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Anna Colom

@annacolom.bsky.social

180 followers 260 following 47 posts

Senior Policy Lead @TheDataTank | Former Public Participation & Research Lead @AdaLovelaceInstitute Vis. sch. @OpenUniversity | PhD in POLIS Research #citizenship #democracy #delibdem #intersectionality #data #AI #media Former journo & docu filmmaker

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Anna Colom @annacolom.bsky.social · Feb 27

'Who is involved in deciding what technologies we develop and adopt, and for what purposes? How, why, at what stage, and what are the consequences? How is participation linked to governance and our civil and political rights? And across all these questions, how is power being shared?'

Reposted by Anna Colom

Tim Davies @timdavies.org.uk · 7d

"reports on AI pay lip service to the idea that our collective future alongside AI must be determined through public engagement"... but we need more than that. In this piece, @annacolom.bsky.social and I make the case for structurally embedding public voice into the UN's new spaces of AI governance

Tech Policy Press @techpolicypress.bsky.social · 7d

The UN Independent Scientific Panel must include social, environmental, and public perspectives in its work and membership. And public voices must have a formal, ongoing role in the Global Dialogue on AI Governance, write Tim Davies and Anna Colom.

The UN’s Global Dialogue on AI Must Give Citizens a Real Seat at the Table | TechPolicy.Press

Learning from decades of global convening on climate change, AI Governance must place local lived experiences at its heart, write Tim Davies and Anna Colom.

www.techpolicy.press

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Ruha Benjamin @ruha9.bsky.social · 9d

“This trial exposed their true aim: to intimidate and silence anyone who dares oppose them,” he added. “If we fail to fight back, Trump’s thought police won’t stop at pro-Palestinian voices – they will come for anyone who speaks out.”

www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...

Judge issues blistering opinion against Trump policy to deport pro-Palestinian students

Judge rules non-citizens have the same free speech rights as US citizens under the first amendment

www.theguardian.com

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Reposted by Anna Colom

Dr. Aaron Thierry @thierryaaron.bsky.social · 15d

“To be a good scientist, I have to take emotions out of work. Still, I would say looking at this data, when I allow myself to connect to it emotionally, then I am afraid. This really scares me”

- Dr. Levke Caesar, co-lead of Planetary Boundaries Science Lab

World’s oceans fail key health check as acidity crosses critical threshold for marine life

Scientists call for renewed global effort to curb fossil fuels as seven of nine planetary boundaries now transgressed

www.theguardian.com

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Reposted by Anna Colom

Clare Kelly @clarekelly.bsky.social · Sep 4

Academics are under unrelenting pressure to accept the narrative of the inevitability of #generativeAI & to embrace it in teaching & learning. We resist - because it is ecologically destructive, ethically corrupt, & because it undermines the thinking abilities that make us both human & intelligent.

The Irish Times @irishtimes.com · Sep 4

Opinion: We are lecturers in Trinity College Dublin. It is our responsibility to resist AI

Even if all the known issues were magically resolved, we would still not want our students to use GenAI

www.irishtimes.com

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Anna Colom @annacolom.bsky.social · Aug 16

I enjoyed this podcast conversation with Josh Glover and Ray McDermott following my talk at Heart of Clojure last year 'From hype to responsibility: who decides what matters in data and AI?'. You can listen here: zencastr.com/z/d_wGkrPd Also looking fwd to their new politechs.bsky.social series!

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Reposted by Anna Colom

Cori Crider @coricrider.com · Aug 12

Pausing my summer social media break to share this excellent new investigation into Big AI's environmental footprint - across Chile, Mexico, and Spain - by @pjarandia.bsky.social. Check it out (español): elpais.com/tecnologia/2...

El patio trasero de la IA. Un mapa de la fiebre del oro del siglo XXI

Los gigantes de internet extraen recursos básicos y acaparan terrenos para la construcción de sus nuevos centros de datos en México, Chile y España. Este es un recorrido por los impactos de varios pro...

elpais.com

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Anna Colom @annacolom.bsky.social · Aug 12

'For the colonial conqueror, it was not enough to introduce an additional language to any community. Imperial languages had to be planted on the graveyard of the languages of the dominated.'

www.theguardian.com/books/2025/a...

Take away our language and we will forget who we are: Ngũgĩ wa Thiong’o and the language of conquest

The long read: The late Kenyan novelist and activist believed erasing language was the most lasting weapon of oppression. Here, Aminatta Forna recalls the man and introduces his essay on decolonisatio...

www.theguardian.com

Reposted by Anna Colom

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

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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

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Anna Colom @annacolom.bsky.social · Jun 25

'At least 16 people killed [by police] and 400 injured in Kenyan protests'.

Enough of the killings, arrests, disappearances and media blackouts. Heartbreaking and enraging - thinking of friends and colleagues 🙏

www.theguardian.com/world/2025/j...

At least 16 people killed and 400 injured in Kenyan protests

Police clashed with people marching in Nairobi and other areas to honour those killed in protests last year

www.theguardian.com

Reposted by Anna Colom

Nanjala @nanjala.bsky.social · May 31

A young Kenyan activist has been arrested for launching a website to allow people to follow the legislative journey of this year’s finance bill. She has been denied bail. Public participation is enshrined in the constitution. #Kenya

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Oliver Basciano @olibasciano.bsky.social · May 28

So long, Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o www.bbc.com/news/article...

Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o - a giant of African literature - dies aged 87

The Kenyan author sent shockwaves through African literature by refusing to write in English.

www.bbc.com

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Reposted by Anna Colom

Dr Abeba Birhane @abeba.bsky.social · May 23

"We were excited to have a panel accepted on the role of technology in genocide in Gaza at this year’s Computers, Privacy & Data Protection (CPDP) conference in Brussels. However, CPDP then requested that Access Now & others remove the word “genocide” from panel titles & descriptions. We declined."

Two accepted panels on Palestine were targeted after the preliminary programme was published online: Technologies at war: The role of tech companies and the EU in facilitating war crimes and genocide in Gaza, and Cyber Surveillance and Data Violence in Palestine: Protection, Practice, and Legality. CPDP approached the panel organisers and advised them to remove the word ‘genocide’ in the titles and descriptions, including references to crimes and violations of international law.

CPDP then unjustifiably singled out these two panels with a disclaimer that read: “The text of this panel represents the opinions of the Panel Organiser and not those of CPDP. The case before the ICJ regarding the categorization of Israel’s activities in Gaza has yet to be decided.” Upon the request of the panels’ organisers, the disclaimer was removed.

Discussions about human rights abuses, atrocity crimes, or genocide do not require a court ruling to be legitimate. At the core of international law and human rights work is prevention — a responsibility that also extends to private companies, which are expected to identify and mitigate risks of contributing to such abuses. These obligations are clear under the Four Geneva Conventions of 1949 and the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide. The International Court of Justice (ICJ), in its provisionary measures orders, affirmed the responsibility of state and non-state actors to take actions in the face of a clear and imminent risk of genocide. Multiple UN bodies and experts, genocide scholars, and leading human rights organisations have already categorised the Israeli conduct in Gaza as genocide that has met all legal elements of this crime.

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Reposted by Anna Colom

Sandra Wachter @swachter.bsky.social · May 21

"LLMs do not distinguish between fact & fiction. They are not designed to tell the truth. They are designed to persuade, yet they are implemented in sectors where truth & detail matter, e.g. education, science, health, the media, law, & finance." My interview @washingtonpost.com tinyurl.com/2e7253ja

AI is more persuasive than a human in a debate, study finds

When provided basic demographic information on their opponents, AI chatbots adapted their arguments and became more persuasive than humans in online debates.

tinyurl.com

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Reposted by Anna Colom

Alondra Nelson @alondra.bsky.social · May 13

"For me, the answer now lies in refusal, the withdrawal of participation from systems that require dishonesty as the price of belonging."

Today I am resigning from the National Science Board and the Library of Congress Scholars Council.

I wrote about my decision in TIME.

time.com/7285045/resi...

Why I’m Resigning from the NSF and Library of Congress

I cannot participate in systems that require dishonesty as the price of belonging.

time.com

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Prospect Magazine @prospectmagazine.co.uk · May 7

Next up, @annpettifor.bsky.social writes on the collapse of globalisation. Sure, the liberal economic order has failed. But Trump’s radical rewiring of the system will only make it worse.
www.prospectmagazine.co.uk/ideas/econom...

Globalisation has shattered. What next?

The liberal economic order has failed. Trump’s radical rewiring of the system’s flaws will exacerbate international tensions

www.prospectmagazine.co.uk

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Reposted by Anna Colom

V is for very, very spooky @alana-m-vincent.net · May 5

FOR A STUDENT WHO USED AI TO WRITE A PAPER

Now I let it fall back
in the grasses.
I hear you. I know
this life is hard now.
I know your days are precious
on this earth.
But what are you trying
to be free of?
The living? The miraculous
task of it?
Love is for the ones who love the work.

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Anna Colom @annacolom.bsky.social · Apr 23

This is a really helpful report, congratulations @ievaces.bsky.social Felipe Rey and Santiago Niño-Aguilar and Democracy R&D network - thanks for providing this overview!

Thorsten Sterk @thorstensterk.bsky.social · Apr 22

The year in deliberation 2024

Today, the global Citizens’ Assembly Network „Democracy R&D“ published its first annual report on key trends and developments in deliberative democracy and the network.

🔗 Download: democracyrd.org/wp-content/u...

#CitizensAssembly #DelibWave

Anna Colom @annacolom.bsky.social · Apr 22

Our proposal also includes: federated data and knowledge commons, democratic infrastructure for collective intelligence and deliberation, the protection of civil and political rights, and an Europe open to the world.

Anna Colom @annacolom.bsky.social · Apr 22

We propose avoiding the Westphalian trap and enabling a dynamic governance and democratic environment where municipalities, regions and sectors can thrive.

Anna Colom @annacolom.bsky.social · Apr 22

In this new article @martapoblet.bsky.social and I propose a polycentric democratic governance approach for Europe's digital future. Some of the main points in the thread below 👇 medium.com/@TheDataTank...

#democracy #digitalsovereignty #datagovernance #eurostack

Beyond Digital Sovereignty: A Polycentric Digital Future for Europe

Marta Poblet, The Data Tank | Anna Colom, The Data Tank

medium.com

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Anna Colom @annacolom.bsky.social · Mar 21

Link to the trailer: vimeo.com/16252004
Link to the full documentary: vimeo.com/15323755

Trailer - A journey to Imja lake

In the Everest region of Nepal, the Sherpa people are already facing the impact of climate change in the Himalayas: from the changes on the mountains, their spiritual…

vimeo.com

Anna Colom @annacolom.bsky.social · Mar 21

Almost 2 billion people rely on glaciers today: theconversation.com/as-mountain-...

As mountain glaciers melt, risk of catastrophic flash floods rises for millions − World Day for Glaciers carries a reminder

When mountain permafrost thaws and glaciers melt, glacial lakes can become lethal flood risks for anyone downstream.

theconversation.com

Anna Colom @annacolom.bsky.social · Mar 21

Imja lake was drained in 2016 to avoid the risk of outburst flash floods, but scientists have found many new smaller lakes have formed due to the ongoing melting of the glaciers. Last summer, another glacial lake burst and washed away the village of Thame: www.bbc.com/news/article... #climatechange

Anna Colom @annacolom.bsky.social · Mar 21

Today is the World Day of Glaciers. It is almost 15 years since I made this documentary in the Everest region to film the Imja lake and document the risk posed by the melting of glaciers like Imja. The film was commissioned by Minority Rights Group @minorityrights.bsky.social vimeo.com/annacolom

A close-up of the Imja lake, in the Everest region, with the title of the film in the middle 'A journey to Imja lake'

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Anna Colom @annacolom.bsky.social · Mar 20

It has been great to work with you @agstrait.bsky.social, wishing you the best in your new role and looking forward to catching up!