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Sam Gregory

@samgregory.bsky.social

2K followers 4.1K following 33 posts

Executive Director http://witness.org : video + tech + human rights; 'Prepare, Don't Panic' initiative on media manipulation/generative AI. TED speaker on deepfakes https://gen-ai.witness.org, @samgregory on Twitter/X. PhD Westminster.

witness.org

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Sam Gregory @samgregory.bsky.social · Dec 31

There's too easy a narrative at the end of 2025 about the year of the "AI election apocalypse". I talked to @telliotter @wired.com about how fears were over-hyped of deepfakes and deceptive AI; but now we need to avoid complacency and act as faultlines become visible.
www.wired.com/story/the-ye...

The Year of the AI Election Wasn’t Quite What Everyone Expected

Deepfakes were nothing like the political force in 2024 that many feared—but that doesn’t mean that generative AI didn’t profoundly affect elections all over the world.

www.wired.com

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Reposted by Sam Gregory

mahsa alimardani @mahsaalimardani.bsky.social · 9d

1/Citizen Lab’s new report on PRISONBREAK is a must-read. It exposes an AI-enabled influence operation targeting Iran with deceptive media, from the infamous Evin Prison gates video to deepfake music.

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Reposted by Sam Gregory

Sameer Padania @sdp.bsky.social · Sep 11

Louis Barclay @louisbarclay.bsky.social · Sep 11

Q. Who aligns the aligners?
A. alignmentalignment.ai

Today I’m humbled to announce an epoch-defining event: the launch of the 𝗖𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗔𝗹𝗶𝗴𝗻𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗼𝗳 𝗔𝗜 𝗔𝗹𝗶𝗴𝗻𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗖𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿𝘀.

Center for the Alignment of AI Alignment Centers

We align the aligners

alignmentalignment.ai

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Sam Gregory @samgregory.bsky.social · Sep 12

globalvoices.org/2025/09/10/a...

A prominent US family has been cashing in on DRC carbon credits while local communities decry unmet promises

Since 2004, a prominent US family has made millions through the sale of carbon credits in the DRC. Meanwhile, the community who lives there has been left in poverty.

globalvoices.org

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Sam Gregory @samgregory.bsky.social · Aug 21

Pixel 10 out - 1st smartphone integrating C2PA in native camera app, shows content credentials. Reasons impt:
*Reality matters: key to show authenticity of photos
*Shows 'how' AI and human mixed in creation + edits
*Focuses on recipe: on the how, not the who (privacy!)
blog.google/products/pix...

10 things to know about the camera on Pixel 10

Here are just some of the things you can do with the camera on the new Pixel 10 smartphone lineup.

blog.google

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Reposted by Sam Gregory

Daniel Trilling @trillingual.bsky.social · Jul 29

Good morning, I've written a piece about the prime minister. I spoke to several dozen sources, including government insiders, former legal colleagues and campaigners to ask: what happened to Keir Starmer the heroic human rights lawyer? www.theguardian.com/politics/202...

Starmer v Starmer: why is the former human rights lawyer so cautious about defending human rights?

The long read: Given his career as a human rights barrister, it was hoped Keir Starmer would be the PM to restore the UK’s commitment to international law. The reality tells a different story

www.theguardian.com

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Sam Gregory @samgregory.bsky.social · Aug 9

4/ Same fundamentals of consent, disclosure, and hopefully integrity to the person's identity/speech. But that integrity is clouded by chatbot hallucinations, by a bot's frequent trained instinct 'to please,' and also most importantly by filling in blanks from past context to present-day advocacy

Sam Gregory @samgregory.bsky.social · Aug 9

3/ How does an interactive chatbot-driven avatar differ from static resurrection deepfakes such as murdered Mexican journalist Javier Valdez calling for justice, a victim impact statement from someone dead in Arizona, or President Suharto coming back from beyond the grave campaigning for his party?

Sam Gregory @samgregory.bsky.social · Aug 9

2/ Jim Acosta "interviewed" a representation of one of the victims of the Parkland shootings, Joaquin Oliver, created by his father. It raised key questions about what it means to bring a griefbot - an interactive chatbot that relatives and friends interact with - into the public sphere.

Sam Gregory @samgregory.bsky.social · Aug 9

Griefbots are increasingly common in personal usage while static resurrection deepfakes are used for advocacy and entertainment, but what does it mean to interact with an avatar of a dead person for political advocacy? I talked to BBC about THAT interview by Jim Acosta.
www.bbc.com/news/videos/...

I made an AI clone of my dead son - and let a journalist interview him

An interview between a US journalist and an AI clone of a teenager who was killed during shooting at his school has prompted criticism online.

www.bbc.com

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Sam Gregory @samgregory.bsky.social · Aug 9

4/ Same fundamentals of consent, disclosure, and hopefully integrity to the person's identity/speech. But that integrity is clouded by chatbot hallucinations, by a bot's frequent trained instinct 'to please,' and also by the nature of filling in the blanks from past context to present-day advocacy

Sam Gregory @samgregory.bsky.social · Aug 9

3/ How does an interactive chatbot-driven avatar differ from static resurrection deepfakes such as the murdered Mexican journalist Javier Valdez, a victim impact statement from someone dead in Arizona, or a President Suharto coming back from beyond the grave? All usages over the past years.

Sam Gregory @samgregory.bsky.social · Aug 9

2/ Jim Acosta "interviewed" a representation of one of the victims of the Parkland shootings, Joaquin Oliver. It raised key questions about what it means to bring a griefbot - an interactive chatbot that relatives and friends interact with - into the public sphere.

Reposted by Sam Gregory

Carnegie Democracy @carnegiedcg.bsky.social · Aug 5

"AI-generated content related to the Iran-Israel conflict has taken disinformation to an industrial level,"

@mahsaalimardani.bsky.social and @samgregory.bsky.social write for @carnegieendowment.org on the rise of AI war propaganda.

Iran-Israel AI War Propaganda Is a Warning to the World

The war signaled critical challenges in the growing gap between the sophistication of AI deception and analysts’ ability to detect it, heralding a frightening new phase in global conflict.

carnegieendowment.org

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Reposted by Sam Gregory

Carnegie Endowment @carnegieendowment.org · Aug 4

During the Iran-Israel war, civilians in Iran had little access to trustworthy information. AI deepfakes circulated online exacerbated this situation. What are the implications?

@mahsaalimardani.bsky.social and @samgregory.bsky.social explained:

Iran-Israel AI War Propaganda Is a Warning to the World

The war signaled critical challenges in the growing gap between the sophistication of AI deception and analysts’ ability to detect it, heralding a frightening new phase in global conflict.

buff.ly

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Sam Gregory @samgregory.bsky.social · Jul 30

The growing gap between escalating AI deception and analysts' and our ability to detect creates new challenges
➡️ In global conflict
➡️ For civilians struggling to communicate and understand

@mahsaalimardani.bsky.social and I discuss in @carnegieendowment.org
carnegieendowment.org/research/202...

Iran-Israel AI War Propaganda Is a Warning to the World

The war signaled critical challenges in the growing gap between the sophistication of AI deception and analysts’ ability to detect it, heralding a frightening new phase in global conflict.

carnegieendowment.org

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Reposted by Sam Gregory

Carnegie Democracy @carnegiedcg.bsky.social · Jul 29

🆕| There is a growing gap between the sophistication of AI deception and analysts’ ability to detect it, heralding a frightening new phase in global conflict.

@mahsaalimardani.bsky.social & @samgregory.bsky.social's latest for @carnegieendowment.org⤵️

Iran-Israel AI War Propaganda Is a Warning to the World

The war signaled critical challenges in the growing gap between the sophistication of AI deception and analysts’ ability to detect it, heralding a frightening new phase in global conflict.

carnegieendowment.org

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Reposted by Sam Gregory

Steve Feldstein @stevenfeldstein.bsky.social · Jul 28

The Iran-Israel war signals a major gap between the sophistication of AI deception and analysts’ ability to detect it.

@mahsaalimardani.bsky.social & @samgregory.bsky.social explain how the info war is changing and its consequences @carnegieendowment.org

⬇️

carnegieendowment.org/research/202...

Iran-Israel AI War Propaganda Is a Warning to the World

The war signaled critical challenges in the growing gap between the sophistication of AI deception and analysts’ ability to detect it, heralding a frightening new phase in global conflict.

carnegieendowment.org

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Sam Gregory @samgregory.bsky.social · Jul 28

Glad to collaborate with @mahsaalimardani.bsky.social on this exploration of AI war propaganda in the Israel-Iran war and the gaps growing in our capability to detect and respond carnegieendowment.org/research/202...

Iran-Israel AI War Propaganda Is a Warning to the World

The war signaled critical challenges in the growing gap between the sophistication of AI deception and analysts’ ability to detect it, heralding a frightening new phase in global conflict.

carnegieendowment.org

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Reposted by Sam Gregory

ingleton.bsky.social @ingleton.bsky.social · Jul 1

For my 1st post on Bluesky I am thrilled to provide you all with little antidote to the doomscroll... the HURIDOCS 2024 Annual Report! In it you will find inspiring stories of using information, data and solid documentation methodologies to support justice and advocacy initiatives around the world.

HURIDOCS @huridocs.org · Jul 1

📢 HURIDOCS 2024 Annual Report is out!

🌍 Explore how we strengthened documentation tools alongside 73 partners in 38 countries. This year was all about resilience, innovation, and collective action to strengthen human rights around the world.

🔗Read the full report: huridocs.org/2025/07/2024...

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Reposted by Sam Gregory

HURIDOCS @huridocs.org · Jun 25

HURIDOCS matters now more than ever 💪. Our Executive Director shares why building independent, human rights-based digital infrastructure is essential to the future of the human rights movement.

📣 Read her full piece and share it with your network:
🔗 huridocs.org/2025/06/safe...

HURIDOCS | Human Rights Documentation & digital tools

HURIDOCS empowers defenders with secure, open-source tools for human rights documentation, data protection, and global advocacy.

huridocs.org

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Sam Gregory @samgregory.bsky.social · Jun 1

Baratunde is spot on. He highlights three things from the episode we did:

(1) Reality is not sustainable if it always has to be proven.
(2) A solution that doesn’t work for everyone is not a solution.
(3) We need a food safety system for information
newsletter.lifewithmachines.media/p/reality-on...

Reality on Trial—Sam Gregory on Life With Machines

And the exhaustion of trying to prove EVERYTHING

newsletter.lifewithmachines.media

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Reposted by Sam Gregory

Mariel Garcia-Montes @marielgm.bsky.social · May 28

OK, here's an insightful book on #deepfakes from Brazil. I especially appreciate Diego Abreu's chapter explaining one of the criminalization attempts in Brazil, and the projected impact on youth [in Portuguese]: desvelar.org/enfrentando-... Cc @samgregory.bsky.social

Enfrentando Deepfakes - Desvelar

O livro Enfrentando Deepfakes reúne dez capítulos de especialistas brasileiras sobre o tema, abrangendo o debate social, legal e técnico sobre o problema que tem gerado desdobramentos em violência de ...

desvelar.org

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Sam Gregory @samgregory.bsky.social · May 21

This was one of the most engaging (and bleakest, because the world...) deepfakes, AI and human rights conversations I've had - with @baratunde.com, who is knowledgeable, perceptive and funny and whose pet AI BLAIRwas very snarky....
#ai #lifewithmachines #deepfakes

www.youtube.com/watch?v=ucb8...

Why Dictators Love AI & How To Fight Back | Sam Gregory (Ep. 21)

YouTube video by Baratunde Thurston

www.youtube.com

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Reposted by Sam Gregory

International Center for Journalists @icfjorg.bsky.social · May 10

“Sometimes, the question is not, “What can AI do for you?” Sometimes the question is, “What is the job that needs to be done?”” says ICFJ Knight Fellow Nikita Roy in an interview with the Reuters Institute. Read more: reutersinstitute.politics.ox.ac.uk/news/ai-expe...

This AI expert is creating a chatbot to keep you safe

Journalist and data scientist Nikita Roy speaks about JESS, a project that promises to give reporters timely advice when facing danger.

reutersinstitute.politics.ox.ac.uk

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Sam Gregory @samgregory.bsky.social · Apr 24

www.theguardian.com/media/2025/a...

BBC launches satellite news channel in Myanmar after Trump silences VOA

Corporation responds to ‘urgent need’ following earthquake by taking over Voice of America’s former channel

www.theguardian.com

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