Sophia Goodfriend
sophiagoodfriend.bsky.social
Sophia Goodfriend
@sophiagoodfriend.bsky.social
990 followers 270 following 190 posts
Anthropologist, research fellow at University of Cambridge Pembroke College Cambridge & non-resident fellow at Harvard Kennedy School Middle East Initiative, writes about AI and war in Israel & Palestine
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My latest for the @LRB dives into the roots of Israel's AI-assisted targeting in Gaza

It's a story about a military obsessed with building its killing capacities to scale, to the detriment of regional security

https://www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v46/n19/sophia-goodfriend/kill-lists
Sophia Goodfriend · Kill Lists
The IDF’s AI-assisted systems allow the military to bypas...
www.lrb.co.uk
Reposted by Sophia Goodfriend
The Trump administration has unfrozen a Biden-era hold on powerful Israeli-made spyware, now in the hands of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

@sophiagoodfriend.bsky.social on what the contract portends for escalating strongman rule:
The Strongman’s Surveillance State - Boston Review
The Trump administration has unfrozen a Biden-era hold on powerful Israeli-made spyware, now in the hands of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
www.bostonreview.net
In case you missed it: I wrote about killer slop
On the homefront, AI systems churn out low-grade memes ad infinitum. But on the battlefield, they provide an endless supply of questionable military targets. And as @sophiagoodfriend.bsky.social argues, nowhere is this more apparent than in Gaza.
Deadly Slop | Sophia Goodfriend
AI-generated slop is also the correlate and counterpart of contemporary warfare.
thebaffler.com
There's been reports of small drones deployed by Israeli forces across Gaza, but what's most astounding here is the link between American crowd funding efforts to arm Israel's military and the targeting of civilians and civilian areas.

From @972mag.com

www.972mag.com/drones-grena...
Israel enforcing Gaza evacuations with grenade-firing drones
Israeli soldiers tell +972 they deliberately target Palestinian civilians with drone strikes so others will ‘learn’ not to return.
www.972mag.com
Reposted by Sophia Goodfriend
A good overview of the thorny implications of the newly enlisted tech execs as reservists by @sklovig.bsky.social with commentary by the excellent @sophiagoodfriend.bsky.social and myself.
I was glad to speak with @sklovig.bsky.social about the militarisation of the US’ AI industry

It’s an important look at how Silicon Valley is working with the Trump admin to turbocharge AI weapons development
The Christian pilgrims, stranded in Tel Aviv, have gone rogue
Tel Aviv and its surroundings this morning
Was a pleasure to speak with Akela and Chris last week.

Thanks to @theintercept.com for hosting this deep dive into the Trump administration's surveillance dragnet
NEW 🎧: It’s the heyday of surveillance capitalism. Attacks on immigrants & pro-Palestine voices have become one under a massive warrantless dragnet — with lessons taken straight from Israel. W/ @chrisgelardi.bsky.social & @sophiagoodfriend.bsky.social

Listen: podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/t...
How Student Protesters and Immigrants Became Targets of Trump’s Surveillance Tech
Podcast Episode · The Intercept Briefing · 05/30/2025 · 41m
podcasts.apple.com
Reposted by Sophia Goodfriend
NEW 🎧: It’s the heyday of surveillance capitalism. Attacks on immigrants & pro-Palestine voices have become one under a massive warrantless dragnet — with lessons taken straight from Israel. W/ @chrisgelardi.bsky.social & @sophiagoodfriend.bsky.social

Listen: podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/t...
How Student Protesters and Immigrants Became Targets of Trump’s Surveillance Tech
Podcast Episode · The Intercept Briefing · 05/30/2025 · 41m
podcasts.apple.com
Reposted by Sophia Goodfriend
Required reading for my friends out there also studying immigration right now.

Also highly recommend the recent @theintercept.com podcast episode with @sophiagoodfriend.bsky.social and @chrisgelardi.bsky.social talking about this and more
Looking forward to this conversation on Wednesday, tune in online at 2 PM CET, 8 AM EST
🤖 Killing in the name of…? Developments in autonomous weapon systems are moving faster than a bullet, with current use cases in Ukraine, Isr/Gaza.

Join us on 7 May to discuss current tech changes and urgent regulation with @sophiagoodfriend.bsky.social, @verityc.bsky.social online at @amnesty.de.
Reposted by Sophia Goodfriend
Important reporting from @972mag.bsky.social

Lacking precise intelligence, Israeli troops used bunker-buster bombs & toxic gas to destroy Hamas tunnels despite danger to hostages and civilians.

“[the army] said let’s just blow everything up and create destruction”

www.972mag.com/tunnels-hama...
Bomb the area, gas the tunnels: Israel’s war on Gaza’s underground
The Israeli army decimated entire residential blocks with bunker-buster bombs to crush the passages below and flood them with lethal fumes.
www.972mag.com
Reposted by Sophia Goodfriend
I'm in the @nytimes.com @nytopinion.nytimes.com this morning asking: Who exactly is running the federal government?
If we can’t answer that simple question, government officials and civil society must recognize warning signs of state capture and take back what's ours. www.nytimes.com/2025/02/05/o...
Reposted by Sophia Goodfriend
‘In exchange for technology and expertise, the Israeli army offered companies it worked with access to an unlimited supply of data. Many of the deals contravened Silicon Valley’s doveish mission statements and human rights policies.’

@sophiagoodfriend.bsky.social: www.lrb.co.uk/blog/2025/ja...
Sophia Goodfriend | Militarised AI
Last week, a trove of leaked documents offered a glimpse into the role that large technology companies have played in...
www.lrb.co.uk
Reposted by Sophia Goodfriend
At @lawfare.bsky.social, our searchable table of legal challenges to Trump's executive orders is filling up quickly.

Please DM me if we're missing litigation on EOs within our bailiwick. A little crowdsourcing can go a long way.

Link here: www.lawfaremedia.org/projects-ser...
Last week, a series of leaked documents revealed tech companies' instrumental war in Israel's war efforts

I wrote a brief response for the @LRB blog: on Gaza, Silicon Valley, and militarized AI.

www.lrb.co.uk/blog/2025/ja...
Sophia Goodfriend | Militarised AI
Last week, a trove of leaked documents offered a glimpse into the role that large technology companies have played in...
www.lrb.co.uk