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Ashique Ali T

@ashiquealit.bsky.social

310 followers 210 following 23 posts

Ph.D. student in the Faculty of Information, University of Toronto. Affiliation: Socio-technical Resistance and Ethical Technologies (STREET) Lab. Research: Tech-mediated resistance + {labour, caste, social movements}

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Ashique Ali T @ashiquealit.bsky.social · Apr 28

Union’s Care: They have designs for alternative socio-technical infrastructure & can regenerate the market, community & the city when in crisis.

Happy to share our #CHI2025 paper!

"Generative Politics and Labour Markets: Unions and Collective Life in a City in Crisis"

dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/...

Generative Politics and Labour Markets: Unions and Collective Life in a City in Crisis | Proceedings of the 2025 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems

dl.acm.org

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Ashique Ali T @ashiquealit.bsky.social · 24d

Glad to have presented our ongoing work on digital solidarity economy (with Priyank Chandra), gigfluencers (with Dipsita) & platforms and climate change (Hiu Fung & Kaushar Mahetaji) at INDL 8 in Bologna. It was a wonderful experience engaging with digital labour scholars and trade unionists.

Reposted by Ashique Ali T

Himal Southasian @himalmag.bsky.social · Aug 15

India and Bangladesh do not officially recognise refugees under international law, as neither country has signed the 1951 United Nations Refugee Convention. @soulrestless.bsky.social Kanika Gupta write about undocumented Bangladeshi migrants

Climate refugees from Bangladesh face a political storm in India

Bangladeshi climate migrants face political storm in India

buff.ly

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Ashique Ali T @ashiquealit.bsky.social · May 16

A very valuable meeting point in academic journey.

Team 'platform without borders'

Thank you @jamesmuldoon.bsky.social, @grohmannrafael.bsky.social, @andretwp.bsky.social & Denise Kasparian for putting this together.

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Reposted by Ashique Ali T

Andrea Pollio @andretwp.bsky.social · May 16

Brilliant people at the Platforms without borders workshop in London #Space4 #platforms thank you @jamesmuldoon.bsky.social for the wonderful hosting and @grohmannrafael.bsky.social @linzhang.bsky.social Denise Kasparian @marcsteinberg.bsky.social

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Ashique Ali T @ashiquealit.bsky.social · Apr 28

For more, please see the paper. dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/...

Ashique Ali T @ashiquealit.bsky.social · Apr 28

c) and collective action centered around regeneration & care for the city & collective life under capitalism.

We conceptualise “generative politics” as a commitment to sustaining collective life and care under precarious conditions–a form of political action that resists through regeneration.

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Ashique Ali T @ashiquealit.bsky.social · Apr 28

With Kolkata's gig union, we identify a) “generative” attitude or orientation towards political action that focuses on creating material & immaterial resources; b) political action beyond protest politics that contributes to organic solidarity

Ashique Ali T @ashiquealit.bsky.social · Apr 28

Our study also diverges from tight and orthodox articulations of unions to show how their roles and capabilities can and often do extend beyond protests and strikes to also engage in the work of rebuilding the wider communities where they exist. Union do more than protest, protest, protest.

Ashique Ali T @ashiquealit.bsky.social · Apr 28

Alternative imaginations & designs of socio-technical infrastructures need not always be complex or technically or monetarily intensive. Rather, relatively lean technical infrastructure can be combined with innovative forms of social cooperation to regenerate essential infrastructures.

Ashique Ali T @ashiquealit.bsky.social · Apr 28

During COVID-19, when Uber/Ola's operations collapsed, Kolkata’s gig worker union launched emergency transport & taxi ambulances. We explore how they curated innovation and adaptations in tech-mediated networked organising, & its implications for tech design & worker organizing.

Ashique Ali T @ashiquealit.bsky.social · Apr 28

Generative Politics and Labour Markets: Unions and Collective Life in a City in Crisis | Proceedings of the 2025 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems

dl.acm.org

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Ashique Ali T @ashiquealit.bsky.social · Mar 13

Hello Toronto,

Join us for the talk by prof. Aakash Gautam on community-based design projects.

March 21, 11.00am-1.00pm, Faculty of Information, UofT

STREET Lab @streetlab-uoft.bsky.social · Mar 13

Hello Toronto!

Join us on March 21 at the Faculty of Information (4th floor) for a talk by Prof. Aakash Gautam (University of Pittsburgh) on community-based design projects.

The talk will reflect projects on anti-trafficking efforts in Nepal & support for incarcerated individuals in the US.

The poster highlights critical computing talk series featuring prof. Aakash Gautam.

Title of the event: Reconfiguring for impact : Reflections on community-based design.

Date: Friday,
21st March 2025

Time: 11:00 AM – 1:00 PM
Location: 140 St. George Street, Toronto, Learning Hub, 4th floor (Claude Bissell Building)

Reposted by Ashique Ali T

UC Berkeley Labor Center @ucblaborcenter.bsky.social · Feb 6

We mourn the sudden loss of Michael Burawoy--eminent scholar, mentor, and friend to the labor movement. oaklandside.org/2025/02/05/s...

Sociology world mourns after hit-and-run driver on Grand Avenue kills legendary labor scholar

Michael Burawoy was struck while walking inside the crosswalk near Children’s Fairyland.

oaklandside.org

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Reposted by Ashique Ali T

LabourStart @labourstart.bsky.social · Jan 24

24-01-1925 SENEGAL: Beginning of a 4-day strike in the Dakar-Niger Railways for a wage increase benefiting both African and European workers.

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Reposted by Ashique Ali T

Social Media Lab @socialmedialab.ca · Dec 27

Like bots, deepfakes are part of the online landscape. Here's our primer on deepfakes. What they are, how they are made, and why they threaten democratic societies. deepfakestracker.org/deepfakes-fa... #medialiteracy

DeepfakesTracker.org FAQs

A primer on deepfakes. What they are, how they are made, and why they are a threat to democracies.

deepfakestracker.org

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Reposted by Ashique Ali T

Citizen.Coping @propcazhpm.bsky.social · Dec 21

"For Project Maven, Google hired hundreds of gig-economy workers to solve numerous CAPTCHAs at an incredibly low cost (roughly $1/hour).

The results of these completed CAPTCHAs were then used to develop a classification program for the use of US Military drone applications"

Workers had no idea

Google Hired Gig Economy Workers to Improve Artificial Intelligence in Controversial Drone-Targeting Project

As part of Project Maven, Google's artificial intelligence program for military drones, the tech giant hired unwitting “crowd workers” through Figure Eight.

theintercept.com

8 100 170

Reposted by Ashique Ali T

Work Organisation, Labour and Globalisation @wolgjournal.bsky.social · Dec 3

abcnews.go.com/Internationa...

Drivers for Spanish food delivery app Glovo will become full-time employees

Thousands of delivery drivers in Spain working for the food delivery app Glovo will soon be full employees after the company announced that it was moving to an employment-based model

abcnews.go.com

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Ashique Ali T @ashiquealit.bsky.social · Nov 29

Thanks to @dipsitadhar.bsky.social for leading this camp.

Ashique Ali T @ashiquealit.bsky.social · Nov 29

Gig workers in Delhi suffer immensely from heightened air pollution, crossing even 1000 AQI. We conducted a health camp in Delhi for the gig & outdoor workers. Indian Govt should act to protect workers from climate crisis as well as make corporate platforms accountable.

STREET Lab @streetlab-uoft.bsky.social · Nov 29

We partnered with JSA Delhi & Delhi Science Forum to organize a health camp for gig workers & other outdoor workers affected by New Delhi’s severely polluted air (marked by alarming AQI levels). Dr. Sayan Maharatna (AIIMS) led health checkups, providing medical guidance.

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Ashique Ali T @ashiquealit.bsky.social · Nov 29

Here is the official account of STREET Lab, UofT.

@streetlab-uoft.bsky.social

Ashique Ali T @ashiquealit.bsky.social · Nov 18

The city has become unlivable.

Shibi Laxman @shibilaxman.bsky.social · Nov 18

Delhi's air crisis: A tale of two cities. Online work is a privilege, not a solution. What about the working class? Elite bureaucrats and policymakers remain in the same city, yet the climate crisis seems unstoppable. #DelhiPollution #EnvironmentalJustice

Ashique Ali T @ashiquealit.bsky.social · Nov 15

We (Dipsita & @prch.bsky.social) thank Kolkata Ola-Uber App Cab Operator Union for their invaluable support & cooperation in facilitating our research.

Yes, union makes us strong ✊🏾

Ashique Ali T @ashiquealit.bsky.social · Nov 15

Traditional trade unions aren’t obsolete—they’ve evolved and continue to play vital roles. Tech partially helps in this process. Their resources and strategies remain crucial in supporting workers and adapting to new challenges.

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Ashique Ali T @ashiquealit.bsky.social · Nov 15

Also, worker precarity within DLPs is more than a data/information asymmetry problem. The logic of coloniality & extraction inherent in the political economy of the labour regime is taking advantage of issues such as massive unemployment & vulnerabilities of migrant & other oppressed communities.

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Ashique Ali T @ashiquealit.bsky.social · Nov 15

To understand relationships between labour & tech, we need to consider affordances of space as well. This is not merely an outcome of design, but a complex assemblage of 'historical', 'social' & 'political'.