein @sidneyrothstein.bsky.social · 06/10/2025

(2) reviving analysis of the *political* character of dependency, this isn’t just about economic relationships or access to certain technologies. Instead, in many contexts, startups’ ability to even constitute a political actor depends on Big Tech’s largesse – which leads to the 3rd upshot 👇 7/n

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Sidney Rothstein @sidneyrothstein.bsky.social · 06/10/2025

There are 3 important upshots for dependent development and the politics of digital capitalism (1) echoing research by @ceciliarikap.bsky.social and others, digital capitalism implies a broader periphery than in past eras – one that includes countries in the historical periphery, like Spain. 6/n

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Sidney Rothstein @sidneyrothstein.bsky.social · 06/10/2025

In short, the Big Tech/startup relationship resembles the asymmetric reciprocity characterizing that between patron and client 5/n

GIF of the godfather saying, "I'm going to make him an offer he can't refuse."

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Sidney Rothstein @sidneyrothstein.bsky.social · 06/10/2025

Two detailed case studies (Brazil and Spain) show how Big Tech sponsors startup associations, giving them the resources to lobby national policymakers. I diagnose the Big Tech/startup relationship as patron/client, since the relationship is: - Dyadic - Iterative - Contingent - Hierarchical 4/n

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Sidney Rothstein @sidneyrothstein.bsky.social · 06/10/2025

Where do startup policies come from? Probably not from startups. Most can hardly afford to keep the lights on, so how do they afford to lobby for changing national policy? Answer: Big Tech’s money 3/n

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Sidney Rothstein @sidneyrothstein.bsky.social · 06/10/2025

Have you noticed the recent wave of startup policies? See: Argentina, Bahrain, Brazil, Chile, Croatia, Cyprus, Estonia, India, Malaysia, Mexico, the Philippines, Thailand... also in the historical core: Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain – and more! 2/n

List of countries and their recent startup laws 1/2

List of countries and their recent startup laws 2/2

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Sidney Rothstein @sidneyrothstein.bsky.social · 06/10/2025

Out now in Competition & Change @compchange.bsky.social “Dependent development in digital capitalism: The politics of startup policies in the new periphery” @journals.sagepub.com #polisky journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1... 1/n

first page of "Dependent development in digital capitalism: The politics of startup policies in the new periphery." abstract: As digital technology’s economic importance increases, policymakers pivot to supporting startups – new, small, high-risk firms that produce technological innovation. Tracing the passage of startup policies in Brazil and Spain between 2014 – 2022, this article argues that startup policies do little to reduce peripheral countries’ dependence on the core. In each case, startups advocated for these policies by relying on financial and organizational resources from the giant US-based technology firms known as “Big Tech.” The article makes three contributions to the framework of dependent development. First, it reinforces existing observations that dependence on Big Tech extends beyond the Global South. Second, it revives political analysis of dependency, exploring the political conditions for economic development in the periphery. Lastly, it shows how startups’ political dependence on Big Tech implies important limits on startups’ ability to lead peripheral economies out of dependence on the core.

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Rafael Grohmann @grohmannrafael.bsky.social · 02/09/2025

Workers Governing Technologies: Collective Strategies Across Contexts. In-person workshop in Toronto on Sep 25 and 26 with 20 speakers from Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Spain and US Registration link and full schedule: www.eventbrite.ca/e/workers-go...

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Sidney Rothstein @sidneyrothstein.bsky.social · 31/08/2025

Find a correlation with something, publish a political science paper

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Artologica aka Michele Banks @artologica.net · 07/05/2025

A few things cooler than AI by Andy J. Pizza

Drawings of a few things cooler than AI such as owls, clouds, Stars, dreams, birds, snails, a child's drawing, peanut butter and jelly a hug, the ocean and a cool rock

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UC Berkeley Labor Center @ucblaborcenter.bsky.social · 05/08/2025

"UC Berkeley’s Labor Center launches a new data tool, an inventory of union contracts, to empower labor in negotiating AI and emerging technologies. It provides crucial insights for unions to secure worker protections and shape the future of work." lngfrm.net/uc-berkeley-...

lngfrm.net

UC Berkeley Unveils AI Labor Bargaining Tool - LNGFRM

UC Berkeley's Labor Center launches a new data tool, an inventory of union contracts, to empower labor in negotiating AI and emerging technologies. It provides crucial insights for unions to secure wo...

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Arianna Tassinari @aritassinari.bsky.social · 18/07/2025

We are delighted that our Special Issue on "The Politics of Growth, Stagnation and Upgrading in Peripheral Economies" coedited w/ @fbulfone.bsky.social & Aldo Madariaga is now out in Competition & Change @compchange.bsky.social, Vol. 29(3–4). 🔗 doi.org/10.1177/1024...

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Sidney Rothstein @sidneyrothstein.bsky.social · 27/06/2025

Congratulations, Ben! Looking forward to the work from this

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Sidney Rothstein @sidneyrothstein.bsky.social · 27/06/2025

Good week to re-up this report by @ocampomar.bsky.social and @ips-dc.org: Following Massachusetts' Fair Share Amendment (tax on millionaires), did the millionaires leave en masse as they had threatened? No, the millionaires stayed -- and tax revenue increased! ips-dc.org/report-wealt...

ips-dc.org

Wealth Expands After Higher State Taxes on High-Income Earners - Institute for Policy Studies

Wealth Expands After Higher State Taxes on High-Income Earners

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EPSS @epssnet.bsky.social · 26/06/2025

🚨 Big News for European Political Science 🚨 We’re thrilled to announce the launch of the European Political Science Society (EPSS): a new, member-led, not-for-profit association built to support our scholarly community. 🔗 epssnet.org Here’s a thread with everything you need to know. 🧵

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SASE | The Society for the Advancement of Socio-Economics @sasemeeting.bsky.social · 12/06/2025

In Montréal for SASE 2025 – or nearby? 🇨🇦 Join us Thursday, July 10 for free public sessions at the Palais des Congrès – no badge needed. Global scholars, union leaders & policymakers discuss labor, social economy & policy innovation. #SASE2025 #Montreal #PublicSessions

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Sidney Rothstein @sidneyrothstein.bsky.social · 06/06/2025

That direction is generally less well received :/

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