Aaron Martin
@sixfouronea.net
Assistant Professor of Media Studies and Data Governance at UVA
About me: https://sixfouronea.net/
Project: http://digitalsovereigntyobservatory.org
About me: https://sixfouronea.net/
Project: http://digitalsovereigntyobservatory.org
Pinned
Aaron Martin
@sixfouronea.net
· Jul 29
Why sovereignty matters for humanitarian data - Aaron Martin, 2025
Technological interventions in aid are both complex and deeply ambiguous. Nonetheless, many contemporary controversies surrounding humanitarian data reflect und...
doi.org
New paper out in @bigdatasoc.bsky.social on #humanitarian #data #sovereignty💥
doi.org/10.1177/2053...
My deep gratitude to @kerenweitzberg.bsky.social, @margchee.bsky.social, @emryss.bsky.social, Quito Tsui, Paul Currion, @sophiebt.bsky.social, and @massimomarelli.bsky.social for the inspiration ❤️
doi.org/10.1177/2053...
My deep gratitude to @kerenweitzberg.bsky.social, @margchee.bsky.social, @emryss.bsky.social, Quito Tsui, Paul Currion, @sophiebt.bsky.social, and @massimomarelli.bsky.social for the inspiration ❤️
Kenya's data protection authority has confirmed that the biometric data collected by various Worldcoin affiliated companies has finally been deleted after its illegal collection 👁️
thekenyatimes.com/law/data-pro...
Grace Mutung’u, Magda Brewczyńska and I have a paper on this case coming out soon 🖋️
thekenyatimes.com/law/data-pro...
Grace Mutung’u, Magda Brewczyńska and I have a paper on this case coming out soon 🖋️
Data Protection Office Confirms Full Deletion Of Worldcoin’s Biometric Data
Office of the Data Protection Commissioner (ODPC) confirmed that Tools For Humanity has deleted all biometric data previously collected from Kenyan citizens.
thekenyatimes.com
January 28, 2026 at 3:52 PM
Kenya's data protection authority has confirmed that the biometric data collected by various Worldcoin affiliated companies has finally been deleted after its illegal collection 👁️
thekenyatimes.com/law/data-pro...
Grace Mutung’u, Magda Brewczyńska and I have a paper on this case coming out soon 🖋️
thekenyatimes.com/law/data-pro...
Grace Mutung’u, Magda Brewczyńska and I have a paper on this case coming out soon 🖋️
"Global humanitarianism is in crisis. The movement that grew up after the Holocaust, drew strength from the cold war and fed off the international outrage at the genocides in Bosnia and Rwanda in the 1990s is bewildered and besieged."
www.ft.com/content/8600...
www.ft.com/content/8600...
January 25, 2026 at 2:37 PM
"Global humanitarianism is in crisis. The movement that grew up after the Holocaust, drew strength from the cold war and fed off the international outrage at the genocides in Bosnia and Rwanda in the 1990s is bewildered and besieged."
www.ft.com/content/8600...
www.ft.com/content/8600...
Reposted by Aaron Martin
@anupamchander.bsky.social with the money quote:
“My worry all along is that we may have traded fears of foreign propaganda for the reality of domestic propaganda.”
www.nytimes.com/2026/01/22/t...
“My worry all along is that we may have traded fears of foreign propaganda for the reality of domestic propaganda.”
www.nytimes.com/2026/01/22/t...
TikTok Strikes Deal for New U.S. Entity, Ending Long Legal Saga
www.nytimes.com
January 23, 2026 at 3:36 PM
@anupamchander.bsky.social with the money quote:
“My worry all along is that we may have traded fears of foreign propaganda for the reality of domestic propaganda.”
www.nytimes.com/2026/01/22/t...
“My worry all along is that we may have traded fears of foreign propaganda for the reality of domestic propaganda.”
www.nytimes.com/2026/01/22/t...
"Cybersecurity expert Fleur van Leusden likens tech company attempts to sell sovereignty as a service to vegan chicken breast; it cannot be both. Technology is either sovereign or it is foreign."
www.ft.com/content/8fc2...
www.ft.com/content/8fc2...
Home - Financial Times
News, analysis and opinion from the Financial Times on the latest in markets, economics and politics
FT.com
January 15, 2026 at 9:23 PM
"Cybersecurity expert Fleur van Leusden likens tech company attempts to sell sovereignty as a service to vegan chicken breast; it cannot be both. Technology is either sovereign or it is foreign."
www.ft.com/content/8fc2...
www.ft.com/content/8fc2...
"The governor of New York is considering regulating online sports betting with requirements for biometric age checks."
www.biometricupdate.com/202601/new-y...
www.biometricupdate.com/202601/new-y...
New York looks at biometric age verification to curb underage sports gambling | Biometric Update
The governor of New York State is considering regulating online sports gambling with requirements for biometric age checks.
www.biometricupdate.com
January 15, 2026 at 4:31 PM
"The governor of New York is considering regulating online sports betting with requirements for biometric age checks."
www.biometricupdate.com/202601/new-y...
www.biometricupdate.com/202601/new-y...
Refreshing my undergrad data ethics syllabus. Making decisions on the most instructive controversies to include as case studies. Any obvious omissions?
23andMe data sale
AVs/safety
Facial recognition/bias
Algorithmic sentencing (COMPAS)
Mental health (Crisis Text Line)
Gen AI & IP
TikTok in the US
23andMe data sale
AVs/safety
Facial recognition/bias
Algorithmic sentencing (COMPAS)
Mental health (Crisis Text Line)
Gen AI & IP
TikTok in the US
January 11, 2026 at 4:32 PM
Refreshing my undergrad data ethics syllabus. Making decisions on the most instructive controversies to include as case studies. Any obvious omissions?
23andMe data sale
AVs/safety
Facial recognition/bias
Algorithmic sentencing (COMPAS)
Mental health (Crisis Text Line)
Gen AI & IP
TikTok in the US
23andMe data sale
AVs/safety
Facial recognition/bias
Algorithmic sentencing (COMPAS)
Mental health (Crisis Text Line)
Gen AI & IP
TikTok in the US
"Children are the easiest targets for tech companies because they don’t know the difference between suffering and friction — one difference between children and adults is that adults do. Or at least, we’re supposed to."
www.thecut.com/article/broo...
www.thecut.com/article/broo...
In 2026, We Are Friction-Maxxing
In the face of technologies that sell us escapism at every turn, we need to build up tolerance for “inconvenience.”
www.thecut.com
January 9, 2026 at 2:19 PM
"Children are the easiest targets for tech companies because they don’t know the difference between suffering and friction — one difference between children and adults is that adults do. Or at least, we’re supposed to."
www.thecut.com/article/broo...
www.thecut.com/article/broo...
<< In Ernest Hemingway’s novel “The Sun Also Rises,” the character Mike Campbell explains how he went bankrupt: “Gradually and then suddenly.” The decades of imperfect but transformative peace that the U.N. Charter helped create now faces the same fate. >>
www.nytimes.com/2026/01/06/o...
www.nytimes.com/2026/01/06/o...
Opinion | The Great Unraveling Has Begun
www.nytimes.com
January 7, 2026 at 4:30 PM
<< In Ernest Hemingway’s novel “The Sun Also Rises,” the character Mike Campbell explains how he went bankrupt: “Gradually and then suddenly.” The decades of imperfect but transformative peace that the U.N. Charter helped create now faces the same fate. >>
www.nytimes.com/2026/01/06/o...
www.nytimes.com/2026/01/06/o...
Reposted by Aaron Martin
OpenAI and Anthropic will start predicting when users are underage
OpenAI and Anthropic will start predicting when users are underage
OpenAI is readying an age prediction model for ChatGPT.
buff.ly
December 18, 2025 at 10:00 PM
OpenAI and Anthropic will start predicting when users are underage
Reposted by Aaron Martin
Pleased to share my article examining how circulations of data, capital, and discourse shape migrants' im/mobilities through the case of the UK's ASPEN Card – proudly in Ulla Berg, Carolina Sánchez Boe & @dbyler.bsky.social's SI in @survstudiesnet.bsky.social
ojs.library.queensu.ca/index.php/su...
ojs.library.queensu.ca/index.php/su...
View of Financial Circuits of Im/mobility: Constraining, Confining, and Coercing Asylum Seekers Through Prepayment Technology
ojs.library.queensu.ca
December 16, 2025 at 1:58 PM
Pleased to share my article examining how circulations of data, capital, and discourse shape migrants' im/mobilities through the case of the UK's ASPEN Card – proudly in Ulla Berg, Carolina Sánchez Boe & @dbyler.bsky.social's SI in @survstudiesnet.bsky.social
ojs.library.queensu.ca/index.php/su...
ojs.library.queensu.ca/index.php/su...
"[Corporate humanitarianism] began around two decades ago but has now become the dominant model of humanitarian engagement... Can the UNHCR profit from being led by IKEA’s CEO?" aje.io/r7ifs3
Sweden’s push for an ex-IKEA CEO to lead UNHCR signals a new refugee order
Corporate logic is reshaping refugee protection as states pull back.
aje.io
December 16, 2025 at 9:05 PM
"[Corporate humanitarianism] began around two decades ago but has now become the dominant model of humanitarian engagement... Can the UNHCR profit from being led by IKEA’s CEO?" aje.io/r7ifs3
Tim Wu: "In some ways, the American AI race looks not unlike the race to build the grandest cathedrals in late medieval Europe. Then, the motives were a mixture of pride, economics and a sincere religious belief the structures would bring humanity closer to salvation."
www.ft.com/content/1258...
www.ft.com/content/1258...
December 15, 2025 at 3:15 PM
Tim Wu: "In some ways, the American AI race looks not unlike the race to build the grandest cathedrals in late medieval Europe. Then, the motives were a mixture of pride, economics and a sincere religious belief the structures would bring humanity closer to salvation."
www.ft.com/content/1258...
www.ft.com/content/1258...
Reposted by Aaron Martin
This entire grift relies on convincing people that they don't know how to do the things they have always known how to do, and ironically, if it works, we will, in a very short amount of time, forget how to do all the things we have always known how to do.
Jimmy Fallon: "And do you use ChatGPT when raising your baby?"
Sam Altman: "I cannot imagine figuring out how to raise a newborn without ChatGPT."
Sam Altman: "I cannot imagine figuring out how to raise a newborn without ChatGPT."
December 9, 2025 at 3:40 PM
This entire grift relies on convincing people that they don't know how to do the things they have always known how to do, and ironically, if it works, we will, in a very short amount of time, forget how to do all the things we have always known how to do.
Reposted by Aaron Martin
Excited to announce @leverhulmecal.bsky.social posts - we are looking for 7 interdisciplinary fellows to join our Leverhulme Centre for Algorithmic Life, closing date 30 January 2026 (1/3) durham.taleo.net/careersectio...
Leverhulme Centre for Algorithmic Life Fellows - Assistant Professor (Research) G7 - G8
Click the link provided to see the complete job description.
durham.taleo.net
December 2, 2025 at 4:58 PM
Excited to announce @leverhulmecal.bsky.social posts - we are looking for 7 interdisciplinary fellows to join our Leverhulme Centre for Algorithmic Life, closing date 30 January 2026 (1/3) durham.taleo.net/careersectio...
Reposted by Aaron Martin
So it sure looks like someone invented a fake Russian advance in Ukraine to manipulate the online gambling market Polymarket. Gamblers are making money by betting on the outcomes of battles big and small in the war. Edited map is run by DC-based think tank
www.404media.co/unauthorized...
www.404media.co/unauthorized...
'Unauthorized' Edit to Ukraine's Frontline Maps Point to Polymarket's War Betting
It looks like someone invented a fake Russia advance in Ukraine to manipulate online gambling markets.
www.404media.co
December 1, 2025 at 6:48 PM
So it sure looks like someone invented a fake Russian advance in Ukraine to manipulate the online gambling market Polymarket. Gamblers are making money by betting on the outcomes of battles big and small in the war. Edited map is run by DC-based think tank
www.404media.co/unauthorized...
www.404media.co/unauthorized...
6️⃣6️⃣6️⃣
"Pockets of resistance to data centres are growing across the US, which now has more than 4,000, the most in the world, according to research company Data Center Map. Georgia has 163, making it seventh. Virginia, at the top, hosts 666 facilities."
www.ft.com/content/7f39...
"Pockets of resistance to data centres are growing across the US, which now has more than 4,000, the most in the world, according to research company Data Center Map. Georgia has 163, making it seventh. Virginia, at the top, hosts 666 facilities."
www.ft.com/content/7f39...
November 29, 2025 at 5:54 PM
6️⃣6️⃣6️⃣
"Pockets of resistance to data centres are growing across the US, which now has more than 4,000, the most in the world, according to research company Data Center Map. Georgia has 163, making it seventh. Virginia, at the top, hosts 666 facilities."
www.ft.com/content/7f39...
"Pockets of resistance to data centres are growing across the US, which now has more than 4,000, the most in the world, according to research company Data Center Map. Georgia has 163, making it seventh. Virginia, at the top, hosts 666 facilities."
www.ft.com/content/7f39...
Reposted by Aaron Martin
There is currently about $100m of bets staked on moves in the Ukraine war on Polymarket.
To make a more compelling interface on this war betting,
the guys who do the Pentagon Pizza thing are accused of scraping frontline mapping data without permission.
#NotBlackMirror
dev.ua/en/news/deep...
To make a more compelling interface on this war betting,
the guys who do the Pentagon Pizza thing are accused of scraping frontline mapping data without permission.
#NotBlackMirror
dev.ua/en/news/deep...
DeepState API used without permission to integrate with bets on the occupation of Ukrainian territory on Polymarket
The developers of the PolyGlobe map, which visualizes bets from Polymarket with geolocation, have unauthorizedly used the API of the Ukrainian OSINT project DeepState. In this way, they wanted to impr...
dev.ua
November 27, 2025 at 10:17 PM
There is currently about $100m of bets staked on moves in the Ukraine war on Polymarket.
To make a more compelling interface on this war betting,
the guys who do the Pentagon Pizza thing are accused of scraping frontline mapping data without permission.
#NotBlackMirror
dev.ua/en/news/deep...
To make a more compelling interface on this war betting,
the guys who do the Pentagon Pizza thing are accused of scraping frontline mapping data without permission.
#NotBlackMirror
dev.ua/en/news/deep...
Reposted by Aaron Martin
Silicon Valley, 1990s: Free and open access to all the world’s knowledge will usher a new utopian age of information!
Silicon Valley, 2025:
Silicon Valley, 2025:
![Enable chats with Satan [enabled]
Premium subscription required](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:xk7r4kbdqfmrrzj3664ig4mt/bafkreielrwmwsrdoobdypob2kgwvma7g2yt56kcmn27mubosfpon7iziim@jpeg)
November 15, 2025 at 1:28 AM
Silicon Valley, 1990s: Free and open access to all the world’s knowledge will usher a new utopian age of information!
Silicon Valley, 2025:
Silicon Valley, 2025:
Reposted by Aaron Martin
We are proud to share that Professor Aaron Martin (@empo11on.bsky.social) co-edited Data Protection in Humanitarian Action, marking 10 years of ICRC & UNHCR data frameworks. A milestone on how data protection drives responsible humanitarian action. Read open access: https://bit.ly/47TYiIm
Data Protection in Humanitarian Action: Responding to Crises in a Data-Driven World
This book is the product of a collaboration between the data protection offices of the ICRC and UNHCR, alongside the Global Privacy Assembly, to reflect on a decade of progress in data protection in h...
bit.ly
November 12, 2025 at 5:13 PM
We are proud to share that Professor Aaron Martin (@empo11on.bsky.social) co-edited Data Protection in Humanitarian Action, marking 10 years of ICRC & UNHCR data frameworks. A milestone on how data protection drives responsible humanitarian action. Read open access: https://bit.ly/47TYiIm
"At least 49 family members and colleagues of Afghans affected by the UK Ministry of Defence's mass data breach have been killed, according to research submitted to a parliamentary committee."
www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2025...
www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2025...
At least 49 relatives and colleagues of Afghans in data leak have been killed, study suggests
Research also finds 200 of 231 people notified by MoD of breach reported threats to themselves or families
www.theguardian.com
October 31, 2025 at 3:23 PM
"At least 49 family members and colleagues of Afghans affected by the UK Ministry of Defence's mass data breach have been killed, according to research submitted to a parliamentary committee."
www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2025...
www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2025...
Reposted by Aaron Martin
This is sounding more and more like the Council of Nicea who meet behind closed doors and poke the chatbot until it says it feels something.
arstechnica.com/information-...
arstechnica.com/information-...
Expert panel will determine AGI arrival in new Microsoft-OpenAI agreement
New deal extends Microsoft IP rights until 2032 or until AGI arrives.
arstechnica.com
October 29, 2025 at 5:19 AM
This is sounding more and more like the Council of Nicea who meet behind closed doors and poke the chatbot until it says it feels something.
arstechnica.com/information-...
arstechnica.com/information-...
Reposted by Aaron Martin
Call for Abstracts / Panels
PLANETARY SURVEILLANCE
#SSN2026 – the 11th Biennial Surveillance Studies Network Conference
9-12 June 2026
Université Catholique de Lille, France
Details: surveillance-studies.net/conference/
Submissions (open soon): ssn2026.sciencesconf.org
PLANETARY SURVEILLANCE
#SSN2026 – the 11th Biennial Surveillance Studies Network Conference
9-12 June 2026
Université Catholique de Lille, France
Details: surveillance-studies.net/conference/
Submissions (open soon): ssn2026.sciencesconf.org
Conference – Surveillance Studies Network
surveillance-studies.net
October 28, 2025 at 10:44 PM
Call for Abstracts / Panels
PLANETARY SURVEILLANCE
#SSN2026 – the 11th Biennial Surveillance Studies Network Conference
9-12 June 2026
Université Catholique de Lille, France
Details: surveillance-studies.net/conference/
Submissions (open soon): ssn2026.sciencesconf.org
PLANETARY SURVEILLANCE
#SSN2026 – the 11th Biennial Surveillance Studies Network Conference
9-12 June 2026
Université Catholique de Lille, France
Details: surveillance-studies.net/conference/
Submissions (open soon): ssn2026.sciencesconf.org
💥 New book out with @icrc.org's @massimomarelli.bsky.social and @universityofexeter.bsky.social's Ana Beduschi 💥
ᴅᴀᴛᴀ ᴘʀᴏᴛᴇᴄᴛɪᴏɴ ɪɴ ʜᴜᴍᴀɴɪᴛᴀʀɪᴀɴ ᴀᴄᴛɪᴏɴ: ʀᴇꜱᴘᴏɴᴅɪɴɢ ᴛᴏ ᴄʀɪꜱᴇꜱ ɪɴ ᴀ ᴅᴀᴛᴀ-ᴅʀɪᴠᴇɴ ᴡᴏʀʟᴅ
👉 doi.org/10.4324/9781...
It's an open-access collection thanks to @ecpcmaastricht.bsky.social 🧡
ᴅᴀᴛᴀ ᴘʀᴏᴛᴇᴄᴛɪᴏɴ ɪɴ ʜᴜᴍᴀɴɪᴛᴀʀɪᴀɴ ᴀᴄᴛɪᴏɴ: ʀᴇꜱᴘᴏɴᴅɪɴɢ ᴛᴏ ᴄʀɪꜱᴇꜱ ɪɴ ᴀ ᴅᴀᴛᴀ-ᴅʀɪᴠᴇɴ ᴡᴏʀʟᴅ
👉 doi.org/10.4324/9781...
It's an open-access collection thanks to @ecpcmaastricht.bsky.social 🧡
Data Protection in Humanitarian Action | Responding to Crises in a Dat
This book is the product of a collaboration between the data protection offices of the ICRC and UNHCR, alongside the Global Privacy Assembly, to reflect on a
doi.org
October 27, 2025 at 2:23 PM
💥 New book out with @icrc.org's @massimomarelli.bsky.social and @universityofexeter.bsky.social's Ana Beduschi 💥
ᴅᴀᴛᴀ ᴘʀᴏᴛᴇᴄᴛɪᴏɴ ɪɴ ʜᴜᴍᴀɴɪᴛᴀʀɪᴀɴ ᴀᴄᴛɪᴏɴ: ʀᴇꜱᴘᴏɴᴅɪɴɢ ᴛᴏ ᴄʀɪꜱᴇꜱ ɪɴ ᴀ ᴅᴀᴛᴀ-ᴅʀɪᴠᴇɴ ᴡᴏʀʟᴅ
👉 doi.org/10.4324/9781...
It's an open-access collection thanks to @ecpcmaastricht.bsky.social 🧡
ᴅᴀᴛᴀ ᴘʀᴏᴛᴇᴄᴛɪᴏɴ ɪɴ ʜᴜᴍᴀɴɪᴛᴀʀɪᴀɴ ᴀᴄᴛɪᴏɴ: ʀᴇꜱᴘᴏɴᴅɪɴɢ ᴛᴏ ᴄʀɪꜱᴇꜱ ɪɴ ᴀ ᴅᴀᴛᴀ-ᴅʀɪᴠᴇɴ ᴡᴏʀʟᴅ
👉 doi.org/10.4324/9781...
It's an open-access collection thanks to @ecpcmaastricht.bsky.social 🧡
Reposted by Aaron Martin
deleted social media from my phone a while back so haven't been around much lately but dropping in here to share something I wrote about d'angelo, whose music meant the world to me slate.com/culture/2025...
The Man Behind Two of the Greatest Albums of the Century Is Gone
D’Angelo fused hip-hop with R&B like no one had before—then kept on exploring.
slate.com
October 15, 2025 at 7:53 PM
deleted social media from my phone a while back so haven't been around much lately but dropping in here to share something I wrote about d'angelo, whose music meant the world to me slate.com/culture/2025...