Zeerak Talat زیرک ظلعت (they/them)
@zeerak.bsky.social
2.8K followers 660 following 330 posts
Thinking about content moderation, equity, machine learning, and natural language processing. Now: Chancellor's Fellow (~Asst. Prof) @technomoralfutures.bsky.social @edinburgh-uni.bsky.social Past: MBZUAI, SFU, Uni of. {Sheffield, CPH}
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Reposted by Zeerak Talat زیرک ظلعت (they/them)
lisadiedrich.bsky.social
Stuart Hall took Thatcherism seriously & tried to understand its affective & aspirational appeal. Trumpism operates differently, as @cnewf.bsky.social notes, but the need to offer a cultural & political counter-strategy is key. I keep thinking about Hall’s adept use of new forms of media.
mattseybold.bsky.social
Great call to arms by @cnewf.bsky.social, following the tactic of Jed Esty's "Future of Decline" by looking to Stuart Hall & the New Left, & urging us to forego "private agency within our universities" in favor of "collective agency by running them."
Academics Must Seize the Means of Knowledge Production - Public Books
Trumpism has canceled the knowledge society.
www.publicbooks.org
Reposted by Zeerak Talat زیرک ظلعت (they/them)
paultlevin.bsky.social
““They dragged little Greta [Thunberg] by her hair before our eyes, beat her, and forced her to kiss the Israeli flag. They did everything imaginable to her, as a warning to others,” the Turkish activist ErsinÇelik, a participant in the Sumud flotilla, told Anadolu news agency.”+
Israel accused of detaining Greta Thunberg in infested cell and making her hold flags
Activist tells Swedish officials she has been subjected to harsh treatment, including insufficient food and water
www.theguardian.com
Reposted by Zeerak Talat زیرک ظلعت (they/them)
Reposted by Zeerak Talat زیرک ظلعت (they/them)
paulwaldman.bsky.social
1. More Americans work at the Cheesecake Factory than in the entire coal industry, and that won't change. It's because of automation, not snooty libs.

2. Coal energy is now more expensive than wind and solar.

3. So this means: higher energy prices, more pollution, no jobs benefit. Genius!
atrupar.com
Energy Secretary Chris Wright on Fox: "We're announcing today expanded programs to help the American coal industry. We're helping it because for years it has been under assault. It was out of fashion with the chardonnay set in San Francisco, Boulder, and NYC ... coal just makes the world go round."
Reposted by Zeerak Talat زیرک ظلعت (they/them)
gfazh.bsky.social
Yep since 2019 we’ve paid £10-£15k in visa fees including around £5k to the NHS during which time my wife had no access to public funds and was paying income tax and NI like everyone else. Stop pretending it isn’t already a massive rip off and overwhelmingly net positive for the country.
danielsohege.bsky.social
Migrants already "earn the right to settlement" through extortionate visa costs, which can run into tens of thousands of pounds. They prop up key services, including through the Immigration Health Surcharge.

Pushing the hostile environment on steroids helps no-one.

www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
Mahmood demands migrants earn right to settlement in UK
New tests will include learning English to a high standard, paying National Insurance and not claiming benefits.
www.bbc.co.uk
Reposted by Zeerak Talat زیرک ظلعت (they/them)
blackamazon.bsky.social
Absolutely.

That’s how the media covers everything right now.

The aggressors are people

The victims are sad collateral.

The current administration and most of research is guided by people who share that model
mpaarlberg.bsky.social
I think the Trump admin assumed no one would try to find out who the people on the boats they blew up really were
Reposted by Zeerak Talat زیرک ظلعت (they/them)
bencollins.bsky.social
About to be the family that owns TikTok.
robertscotthorton.bsky.social
Larry Ellison envisions a surveillance state in which techbros rule. '“Citizens will be on their best behavior, because we’re constantly recording and reporting everything that is going on,” Ellison said in an hour-long Q&A during Oracle’s Financial Analyst Meeting last week.'
Larry Ellison predicts rise of the modern surveillance state where ‘citizens will be on their best behavior’ | Fortune
Oracle's Larry Ellison believes citizens and police alike will be under constant surveillance of each other.
fortune.com
Reposted by Zeerak Talat زیرک ظلعت (they/them)
quiteuninteresting.bsky.social
Really important piece by Roxane Gay: “Civility obsessives love a silver-tongued devil, wearing a nice suit, sporting a tidy haircut, while whispering sweet bigotries.” 🎁 link: @roxanegay.bsky.social www.nytimes.com/2025/09/24/o...
Opinion | Civility Is a Fantasy
www.nytimes.com
zeerak.bsky.social
Lovely that Labour is following the strong Tory tradition of marching out some black or brown person for immigration related policies.

Love the “how could we be racist when a brown person agreed to it”
Reposted by Zeerak Talat زیرک ظلعت (they/them)
scullingmonkey.bsky.social
Learning English to a high standard is important, for example the meaning of “to volunteer”
Reposted by Zeerak Talat زیرک ظلعت (they/them)
chrischirp.bsky.social
Just fuck off with this. How about start the conversation by highlighting how much immigrants contribute to the UK - not least by propping up the NHS and social care system!

Also - forced volunteering is not volunteering, it's unpaid labour.
zeerak.bsky.social
I think it’s time for me to bundle Labour in with the other right wing parties (ie the tories and reform).
zeerak.bsky.social
And the reasoning of the politicians is the same: they don’t care about the state of the country, they care about their own egos and being voted in.
zeerak.bsky.social
It’s so sad/funny. Labour is doing exactly what the social democrats in Denmark did 20-30 years ago. Invoking the same strawmen, supporting similar policies, alienating the same voting base, and shifting the country to the right.
Reposted by Zeerak Talat زیرک ظلعت (they/them)
matthewholehouse.bsky.social
Rachel Reeves, at IPPR, says the idea of the populist right that foreign workers depress domestic workers’ wages is simplistic and wrong…
Reposted by Zeerak Talat زیرک ظلعت (they/them)
jdportes.bsky.social
We have 20 years of UK evidence that says Rachel Reeves is correct about this.

Deeply depressing that some in government (let alone other parties) seem incapable of grasping it.

migrationobservatory.ox.ac.uk/resources/br....
Reposted by Zeerak Talat زیرک ظلعت (they/them)
essaywells.bsky.social
Why is the whole AI thing always about grassroots resistance and top-down treachery :(
Reposted by Zeerak Talat زیرک ظلعت (they/them)
ottoenglish.bsky.social
I wonder if this guy is related to "Boris Johnson" who introduced "voter id" as Prime Minister in 2023 ... off the back of some crazy US conspiracy theories ... and in the process, made digital ID pretty much inevitable.
Johnson says he will never use government ID
Reposted by Zeerak Talat زیرک ظلعت (they/them)
irisvanrooij.bsky.social
There is absolutely no good faith reason to use the term “AI” for any technology one is selling.

It serves only for dazzling people into thinking the technology has capabilities that it doesn’t.

If one wants a technology to be trustworthy, just use a transparent, informative term without hype.
Reposted by Zeerak Talat زیرک ظلعت (they/them)
angrystaffer.bsky.social
Trump just signed a an EO that allows the full power or the federal government to go after extremist groups.

Stephen Miller predictably went on a rant about Antifa, but not a *single* reporter asked if they’d be going after right wing extremists too.

Shameful.
Reposted by Zeerak Talat زیرک ظلعت (they/them)
kaius.bsky.social
huge news but the fight isn't over as they're still maintaining a relationship with the IDF outside of this service being pulled, but this is legitimate living proof that the BDS boycotts get results
joolia.bsky.social
Microsoft will no longer allow Israel to use its cloud services to enable its mass surveillance of occupied Palestinians – "the first known case of a US technology company withdrawing services provided to the Israeli military since the beginning of its war on Gaza"
Microsoft blocks Israel’s use of its technology in mass surveillance of Palestinians
Exclusive: Tech firm ends military unit’s access to AI and data services after Guardian reveals secret spy project
www.theguardian.com
Reposted by Zeerak Talat زیرک ظلعت (they/them)
technomoralfutures.bsky.social
Join us for our CTMF Flagship Lecture, where we will hear from Professor @jpsullins.bsky.social on the surprising role human wisdom is playing to help us navigate the challenges of AI technologies and create a more humane future.

🗓️ 15 October 18.00 - 19.30 BST
📍 EFI & online
🎟️ edin.ac/3Kl8em6
Event image for our Flagship Lecture. There is headshot photo of Professor Sullins, and text reading: 'Wisdom for an Artificial Age,' Professor John P. Sullins III (Sonoma State University). Location: Edinburgh Futures Institute (in person & online), Date: Wednesday 15 October 6.00 - 7.30pm BST, There will be a reception following the lecture.
Reposted by Zeerak Talat زیرک ظلعت (they/them)
ifow.org
Was so great to be a part of this forum on GenAI and the Novel - really excited to Dr @clemicollett.bsky.social's work published later this year.

It's a vital and urgent call for the UK to celebrate and sustain the creative industries - one of the finest jewels in our cultural and economic crown.