Louis Ravn
@louravn.bsky.social
PhD Candidate in AI, Digital Culture, and Deep Learning. @University of Amsterdam. deep-culture.org. He/him.
STS | critical data/AI studies | social theory | synthetic data | digital archives
STS | critical data/AI studies | social theory | synthetic data | digital archives
Pinned
Louis Ravn
@louravn.bsky.social
· Feb 4
Sage Journals: Discover world-class research
Subscription and open access journals from Sage, the world's leading independent academic publisher.
journals.sagepub.com
🌟 New article in Big Data & Society 🌟
In recent years, synthetic data have become imbued with a wide range of promises. In this new paper, I investigate how these *synthetic data promises* are fabricated and circulated.
The article is open-access: journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/...
🧵…
In recent years, synthetic data have become imbued with a wide range of promises. In this new paper, I investigate how these *synthetic data promises* are fabricated and circulated.
The article is open-access: journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/...
🧵…
What happens when synthetic data are used in development contexts? My new article examines this question, arguing that critical research on synthetic data should consider data justice issues. Accordingly, the paper outlines avenues for #syntheticdatajustice.
🔗: journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10....
🔗: journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10....
October 20, 2025 at 7:49 AM
What happens when synthetic data are used in development contexts? My new article examines this question, arguing that critical research on synthetic data should consider data justice issues. Accordingly, the paper outlines avenues for #syntheticdatajustice.
🔗: journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10....
🔗: journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10....
Reposted by Louis Ravn
Want to know more about #syntheticdata #assetization, #blockchain and #cloudinfrastructures in #finance? In this paper for @financeandspace.bsky.social , I talk about those topics, plus how synthetic data might be reworking financial #subjectivities! www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....
October 17, 2025 at 3:29 PM
Want to know more about #syntheticdata #assetization, #blockchain and #cloudinfrastructures in #finance? In this paper for @financeandspace.bsky.social , I talk about those topics, plus how synthetic data might be reworking financial #subjectivities! www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....
🚨 CfP: Boundaries & boundary concepts in/as datafication 🚨
🔍 Together with the amazing @dropsmops.bsky.social and Sarah Davies, I'm organizing a workshop on boundaries & boundary concepts in datafication. Please see our flyer below for more details.
📅 19-20 Feb. 2026, University of Amsterdam.
🔍 Together with the amazing @dropsmops.bsky.social and Sarah Davies, I'm organizing a workshop on boundaries & boundary concepts in datafication. Please see our flyer below for more details.
📅 19-20 Feb. 2026, University of Amsterdam.
October 16, 2025 at 12:09 PM
🚨 CfP: Boundaries & boundary concepts in/as datafication 🚨
🔍 Together with the amazing @dropsmops.bsky.social and Sarah Davies, I'm organizing a workshop on boundaries & boundary concepts in datafication. Please see our flyer below for more details.
📅 19-20 Feb. 2026, University of Amsterdam.
🔍 Together with the amazing @dropsmops.bsky.social and Sarah Davies, I'm organizing a workshop on boundaries & boundary concepts in datafication. Please see our flyer below for more details.
📅 19-20 Feb. 2026, University of Amsterdam.
Reposted by Louis Ravn
Keywords are not neutral.
With Tobias Blanke, we investigate the power of keywords as interpretive tools in our work "Keywords in Digital Humanities: A critical assessment of computational techniques for mapping security and freedom in historical debates".
You can read the article now on DHQ!
With Tobias Blanke, we investigate the power of keywords as interpretive tools in our work "Keywords in Digital Humanities: A critical assessment of computational techniques for mapping security and freedom in historical debates".
You can read the article now on DHQ!
DHQ: Digital Humanities Quarterly: Keywords in Digital Humanities – A critical
assessment of computational techniques for mapping security and freedom in
histor...
dhq.digitalhumanities.org
October 15, 2025 at 4:37 PM
Keywords are not neutral.
With Tobias Blanke, we investigate the power of keywords as interpretive tools in our work "Keywords in Digital Humanities: A critical assessment of computational techniques for mapping security and freedom in historical debates".
You can read the article now on DHQ!
With Tobias Blanke, we investigate the power of keywords as interpretive tools in our work "Keywords in Digital Humanities: A critical assessment of computational techniques for mapping security and freedom in historical debates".
You can read the article now on DHQ!
Super fun to contribute to this brief interview with Terminally Online, a student-led organization on New Media at the University of Amsterdam.
We spoke about my wonderful team‘s research (@d-eepculture.bsky.social), who inspires me, and some of my own work.
🔗: www.linkedin.com/pulse/interv...
We spoke about my wonderful team‘s research (@d-eepculture.bsky.social), who inspires me, and some of my own work.
🔗: www.linkedin.com/pulse/interv...
Interview with Louis Ravn
Louis Ravn is a PhD Candidate on Deep Culture at the University of Amsterdam, working in the fields of science and technology studies and critical data/AI studies. Moreover, he is assistant editor for...
www.linkedin.com
October 9, 2025 at 7:20 AM
Super fun to contribute to this brief interview with Terminally Online, a student-led organization on New Media at the University of Amsterdam.
We spoke about my wonderful team‘s research (@d-eepculture.bsky.social), who inspires me, and some of my own work.
🔗: www.linkedin.com/pulse/interv...
We spoke about my wonderful team‘s research (@d-eepculture.bsky.social), who inspires me, and some of my own work.
🔗: www.linkedin.com/pulse/interv...
Reposted by Louis Ravn
I am very excited and honoured to be the recipient of an ERC Starting Grant, starting January 2026 🔆 @erc.europa.eu. The five-year project will explore the broader social, political, and ethical implications of training algorithmic models on synthetic data. www.york.ac.uk/news-and-eve...
New project to investigate societal consequences of using synthetic data to train algorithms
Researchers in the University of York’s Department of Sociology will lead one of the first large-scale, systematic social science studies of synthetic data.
www.york.ac.uk
September 4, 2025 at 3:22 PM
I am very excited and honoured to be the recipient of an ERC Starting Grant, starting January 2026 🔆 @erc.europa.eu. The five-year project will explore the broader social, political, and ethical implications of training algorithmic models on synthetic data. www.york.ac.uk/news-and-eve...
Reposted by Louis Ravn
this is the industry governments want to hand over education and other societal infrastructure
www.washingtonpost.com/investigatio...
www.washingtonpost.com/investigatio...
Meta suppressed research on child safety, employees say
The company’s lawyers intervened to shape research that might have shed light on risks in virtual reality, four current and former staffers have told Congress. Meta denies the allegations.
www.washingtonpost.com
September 10, 2025 at 1:19 PM
this is the industry governments want to hand over education and other societal infrastructure
www.washingtonpost.com/investigatio...
www.washingtonpost.com/investigatio...
👇
September 5, 2025 at 12:35 PM
👇
Reposted by Louis Ravn
“My body is breaking down. My mother is collapsing from exhaustion. My cousin cheats death every day for a morsel of aid. Gaza's children are dying in front of our eyes, and we are powerless to help them.”
www.972mag.com/hunger-gaza-...
www.972mag.com/hunger-gaza-...
We are starving
My body is breaking down. My mother is collapsing from exhaustion. My cousin cheats death every day for a morsel of aid.
www.972mag.com
July 22, 2025 at 1:58 PM
“My body is breaking down. My mother is collapsing from exhaustion. My cousin cheats death every day for a morsel of aid. Gaza's children are dying in front of our eyes, and we are powerless to help them.”
www.972mag.com/hunger-gaza-...
www.972mag.com/hunger-gaza-...
Reposted by Louis Ravn
Weil gerade wieder davon die Rede ist, dass «Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion» ja gar keine «echte» Diversität schaffe: So schaut der faschistische Kampf gegen DEI in den USA aus. Es beginnt mit Zensur und endet in der Verfolgung von Marginalisierten bsky.app/profile/bild...
Für die FAS durfte ich über die aktuellen Löschkampagnen in den USA und über die veränderte Rolle digitaler Bildarchive angesichts generativer KI schreiben – und darüber, warum Datensicherung jetzt das Gebot der Stunde ist: zeitung.faz.net/fas/feuillet...
July 22, 2025 at 10:28 AM
Weil gerade wieder davon die Rede ist, dass «Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion» ja gar keine «echte» Diversität schaffe: So schaut der faschistische Kampf gegen DEI in den USA aus. Es beginnt mit Zensur und endet in der Verfolgung von Marginalisierten bsky.app/profile/bild...
Reposted by Louis Ravn
Das Fahrlässige an Kaubes Text ist, wie er der eigenen Frage ausweicht: «Hat Thiel einen Masterplan?», fragt er zu Beginn – um mit der These zu schliessen, die «politischen Thesen und theologischen Spekulationen» Thiels seien «nur private Marotten». Doch diese «Marotten» haben politische Effekte
1/
1/
Entweder ist Jürgen Kaube mittlerweile entfallen, dass er 2021 in einer Jury sass, die Peter Thiel für sein «umfassendes Wirken in der Analyse der Chancen und Risiken des technologischen Fortschritts» den Frank-Schirrmacher-Preis verliehen hat, oder es erschien ihm einfach nicht erwähnenswert
Hat der Tech-Milliardär Peter Thiel einen Masterplan?
Der Tech-Milliardär Peter Thiel fällt unter den Superreichen durch seine rechtslibertäre Ideologie und seine philosophischen Lektüren auf. Viele meinen, er habe einen gefährlichen Masterplan. Aber sti...
www.faz.net
July 5, 2025 at 6:13 AM
Das Fahrlässige an Kaubes Text ist, wie er der eigenen Frage ausweicht: «Hat Thiel einen Masterplan?», fragt er zu Beginn – um mit der These zu schliessen, die «politischen Thesen und theologischen Spekulationen» Thiels seien «nur private Marotten». Doch diese «Marotten» haben politische Effekte
1/
1/
Reposted by Louis Ravn
🎉 A lovely wedding present from Big Data & Society! I bring together an ethnographic study of AI practitioners with Simone de Beauvoir’s ethics of ambiguity, exploring how ambiguity shapes AI practice and ethics
journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/...
journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/...
Artificial Intelligence and the ethics of navigating ambiguity - SJ Bennett, 2025
This paper examines ambiguity within AI practice, arguing for an ethics of AI which stays with fundamental ambiguities and accounts for their complex socio-mate...
journals.sagepub.com
June 30, 2025 at 11:40 AM
🎉 A lovely wedding present from Big Data & Society! I bring together an ethnographic study of AI practitioners with Simone de Beauvoir’s ethics of ambiguity, exploring how ambiguity shapes AI practice and ethics
journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/...
journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/...
Reposted by Louis Ravn
Very excited to share this. It was an absolute joy to work with @louravn.bsky.social @velocitygravity.bsky.social and my good buddy @matthewarcher.bsky.social
🌟 New commentary “Unraveling the Regimes of Synthetic Data Metrics“ in Digital Society: link.springer.com/article/10.1...
📚 In it, @velocitygravity.bsky.social , @matthewarcher.bsky.social, @danishanley.bsky.social, and I argue that synth data metrics are linked to the politics of synth data.
🧵…
📚 In it, @velocitygravity.bsky.social , @matthewarcher.bsky.social, @danishanley.bsky.social, and I argue that synth data metrics are linked to the politics of synth data.
🧵…
Unraveling the Regimes of Synthetic Data Metrics: Expectations, Ethics, and Politics - Digital Society
Synthetic data - artificially produced data used for various data science tasks - have become the subject of intense scholarly interest, engendering both hope and hype in fields like machine learning ...
link.springer.com
June 12, 2025 at 6:22 AM
Very excited to share this. It was an absolute joy to work with @louravn.bsky.social @velocitygravity.bsky.social and my good buddy @matthewarcher.bsky.social
🌟 New commentary “Unraveling the Regimes of Synthetic Data Metrics“ in Digital Society: link.springer.com/article/10.1...
📚 In it, @velocitygravity.bsky.social , @matthewarcher.bsky.social, @danishanley.bsky.social, and I argue that synth data metrics are linked to the politics of synth data.
🧵…
📚 In it, @velocitygravity.bsky.social , @matthewarcher.bsky.social, @danishanley.bsky.social, and I argue that synth data metrics are linked to the politics of synth data.
🧵…
Unraveling the Regimes of Synthetic Data Metrics: Expectations, Ethics, and Politics - Digital Society
Synthetic data - artificially produced data used for various data science tasks - have become the subject of intense scholarly interest, engendering both hope and hype in fields like machine learning ...
link.springer.com
June 11, 2025 at 9:11 AM
🌟 New commentary “Unraveling the Regimes of Synthetic Data Metrics“ in Digital Society: link.springer.com/article/10.1...
📚 In it, @velocitygravity.bsky.social , @matthewarcher.bsky.social, @danishanley.bsky.social, and I argue that synth data metrics are linked to the politics of synth data.
🧵…
📚 In it, @velocitygravity.bsky.social , @matthewarcher.bsky.social, @danishanley.bsky.social, and I argue that synth data metrics are linked to the politics of synth data.
🧵…
Reposted by Louis Ravn
Das ist das neue Normal. 20 Prozent Rechtsextreme im Saal, und die Person of Colour mit dem Palästina-Pulli aus dem Parlament verbannen.
Cansın Köktürk: »Palestine«-Shirt – Linkenabgeordnete muss Plenarsaal verlassen
Bundestagspräsidentin Julia Klöckner achtet penibel auf die Einhaltung der Parlamentsetikette, auch in puncto Kleidung. Nun verwies sie die Linkenabgeordnete Cansın Köktürk des Saals. Die fällt nicht ...
www.spiegel.de
June 4, 2025 at 2:14 PM
Das ist das neue Normal. 20 Prozent Rechtsextreme im Saal, und die Person of Colour mit dem Palästina-Pulli aus dem Parlament verbannen.
Reposted by Louis Ravn
headed to #RESAW25 this week ✈️
Super excited abt the program and all the cool research ! catch me in a double feature on Thurs, 7C: Data Loss panel (on GITHUB ARCTIC VAULT) also w @louravn.bsky.social @nannathylstrup.bsky.social and @esmeec.bsky.social and 8C on ROBOTS.TXT with @emae.bsky.social 🤖
Super excited abt the program and all the cool research ! catch me in a double feature on Thurs, 7C: Data Loss panel (on GITHUB ARCTIC VAULT) also w @louravn.bsky.social @nannathylstrup.bsky.social and @esmeec.bsky.social and 8C on ROBOTS.TXT with @emae.bsky.social 🤖
June 3, 2025 at 10:39 AM
headed to #RESAW25 this week ✈️
Super excited abt the program and all the cool research ! catch me in a double feature on Thurs, 7C: Data Loss panel (on GITHUB ARCTIC VAULT) also w @louravn.bsky.social @nannathylstrup.bsky.social and @esmeec.bsky.social and 8C on ROBOTS.TXT with @emae.bsky.social 🤖
Super excited abt the program and all the cool research ! catch me in a double feature on Thurs, 7C: Data Loss panel (on GITHUB ARCTIC VAULT) also w @louravn.bsky.social @nannathylstrup.bsky.social and @esmeec.bsky.social and 8C on ROBOTS.TXT with @emae.bsky.social 🤖
Reposted by Louis Ravn
they gave a nobel prize to an economist who said vineyards and apple orchards in norway will offset the impacts of this.
Global average temperature is expected to rise to almost 2C above preindustrial in the next five years, according to the WMO, with falls in crop yields and more than a third of the world’s population being exposed to extreme heat.
People, I'm sorry but we have to deal with this. Later is too late.
People, I'm sorry but we have to deal with this. Later is too late.
May 28, 2025 at 11:19 AM
they gave a nobel prize to an economist who said vineyards and apple orchards in norway will offset the impacts of this.
Reposted by Louis Ravn
🎆 Are you interested in the role of mythmaking and metaphors in contemporary and historical research and deployment of AI? Join us on 6th June, 1-2.30pm, for exciting talks by Dr Audrey Borowski and @velocitygravity.bsky.social, followed by a Q&A
🖊️ sign up:
www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/digital-me...
🖊️ sign up:
www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/digital-me...
Digital Metaphors and Algorithmic Myths in the Past, Present, and Future
All welcome to our event with Audrey Borowski and Vassilis Galanos on the role of mythmaking and metaphors in contemporary digital culture!
www.eventbrite.co.uk
May 16, 2025 at 2:40 PM
🎆 Are you interested in the role of mythmaking and metaphors in contemporary and historical research and deployment of AI? Join us on 6th June, 1-2.30pm, for exciting talks by Dr Audrey Borowski and @velocitygravity.bsky.social, followed by a Q&A
🖊️ sign up:
www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/digital-me...
🖊️ sign up:
www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/digital-me...
Reposted by Louis Ravn
Interoperability capitalism you say? 👀
The political economy of platformed silos: Theorizing data storage reconfigurations in the age of interoperability capitalism by @matthewarcher.bsky.social, Louis Ravn & @nannathylstrup.bsky.social in Big Data & Society. journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/...
Sage Journals: Discover world-class research
Subscription and open access journals from Sage, the world's leading independent academic publisher.
journals.sagepub.com
May 8, 2025 at 6:25 PM
Interoperability capitalism you say? 👀
Reposted by Louis Ravn
Platforms, silos, interoperability - what's the deal with these database buzzwords?
Check out this🔥new paper by @matthewarcher.bsky.social @louravn.bsky.social and @nannathylstrup.bsky.social
journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10....
Check out this🔥new paper by @matthewarcher.bsky.social @louravn.bsky.social and @nannathylstrup.bsky.social
journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10....
The political economy of platformed silos: Theorizing data storage reconfigurations in the age of interoperability capitalism - Matthew Archer, Louis Ravn, Nanna Bonde Thylstrup, 2025
Interoperability has become a prominent topic in contemporary discourses around digital infrastructures in fields as diverse as security, finance, health, and c...
journals.sagepub.com
May 9, 2025 at 6:58 AM
Platforms, silos, interoperability - what's the deal with these database buzzwords?
Check out this🔥new paper by @matthewarcher.bsky.social @louravn.bsky.social and @nannathylstrup.bsky.social
journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10....
Check out this🔥new paper by @matthewarcher.bsky.social @louravn.bsky.social and @nannathylstrup.bsky.social
journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10....
Reposted by Louis Ravn
The political economy of platformed silos: Theorizing data storage reconfigurations in the age of interoperability capitalism by @matthewarcher.bsky.social, Louis Ravn & @nannathylstrup.bsky.social in Big Data & Society. journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/...
Sage Journals: Discover world-class research
Subscription and open access journals from Sage, the world's leading independent academic publisher.
journals.sagepub.com
May 8, 2025 at 10:15 AM
The political economy of platformed silos: Theorizing data storage reconfigurations in the age of interoperability capitalism by @matthewarcher.bsky.social, Louis Ravn & @nannathylstrup.bsky.social in Big Data & Society. journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/...
Reposted by Louis Ravn
✨New commentary by @matthewarcher.bsky.social, @louravn.bsky.social and myself on the politics of desiloization in what we call "interoperability capitalism"! Grateful to find a home in the 🔥special issue on interoperability ed by @ikkibop.bsky.social, Silvan Pollozekj and @janpassoth.bsky.social !
⚡️New commentary in BD&S ⚡️
Check out our new article on how *interoperability* strategies relate to power in platform capitalism.
Very thankful to have co-written this w/ @matthewarcher.bsky.social & @nannathylstrup.bsky.social.
journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/...
Check out our new article on how *interoperability* strategies relate to power in platform capitalism.
Very thankful to have co-written this w/ @matthewarcher.bsky.social & @nannathylstrup.bsky.social.
journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/...
May 8, 2025 at 9:15 AM
✨New commentary by @matthewarcher.bsky.social, @louravn.bsky.social and myself on the politics of desiloization in what we call "interoperability capitalism"! Grateful to find a home in the 🔥special issue on interoperability ed by @ikkibop.bsky.social, Silvan Pollozekj and @janpassoth.bsky.social !
⚡️New commentary in BD&S ⚡️
Check out our new article on how *interoperability* strategies relate to power in platform capitalism.
Very thankful to have co-written this w/ @matthewarcher.bsky.social & @nannathylstrup.bsky.social.
journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/...
Check out our new article on how *interoperability* strategies relate to power in platform capitalism.
Very thankful to have co-written this w/ @matthewarcher.bsky.social & @nannathylstrup.bsky.social.
journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/...
May 8, 2025 at 8:24 AM
⚡️New commentary in BD&S ⚡️
Check out our new article on how *interoperability* strategies relate to power in platform capitalism.
Very thankful to have co-written this w/ @matthewarcher.bsky.social & @nannathylstrup.bsky.social.
journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/...
Check out our new article on how *interoperability* strategies relate to power in platform capitalism.
Very thankful to have co-written this w/ @matthewarcher.bsky.social & @nannathylstrup.bsky.social.
journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/...
Reposted by Louis Ravn
Please enjoy!
Hype, with Dani Shanley and Gemma Milne
@danishanley.bsky.social
@gemmamilne.bsky.social
shows.acast.com/63997541ed12...
Hype, with Dani Shanley and Gemma Milne
@danishanley.bsky.social
@gemmamilne.bsky.social
shows.acast.com/63997541ed12...
Hype, with Dani Shanley and Gemma Milne | The Data Fix with Dr. Mél Hogan
shows.acast.com
May 5, 2025 at 3:02 PM
Please enjoy!
Hype, with Dani Shanley and Gemma Milne
@danishanley.bsky.social
@gemmamilne.bsky.social
shows.acast.com/63997541ed12...
Hype, with Dani Shanley and Gemma Milne
@danishanley.bsky.social
@gemmamilne.bsky.social
shows.acast.com/63997541ed12...
Reposted by Louis Ravn
✨The first two papers in our Topical Collection on the 'Politics of Machine Learning Evaluation' are out in Digital Society!
The collection is edited together with @dluitse.bsky.social and Tobias Blanke, with the great support of Digital Society and Federica Russo.
link.springer.com/collections/...
The collection is edited together with @dluitse.bsky.social and Tobias Blanke, with the great support of Digital Society and Federica Russo.
link.springer.com/collections/...
Politics of Machine Learning Evaluation
Is the data good enough for training purposes? Does the model perform accurately enough? Is the error rate low enough? Such questions of ‘good enough’ are at ...
link.springer.com
May 5, 2025 at 6:49 AM
✨The first two papers in our Topical Collection on the 'Politics of Machine Learning Evaluation' are out in Digital Society!
The collection is edited together with @dluitse.bsky.social and Tobias Blanke, with the great support of Digital Society and Federica Russo.
link.springer.com/collections/...
The collection is edited together with @dluitse.bsky.social and Tobias Blanke, with the great support of Digital Society and Federica Russo.
link.springer.com/collections/...