Dr Abeba Birhane
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abeba.bsky.social
Dr Abeba Birhane
@abeba.bsky.social
51K followers 840 following 4K posts
Founder & PI @aial.ie. Assistant Professor of AI, School of Computer Science & Statistics, @tcddublin.bsky.social

AI accountability, AI audits & evaluation, critical data studies. Cognitive scientist by training. Ethiopian in Ireland. She/her
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abeba.bsky.social
Dr Abeba Birhane @abeba.bsky.social · Jun 25
New paper hot off the press www.nature.com/articles/s41...

We analysed over 40,000 computer vision papers from CVPR (the longest standing CV conf) & associated patents tracing pathways from research to application. We found that 90% of papers & 86% of downstream patents power surveillance

1/
Computer-vision research powers surveillance technology - Nature
An analysis of research papers and citing patents indicates the extensive ties between computer-vision research and surveillance.
www.nature.com
abeba.bsky.social
someday I'll go a day, hell even a week, without someone explaining AI to me
January 17, 2026 at 10:07 AM
Reposted by Dr Abeba Birhane
rudeeru.bsky.social
oh wow this is actually true - from source report "Inequality was selected by respondents as the most interconnected global risk for a second year running, followed closely by Economic downturn (Figure 6)."
January 17, 2026 at 6:55 AM
Reposted by Dr Abeba Birhane
queenerr.bsky.social
Once a technology becomes core infrastructure, the state treats it as systemic. AI is already there, which makes “bubble” analogies misleading.
abeba.bsky.social Dr Abeba Birhane @abeba.bsky.social · 10h
talking about AI as a bubble doesn't make sense. AI/tech has become integrated into critical social/financial infrastructure means fall of AI = fall of these institutions. just like govnt's bailed banks during the financial crisis, they will do same with AI so long as AI remains social infrastrctr
January 17, 2026 at 8:11 AM
Reposted by Dr Abeba Birhane
kevinmkruse.bsky.social
I genuinely don't understood how America took the emoluments clause -- the common-sense bar on a president using his powers to line his own pockets, a law children can understand -- and just said, nah, that doesn't apply for our Very Special Boy.
ronfilipkowski.bsky.social Ron Filipkowski @ronfilipkowski.bsky.social · 9h
He’s turned the presidency into the world’s largest ATM machine.
January 17, 2026 at 1:26 AM
abeba.bsky.social
name one that counteracts problems like misinformation, inequality, environmental disasters or any of the listed risks
January 17, 2026 at 1:56 AM
Reposted by Dr Abeba Birhane
syntxoof.bsky.social
That’s why they are frantically jamming it into every crack and crevice as quickly as possible. It’ll be impossible to to get it roped in
abeba.bsky.social Dr Abeba Birhane @abeba.bsky.social · 10h
talking about AI as a bubble doesn't make sense. AI/tech has become integrated into critical social/financial infrastructure means fall of AI = fall of these institutions. just like govnt's bailed banks during the financial crisis, they will do same with AI so long as AI remains social infrastrctr
January 17, 2026 at 12:25 AM
abeba.bsky.social
me right now in bed
ririsfilthyart.bsky.social ririarts (comms open) @ririsfilthyart.bsky.social · 18h
This. Fuck, this so often
Tumblr post: [guy whose bedtime is approaching fast] I need to write one billion words right now. and draw everything that has ever existed.
January 17, 2026 at 12:39 AM
Reposted by Dr Abeba Birhane
tagerai.bsky.social
I never imagined 20 years ago that I'd be quoted in an article with this title, but here we are www.newsweek.com/donald-trump...
Donald Trump bought up to $1 million Victoria's Secret bonds last month
Several bills are under consideration that would ban congressional stock trading, but they exempt the executive branch.
www.newsweek.com
January 17, 2026 at 12:12 AM
abeba.bsky.social
talking about AI as a bubble doesn't make sense. AI/tech has become integrated into critical social/financial infrastructure means fall of AI = fall of these institutions. just like govnt's bailed banks during the financial crisis, they will do same with AI so long as AI remains social infrastrctr
January 17, 2026 at 12:23 AM
Reposted by Dr Abeba Birhane
thehousered.bsky.social
every single successful general strike in US history has had union backing through the local AFL-CIO

this is the first time it’s been called for since the 1940s
January 16, 2026 at 9:24 PM
Reposted by Dr Abeba Birhane
spees.bsky.social
holy crap they made the Ph.D program I unknowingly spent the past 15 years of my life preparing for
abeba.bsky.social Dr Abeba Birhane @abeba.bsky.social · 1d
are you displeased with today’s AI safety evaluation landscape and curious about what greater conceptual clarity, methodological soundness, and rigour in AI evaluation could look like? if so, consider coming to Dublin to pursue a PhD with me

apply here: aial.ie/hiring/phd-a...

pls repost
About the PhD: Audits and evaluation of AI systems — and the broader context that AI systems operate in — have become central to conceptualising, quantifying, measuring and understanding the operations, failures, limitations, underlying assumptions, and downstream societal implications of AI systems. Existing AI audit and evaluation efforts are fractured, done in a siloed and ad-hoc manner, and with little deliberation and reflection around conceptual rigour and methodological validity. This PhD is for a candidate that is passionate about exploring what a conceptually cogent, methodologically sound, and well-founded AI evaluation and safety research might look like. This requires grappling with questions such as: What does it mean to represent “ground truth” in proxies, synthetic data, or computational simulation? How do we reliably measure abstract and complex phenomena? What are the epistemological or methodological implications of quantification and measurement approaches we choose to employ? Particularly, what underlying presuppositions, values, or perspectives do they entail? How do we ensure the lived experiences of impacted communities play a critical role in the development and justification of measurement metrics and proxies? Through exploration of these questions, the candidate is expected to engage with core concepts in the philosophy of science, history of science, Black feminist epistemologies, and similar schools of thought to develop an in-depth understanding of existing practices with the aim of applying it to advance shared standards and best practice in AI evaluation. The candidate is expected to integrate empirical (for example, through analysis or evaluation of existing benchmarks) or practical (for example, by executing evaluation of AI systems) components into the overall work.
January 16, 2026 at 8:26 PM
Reposted by Dr Abeba Birhane
kevinr.free-dissociation.com
YES YES YES YES YES
abeba.bsky.social Dr Abeba Birhane @abeba.bsky.social · 1d
are you displeased with today’s AI safety evaluation landscape and curious about what greater conceptual clarity, methodological soundness, and rigour in AI evaluation could look like? if so, consider coming to Dublin to pursue a PhD with me

apply here: aial.ie/hiring/phd-a...

pls repost
About the PhD: Audits and evaluation of AI systems — and the broader context that AI systems operate in — have become central to conceptualising, quantifying, measuring and understanding the operations, failures, limitations, underlying assumptions, and downstream societal implications of AI systems. Existing AI audit and evaluation efforts are fractured, done in a siloed and ad-hoc manner, and with little deliberation and reflection around conceptual rigour and methodological validity. This PhD is for a candidate that is passionate about exploring what a conceptually cogent, methodologically sound, and well-founded AI evaluation and safety research might look like. This requires grappling with questions such as: What does it mean to represent “ground truth” in proxies, synthetic data, or computational simulation? How do we reliably measure abstract and complex phenomena? What are the epistemological or methodological implications of quantification and measurement approaches we choose to employ? Particularly, what underlying presuppositions, values, or perspectives do they entail? How do we ensure the lived experiences of impacted communities play a critical role in the development and justification of measurement metrics and proxies? Through exploration of these questions, the candidate is expected to engage with core concepts in the philosophy of science, history of science, Black feminist epistemologies, and similar schools of thought to develop an in-depth understanding of existing practices with the aim of applying it to advance shared standards and best practice in AI evaluation. The candidate is expected to integrate empirical (for example, through analysis or evaluation of existing benchmarks) or practical (for example, by executing evaluation of AI systems) components into the overall work.
January 16, 2026 at 6:59 PM
Reposted by Dr Abeba Birhane
withloveperiod.bsky.social
Move fast, break things, destroy the planet. But at least we have LLMs.
abeba.bsky.social Dr Abeba Birhane @abeba.bsky.social · 21h
spot how many of these risks are due to/powered by the tech industry

source: www.weforum.org/publications...
January 16, 2026 at 4:24 PM
abeba.bsky.social
not humanity. just handful billionaires and ceos. imho, most people are naturally kind and decent
rockney.bsky.social Pissed-Off Scientist @rockney.bsky.social · 15h
Stephen Hawking was right. Humanity is doomed due to greed and stupidity.
January 16, 2026 at 8:12 PM
Reposted by Dr Abeba Birhane
drcoxsfantasies.bsky.social
Literally all of them have a connection direct or indirect to the tech goblin shitbags.
January 16, 2026 at 2:52 PM
Reposted by Dr Abeba Birhane
t-antony.bsky.social
For all the hype, what exactly has the tech industry done for greater society in the last thirty years other than suck up a ton of resources?
We can agree on the cell phone but that came from a government funded company in the 1970s.
January 16, 2026 at 3:53 PM
Reposted by Dr Abeba Birhane
litbowl.bsky.social
Sorry but "relentlessly improving capabilities" is just wild hype...
January 16, 2026 at 2:44 PM
Reposted by Dr Abeba Birhane
realitycheck.bsky.social
Adverse outcomes from AI is the most rapidly rising risk. Section 2.7 of their report is an excellent deep dive.

"A generation of university graduates may need to work gig-economy jobs as they struggle to keep pace... [Mass unemployment] could become a destabilizing force in society..."
January 16, 2026 at 2:33 PM
abeba.bsky.social
spot how many of these risks are due to/powered by the tech industry

source: www.weforum.org/publications...
January 16, 2026 at 12:39 PM
Reposted by Dr Abeba Birhane
oisinmcgann.bsky.social
#SpéirGhorm #SpeirGorm
abeba.bsky.social Dr Abeba Birhane @abeba.bsky.social · 1d
are you displeased with today’s AI safety evaluation landscape and curious about what greater conceptual clarity, methodological soundness, and rigour in AI evaluation could look like? if so, consider coming to Dublin to pursue a PhD with me

apply here: aial.ie/hiring/phd-a...

pls repost
About the PhD: Audits and evaluation of AI systems — and the broader context that AI systems operate in — have become central to conceptualising, quantifying, measuring and understanding the operations, failures, limitations, underlying assumptions, and downstream societal implications of AI systems. Existing AI audit and evaluation efforts are fractured, done in a siloed and ad-hoc manner, and with little deliberation and reflection around conceptual rigour and methodological validity. This PhD is for a candidate that is passionate about exploring what a conceptually cogent, methodologically sound, and well-founded AI evaluation and safety research might look like. This requires grappling with questions such as: What does it mean to represent “ground truth” in proxies, synthetic data, or computational simulation? How do we reliably measure abstract and complex phenomena? What are the epistemological or methodological implications of quantification and measurement approaches we choose to employ? Particularly, what underlying presuppositions, values, or perspectives do they entail? How do we ensure the lived experiences of impacted communities play a critical role in the development and justification of measurement metrics and proxies? Through exploration of these questions, the candidate is expected to engage with core concepts in the philosophy of science, history of science, Black feminist epistemologies, and similar schools of thought to develop an in-depth understanding of existing practices with the aim of applying it to advance shared standards and best practice in AI evaluation. The candidate is expected to integrate empirical (for example, through analysis or evaluation of existing benchmarks) or practical (for example, by executing evaluation of AI systems) components into the overall work.
January 16, 2026 at 11:14 AM
Reposted by Dr Abeba Birhane
derekjjohnson.bsky.social
Just so people outside of MN know - a lot of the US citizens getting “arrested” by ICE never get processed at Whipple. They are roughed up during the arrest and then often dropped off miles from where they were picked up. It means we don’t know the true scale of what ICE is doing based on ICE stats
January 15, 2026 at 7:01 PM
Reposted by Dr Abeba Birhane
bencollins.bsky.social
Jesus.

www.startribune.com/ice-raids-mi...
January 15, 2026 at 5:08 PM Reid Forgrave ICE agents eat at small-town Mexican restaurant — then arrest workers Federal agents detained three workers from a family-owned Mexican restaurant in Willmar yesterday, hours after four agents ate lunch there. It was not immediately clear what the immigration status of those detained was, or whether the people detained included the restaurant’s owners or only workers. An eyewitness who declined to give a name for fear of retribution, told the Minnesota Star Tribune that four ICE agents sat in a booth for a meal at El Tapatio a little before 3 p.m. Staff at the restaurant were frightened, said the eyewitness, who shared pictures from the restaurant as well as video of the arrest. The arrest happened around 8:30 p.m. near a Lutheran church and Willmar Middle School as agents followed the workers after they closed up for the night. A handful of bystanders blew whistles and shouted at agents as they detained the people. “Would your mama be proud of you right now?” one of the bystanders asked.
January 16, 2026 at 2:36 AM
Reposted by Dr Abeba Birhane
umaw.bsky.social
In April 2024, Spotify implemented a new scheme: songs with less than 1k streams per year would no longer receive royalties.

The data for 2025 was just released via Luminate, and 88% of songs have been demonetized.

Read it again: 88% of songs on Spotify have been demonetized.
January 15, 2026 at 4:58 PM
Reposted by Dr Abeba Birhane
chrismckillop.bsky.social
Super PhD opportunity.
abeba.bsky.social Dr Abeba Birhane @abeba.bsky.social · 1d
are you displeased with today’s AI safety evaluation landscape and curious about what greater conceptual clarity, methodological soundness, and rigour in AI evaluation could look like? if so, consider coming to Dublin to pursue a PhD with me

apply here: aial.ie/hiring/phd-a...

pls repost
About the PhD: Audits and evaluation of AI systems — and the broader context that AI systems operate in — have become central to conceptualising, quantifying, measuring and understanding the operations, failures, limitations, underlying assumptions, and downstream societal implications of AI systems. Existing AI audit and evaluation efforts are fractured, done in a siloed and ad-hoc manner, and with little deliberation and reflection around conceptual rigour and methodological validity. This PhD is for a candidate that is passionate about exploring what a conceptually cogent, methodologically sound, and well-founded AI evaluation and safety research might look like. This requires grappling with questions such as: What does it mean to represent “ground truth” in proxies, synthetic data, or computational simulation? How do we reliably measure abstract and complex phenomena? What are the epistemological or methodological implications of quantification and measurement approaches we choose to employ? Particularly, what underlying presuppositions, values, or perspectives do they entail? How do we ensure the lived experiences of impacted communities play a critical role in the development and justification of measurement metrics and proxies? Through exploration of these questions, the candidate is expected to engage with core concepts in the philosophy of science, history of science, Black feminist epistemologies, and similar schools of thought to develop an in-depth understanding of existing practices with the aim of applying it to advance shared standards and best practice in AI evaluation. The candidate is expected to integrate empirical (for example, through analysis or evaluation of existing benchmarks) or practical (for example, by executing evaluation of AI systems) components into the overall work.
January 15, 2026 at 2:29 PM
abeba.bsky.social
good evening from Dublin
Picture of Dublin's iconic building, the convention Centre with red circular line lights, reflections in the river across it
January 15, 2026 at 7:48 PM