Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Reposted by Natasha Tusikov

Nathan Kalman-Lamb @nkalamb.bsky.social · 16h

This is so significant: a new comprehensive report detailing the myriad modalities of Canadian university complicity in Israel’s genocide in Gaza.

static1.squarespace.com/static/68bf2...

Palestine at Canadian Universities: How institutional complicity in colonial genocide is maintained

4 56 110

Reposted by Natasha Tusikov

Leta Lestrange @joybella.blacksky.app · 2d

WHEW, baby. If *anyone* understands this moment....it's Scotland (shout out to the Travelers).

Nathan Kalman-Lamb @nkalamb.bsky.social · 2d

Front page of Scottish newspaper The National today.

2 36 76

Reposted by Natasha Tusikov

Florence Ashley @floralashes.bsky.social · 7d

I am glad to read the head of the Canadian Civil Liberties Association supporting me and taking a stand for academic freedom!

Opinion: U of A's response to Charlie Kirk comments erodes academic freedom

This case cannot be separated from the broader landscape of academic freedom currently under strain in Canada and beyond.

edmontonjournal.com

1 35 110

Reposted by Natasha Tusikov

Nathan Kalman-Lamb @nkalamb.bsky.social · 13d

As leaders around the world respond to Israel's illegal abduction of humanitarians carrying aid to babies in Gaza, silence from Canada's @mark-carney.bsky.social
@anitaoakvilleeast.bsky.social, and yet they want us to believe this country has moral authority in the world?

Even the UK commented!

British foreign office

"The aid carried by the flotilla should be turned over to humanitarian organisations on the ground to be delivered safely into Gaza.

"It is the responsibility of the Israeli government to resolve the atrocious humanitarian crisis in Gaza."

4 13 43

Reposted by Natasha Tusikov

Jennifer Koshan @jenniferkoshan.bsky.social · 15d

Solidarity from law profs down highway 2. That this reprehensible and dangerous action by U of A was apparently triggered by conservative media is appalling. The “protection” rationale trotted out by U of A (see also: forceful takedown of campus protests) is baseless and must be challenged.

Florence Ashley @floralashes.bsky.social · 16d

"Why would it bow to antidemocratic pressures by placing a professor on leave without their request, consent, or involvement? That any university would do this is beyond comprehension and is cause for alarm about the future of academic freedom in Canada."

What Happened to the University’s Commitment to Free Expression? Charley Kirk, uAlberta, and Me | Centre for Free Expression

I was shocked when the University of Alberta administration informed me, one of its law professors, that I was being placed on non-disciplinary leave for my social media comments in the wake of Charli...

cfe.torontomu.ca

18 28

Reposted by Natasha Tusikov

Emmett Macfarlane 🇨🇦 @emmettmacfarlane.com · 15d

Is CAUT @caut.bsky.social exploring the possibility of censure against U of T and UAlberta for punishing faculty for extramural speech and thus violating their academic freedom?

8 15

Natasha Tusikov @ntusikov.bsky.social · 15d

A horrifying case of censorship by @ualberta.bsky.social against a law prof commenting on Kirk's death. University failed to explain or justify why Ashley was removed from class. Explanation (& apology) needed from the uni, & protection for faculty & academic freedom. @caut.bsky.social fyi

Florence Ashley @floralashes.bsky.social · 16d

"Why would it bow to antidemocratic pressures by placing a professor on leave without their request, consent, or involvement? That any university would do this is beyond comprehension and is cause for alarm about the future of academic freedom in Canada."

What Happened to the University’s Commitment to Free Expression? Charley Kirk, uAlberta, and Me | Centre for Free Expression

I was shocked when the University of Alberta administration informed me, one of its law professors, that I was being placed on non-disciplinary leave for my social media comments in the wake of Charli...

cfe.torontomu.ca

1 7

Reposted by Natasha Tusikov

David A. Welch @davidawelch.bsky.social · 15d

It is frankly shocking and embarrassing that the Canadian government is dragging its feet on processing visas for these Palestinian students at risk. Get with the program, folks. www.linkedin.com/posts/pssar_...

#standwithstudents #gaza #pssar #university #canada | PSSAR Network

We will not give up calling on our Canadian government to follow the steps taken to evacuate those students by the UK, France, Italy, and Ireland. We call on Prime Minister Mark Carney: Do not fail t...

www.linkedin.com

7 16

Reposted by Natasha Tusikov

Blayne Haggart @bhaggart.bsky.social · 16d

I and my co-author @ntusikov.bsky.social offer an answer that question in our book, The New Knowledge (open access). Long story short: the digital tech-driven downgrading of scientific knowledge by the belief that statistical correlation on its own is a superior form of knowledge.

The New Knowledge

From the global geopolitical arena to the smart city, control over knowledge-particularly over data and intellectual property-has become a key battleground for…

www.bloomsbury.com

1 3

Reposted by Natasha Tusikov

Teresa Heffernan @tjheffernan.bsky.social · 16d

Seriously... Cohere that snuggled up to Peter Thiel and his "Algorithmically Accelerated Killing Machine”? Do better Canada's AI task force and please pay attention to the agenda of your partners: techcrunch.com/2024/12/16/c...

1

Reposted by Natasha Tusikov

Blayne Haggart @bhaggart.bsky.social · 16d

This. Precisely this. Every day of the week.
Which makes it all the more troubling that despite the ever-increasing number of warning signs, Canada's Prime Minister and his Minister for AI have gone all-in on the hype. They're buying at the top of the bubble, and Canada will be worse off for it.

NightMar on Hicks Street, Part 4: The Rabbit’s Revenge @histoftech.bsky.social · 16d

Every good programmer I know has been saying this to me for months; meanwhile every not-great programmer I know has been trying to outsource their work to ai, causing more issues/delays than they if did it themselves.

A lot of these tools only seem good to people who are not great at their jobs.

Hypervisible @hypervisible.blacksky.app · 16d

“In a new report, management consultants Bain & Company found that despite being ‘one of the first areas to deploy generative AI,’ the ‘savings have been unremarkable’ in programming.”

1 6 10

Reposted by Natasha Tusikov

Blayne Haggart @bhaggart.bsky.social · 16d

I'm sure Canada's just-announced AI Task Force and Cohere, the AI company tasked with identifying governmental uses for AI, will be all over this report.

Hypervisible @hypervisible.blacksky.app · 16d

“In a new report, management consultants Bain & Company found that despite being ‘one of the first areas to deploy generative AI,’ the ‘savings have been unremarkable’ in programming.”

AI Coding Is Massively Overhyped, Report Finds

The AI industry's claims about AI coding assistants boosting productivity significantly appear to be massively overblown, per a new report.

futurism.com

4 9 28

Reposted by Natasha Tusikov

Nathan Kalman-Lamb @nkalamb.bsky.social · 19d

A consensus is forming: Israel must be banned by FIFA and UEFA for its ongoing genocide in Gaza.

Jules Boykoff @julesboykoff.bsky.social · 19d

My latest @theguardian.com: "Fifa banned Russia from international football. Now it must do the same for Israel." As Israel inflicts untold misery on Palestinians, it is time for soccer’s governing bodies to stand by the principles they claim to uphold www.theguardian.com/football/202...

Fifa banned Russia from international football. Now it must do the same for Israel

As Israel inflicts untold misery on Palestinians, it is time for football’s governing bodies to stand by the principles they claim to uphold

www.theguardian.com

1 15 46

Reposted by Natasha Tusikov

Blayne Haggart @bhaggart.bsky.social · 23d

All of this is a long way of saying that if you want to understand how SV got to Trump, and SV-state linkages, Shawn Powers and Michael Jablonski's The Real Cyber War (2015) remains essential reading.

I draw on it heavily for this 2022 oped: www.cigionline.org/articles/sho....

The Real Cyber War

www.press.uillinois.edu

1 5

Reposted by Natasha Tusikov

Blayne Haggart @bhaggart.bsky.social · 23d

One thing missing from this story, which complicates the narrative US tech & tech activists like to tell about themselves: The US tech sector has always been highly dependent on the US state. Them bending the knee to Trump is no more surprising than, say, Boeing continuing to deliver fighter jets.

I Thought I Knew Silicon Valley. I Was Wrong

Tech got what it wanted by electing Trump. A year later, it looks more like a suicide pact.

www.wired.com

1 1 6

Reposted by Natasha Tusikov

Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East @cjpme.org · 23d

The act of recognition is not enough. It will not automatically end Israel’s unlawful occupation of Palestine. To accomplish that, recognition must be backed by meaningful economic pressure against Israel, including sanctions. Read our full statement: www.cjpme.org/pr_2025_09_2...

1 16 42

Reposted by Natasha Tusikov

Mediamorphis @mediamorphis.bsky.social · 25d

I was taken aback when I first heard the news of this. Good to hear that several MPs did not stand to honour Kirk. One can have their private views on such matters and share them w/ friends & colleagues as you wish, but the Parliament of Canada is no place to honour someone so hostile to democracy.

Jen St. Denis @jenstden.bsky.social · 26d

Many Canadians were dismayed to see MPs stand to honour Charlie Kirk - and despite the perception that everyone took part, several MPs have explained why they didn't stand to applaud. #cdnpoli thetyee.ca/News/2025/09...

Not Every Canadian MP Stood to Honour Charlie Kirk | The Tyee

South Surrey MP Ernie Klassen said he and other colleagues abstained from the gesture. Here’s why.

thetyee.ca

1 1

Reposted by Natasha Tusikov

keep your electric eye on me @ubisurv.net · 25d

Utterly ridiculous decision to ban the Irish group, #Kneecap, from #Canada... this is not about dealing with hatred, it's about patronizing and paternalistic restriction of freedom of political speech and artistic expression.

www.theguardian.com/music/2025/s...

Kneecap banned from Canada for ‘glorifying terrorist organisations’

The Belfast rap trio said they would be taking legal action against the ‘deeply malicious’ allegations

www.theguardian.com

1 4 5

Reposted by Natasha Tusikov

Jen Raso @jenraso.bsky.social · 26d

So much of what @bhaggart.bsky.social says here has been on my mind. Canada can't manufacture and pipeline itself away from what is happening south of the border. And using AI tools to increase public sector "production" is not going to solve things either.

Blayne Haggart @bhaggart.bsky.social · 27d

The Carney government’s entire strategy is based on the premise that the US threat to Canada is purely economic. It is unsuited to protecting Canada and Canadians from the US descent into authoritarianism and fascism. The government needs to course-correct immediately.
What would that look like?

9 11

Reposted by Natasha Tusikov

Michèle Champagne @michhham.bsky.social · 26d

“‘One issue with the current cloud market that we have is that it is highly concentrated. There are only a very few companies offering these services,’ [Guillaume] Beaumier said.”

Ottawa is talking about building a sovereign cloud but what does that even mean?

When Carney revealed initial batch of projects Canada aims to fast-track, he mused about another endeavour that didn’t make the list: a sovereign cloud.

www.bnnbloomberg.ca

1

Reposted by Natasha Tusikov

Michèle Champagne @michhham.bsky.social · 28d

Genuine question: Why is Telus’ Canadian “Sovereign AI Factory” built with American chips?

Telus is jumping into the AI compute race with Nvidia chips - The Logic

The telecom giant will start with a small cluster at a Quebec data centre, but plans to expand as demand grows.

thelogic.co

2 3 6

Reposted by Natasha Tusikov

Michèle Champagne @michhham.bsky.social · Sep 14

It’s unfortunate that “major infrastructure” doesn’t figure innovation-focused digital, media, or cultural infrastructure.

It’s all ressource extraction and energy—as if Canada had undone the 20th century and returned to the 19th.

Carney recommends 5 'nation-building projects' for approval, including LNG expansion | CBC News

The initial tranche of major projects the federal government will help get off the ground quickly include expanding liquefied natural gas production in B.C. and upgrading the Port of Montreal, Prime M...

www.cbc.ca

1 2

Reposted by Natasha Tusikov

Ron Deibert @rondeibert.bsky.social · Sep 8

"A tsunami of AI-enabled disinformation is already upon us, polluting the public sphere and seeping back into the language models that AI systems feed upon. What to do?"

My latest oped in @theglobeandmail.com 👇

www.theglobeandmail.com/opinion/arti...

Opinion: Canada’s new Minister of AI must not be naive to its harms

AI is not just being deployed to expand human understanding, but to systematically subvert it as well

www.theglobeandmail.com

3 25 45

Natasha Tusikov @ntusikov.bsky.social · Sep 8

Great oped from @rondeibert.bsky.social from the @citizenlab.ca calling on Canada's new AI minister to stop naively cheerleading & start making policing on AI in today's Globe & Mail. "The Minister of AI should be mitigating these risks, rather than naively championing the tech behind it all."

1 9 22

Reposted by Natasha Tusikov

Mark MacKinnon @markmackinnon.bsky.social · Sep 7

Russian dissidents denied asylum in the U.S. fear deportation back into the arms of Putin’s security services - unless Canada intervenes.

“I hope that Canada will accept us, because all the world is going crazy and I hope that Canada won’t be.”

My report

Russian dissidents in ICE custody warn of deportation back to Russia unless Canada intervenes

ICE has already sent at least 80 people back to Russia this summer. Activists say a third mass-deportation flight is expected in the coming weeks

www.theglobeandmail.com

1 15 34