Asvatha
@asvatha.bsky.social
PhD (Communication Studies). Interested in researching media, emerging technologies, and governance. Currently looking at algorithmic state surveillance.
Happy to announce (belatedly) that I'm #PhDone! I defended my dissertation "Guilty Faces: Localizing Surveillance through the Cultural Construction of Facial Recognition" last month.
September 17, 2025 at 10:10 AM
Happy to announce (belatedly) that I'm #PhDone! I defended my dissertation "Guilty Faces: Localizing Surveillance through the Cultural Construction of Facial Recognition" last month.
I assure you that you do not actually have to contribute to the great American Casteist NRI vs Racist White Person debates of 2024.. You don't have to speak up for your "Indian friends" and definitely don't have to learn and spout half-baked nonsense about the US immigration process.
December 28, 2024 at 9:35 AM
I assure you that you do not actually have to contribute to the great American Casteist NRI vs Racist White Person debates of 2024.. You don't have to speak up for your "Indian friends" and definitely don't have to learn and spout half-baked nonsense about the US immigration process.
Petition to ban the word oomf on bsky
December 25, 2024 at 10:12 AM
Petition to ban the word oomf on bsky
Someone smarter than me needs to write a paper calculating the point at which the informational landscape becomes so polluted with garbage that the genAI hallucination problem becomes unsolvable by fact checking mechanisms.
December 25, 2024 at 5:55 AM
Someone smarter than me needs to write a paper calculating the point at which the informational landscape becomes so polluted with garbage that the genAI hallucination problem becomes unsolvable by fact checking mechanisms.
Reposted by Asvatha
Happy Winter Solstice!
These photos were taken with a pinhole camera I made from a beer can and left out from Summer to Winter Solstice - a 6 month exposure.
Bottom line = Winter Solstice. Top line = Summer Solstice.
The lines are the Sun moving across the sky w/some reflections. No line = clouds
These photos were taken with a pinhole camera I made from a beer can and left out from Summer to Winter Solstice - a 6 month exposure.
Bottom line = Winter Solstice. Top line = Summer Solstice.
The lines are the Sun moving across the sky w/some reflections. No line = clouds
December 21, 2024 at 2:01 PM
Happy Winter Solstice!
These photos were taken with a pinhole camera I made from a beer can and left out from Summer to Winter Solstice - a 6 month exposure.
Bottom line = Winter Solstice. Top line = Summer Solstice.
The lines are the Sun moving across the sky w/some reflections. No line = clouds
These photos were taken with a pinhole camera I made from a beer can and left out from Summer to Winter Solstice - a 6 month exposure.
Bottom line = Winter Solstice. Top line = Summer Solstice.
The lines are the Sun moving across the sky w/some reflections. No line = clouds
Hard relate! This whole PhD has been a process of catching up with "basic" theory and foundational scholarship that everyone else already seems to know and is able to pull out (correctly) at whim.
time. And so I was focused on acquiring practical skills and couldn't focus on some basic academic structures. My PhD was basically a lot of catching up with literature and methodologies from #Sociology and #STS. Now I am doing the same with Critical #AI .
December 13, 2024 at 10:45 AM
Hard relate! This whole PhD has been a process of catching up with "basic" theory and foundational scholarship that everyone else already seems to know and is able to pull out (correctly) at whim.
Randomly meeting one of my to-be mentors at a random event and getting a chance to speak with her for 10 mins (which was all the time she needed to convince me that I'm meant to do a PhD instead of job hunting in the DC think tank circuit)
What's the moment of luck that's had the biggest impact for your academic career? For me, it was how I wouldn't have gotten a PhD fellowship if it wasn't for the 1st-ranked person declining, which meant that I was awarded the fellowship as 2nd-ranked applicant. That was my last shot at a PhD.
December 13, 2024 at 6:58 AM
Randomly meeting one of my to-be mentors at a random event and getting a chance to speak with her for 10 mins (which was all the time she needed to convince me that I'm meant to do a PhD instead of job hunting in the DC think tank circuit)
American hubris is really a difficult net to avoid huh? However thoughtful their work is & however they're placed in the socio-cultural hierarchy in the US, you eventually get hit with the casual "we're the best/greatest/insert other superlative in the world" when you least expect it
December 12, 2024 at 7:31 PM
American hubris is really a difficult net to avoid huh? However thoughtful their work is & however they're placed in the socio-cultural hierarchy in the US, you eventually get hit with the casual "we're the best/greatest/insert other superlative in the world" when you least expect it
Dropped by Twitter after a while to see what I missed and Xed outta there so fast. Indian men having a normal one over there to looks like..
I am not looking forward to the day the hordes get here.
I am not looking forward to the day the hordes get here.
December 12, 2024 at 11:21 AM
Dropped by Twitter after a while to see what I missed and Xed outta there so fast. Indian men having a normal one over there to looks like..
I am not looking forward to the day the hordes get here.
I am not looking forward to the day the hordes get here.
Reposted by Asvatha
Googling Stuff: Then v Now.
December 11, 2024 at 5:15 PM
Googling Stuff: Then v Now.
Reposted by Asvatha
Companies are so surveillance-pilled and data hungry that they are trying to get everyone to believe that one of the worst aspects of modern technology—that you are constantly surveilled—is now a thing you should wholeheartedly embrace and integrate into every aspect of your existence.
December 11, 2024 at 9:59 PM
Companies are so surveillance-pilled and data hungry that they are trying to get everyone to believe that one of the worst aspects of modern technology—that you are constantly surveilled—is now a thing you should wholeheartedly embrace and integrate into every aspect of your existence.
My biggest problem with gen AI is that by the time the tech "gets better" (whatever that means), AI slop and hallucinations would have already permeated the information ecosystem, and the damage to the verifiability of facts will already be done.
One of the many reasons why focusing on "technical flaws" can often be counter productive for effective critiques of new tech. It allows companies to just say that the tech is not perfect *yet* (and that a little more time and money would get it there).
Is there a term for the practice of over indexing a technology’s early flaws?
This happened with facial recognition technology; critics were still saying it didn’t work after it had gotten incredibly accurate. Seems like something similar may happen with gen AI and hallucinations.
This happened with facial recognition technology; critics were still saying it didn’t work after it had gotten incredibly accurate. Seems like something similar may happen with gen AI and hallucinations.
December 11, 2024 at 8:06 AM
My biggest problem with gen AI is that by the time the tech "gets better" (whatever that means), AI slop and hallucinations would have already permeated the information ecosystem, and the damage to the verifiability of facts will already be done.
Yes and also, just like the earlier form of the question, it's more complicated than have/have not. Case in point: the number of Indian origin bot accounts on Twitter spewing chatgpt slop as engagement bait in replies to viral tweets while being questionably informed.
The digital divide question has shifted from the "online" vs "not online" to the "relatively well informed"/"mired in information sludge"
December 10, 2024 at 6:36 PM
Yes and also, just like the earlier form of the question, it's more complicated than have/have not. Case in point: the number of Indian origin bot accounts on Twitter spewing chatgpt slop as engagement bait in replies to viral tweets while being questionably informed.
Get my family to stop giving their pics to an AI app for fun challenge
December 9, 2024 at 9:14 AM
Get my family to stop giving their pics to an AI app for fun challenge
for definitions of what makes something "AI", I have found it useful to treat "AI" purely as a marketing term.
it's selling a political vision to the capitalist class. and, of course, to the department of defense.
the particular tech turns out to hardly matter. as long as the demo is impressive.
it's selling a political vision to the capitalist class. and, of course, to the department of defense.
the particular tech turns out to hardly matter. as long as the demo is impressive.
December 9, 2024 at 8:19 AM
I have interacted with precisely ZERO T****r Sw*ft posts in my life and yet both my bluesky and Twitter feeds are saturated with her. Am I just the exact target audience? Is this happening for everyone else? How many accounts do I block before it stops?
December 9, 2024 at 7:54 AM
I have interacted with precisely ZERO T****r Sw*ft posts in my life and yet both my bluesky and Twitter feeds are saturated with her. Am I just the exact target audience? Is this happening for everyone else? How many accounts do I block before it stops?
Alright cool now that we're all agreed that gen AI is real, dangerous, fake, and sucks, let's not lose sight of the fact that AI is more than LLMs and chatbots.
December 9, 2024 at 7:33 AM
Alright cool now that we're all agreed that gen AI is real, dangerous, fake, and sucks, let's not lose sight of the fact that AI is more than LLMs and chatbots.
Brilliant essay (also read all the linked pieces)
I wrote about Casey Newton's essay on AI skepticism, the uselessness of a "AI is real and dangerous" v. "AI is fake and sucks" dichotomy, and the limits of AI boosterism. thetechbubble.substack.com/p/the-phony-...
The phony comforts of useful idiots
On Casey Newton and the shallowness of anti-skepticism.
thetechbubble.substack.com
December 9, 2024 at 4:08 AM
Brilliant essay (also read all the linked pieces)
Reposted by Asvatha
Incredible geographical diversity on the schedule here
🌐Our stage is global, and so is our audience! Join us for the Global Voices Summit 2024 livestream.
Let’s connect across borders and amplify underrepresented voices together.
🌍 Tune in here:
summit2024.globalvoices.org/livestream/
Let’s connect across borders and amplify underrepresented voices together.
🌍 Tune in here:
summit2024.globalvoices.org/livestream/
Livestream · Global Voices Summit 2024
There will be two livestreams during summit sessions, where you can watch live! They will be embedded on this page once they begin. Live tab of the Global Voices YouTube...
summit2024.globalvoices.org
December 6, 2024 at 7:29 AM
Incredible geographical diversity on the schedule here
Reposted by Asvatha
This is wildly dismissive of scholars, activists, and journalists whose critiques go well beyond “it sucks and it’s fake.” Moreso, substantive critiques about it sucking often point out not that it’s “fake” but that it’s used for tasks it’s not suited for to the detriment of people it’s used against
The phony comforts of AI skepticism
It’s fun to say that artificial intelligence is fake and sucks — but evidence is mounting that it’s real and dangerous
www.platformer.news
December 6, 2024 at 4:16 AM
This is wildly dismissive of scholars, activists, and journalists whose critiques go well beyond “it sucks and it’s fake.” Moreso, substantive critiques about it sucking often point out not that it’s “fake” but that it’s used for tasks it’s not suited for to the detriment of people it’s used against
Reposted by Asvatha
Critical ICT4D written by a wonderful group of scholars and edited by @silviahedley.bsky.social and me is out and it's open-access with 11 chapters that reflect, problematise, and construct alternative trajectories for information and communication technologies in development contexts 🥳🎉So excited!
Critical ICT4D (Information and Communication Technologies for Develop
The edited volume Critical ICT4D highlights the need for a paradigm change in theorising, designing, and researching Information and Communication Technologies
www.taylorfrancis.com
December 5, 2024 at 6:35 PM
Critical ICT4D written by a wonderful group of scholars and edited by @silviahedley.bsky.social and me is out and it's open-access with 11 chapters that reflect, problematise, and construct alternative trajectories for information and communication technologies in development contexts 🥳🎉So excited!
Reposted by Asvatha
Two years into the AI boom, it's imperative we understand the true power of "AGI"—as a narrative tool useful for winning investment, talent and headlines.
My report for AI Now details how OpenAI used the story of a rising AI that will replace humans to replace the need for an actual business model.
My report for AI Now details how OpenAI used the story of a rising AI that will replace humans to replace the need for an actual business model.
Today, we published an article by @bcmerchant.bsky.social arguing that OpenAI is leaning on a flimsy presentation of AGI as its eventual business model––despite the lack of evidence it is a real possibility, or a viable profit pathway.
Read: ainowinstitute.org/general/ai-g...
Read: ainowinstitute.org/general/ai-g...
AI Generated Business: The Rise of AGI and the Rush to Find a Working Revenue Model
By Brian Merchant In This Article Introduction OpenAI and the Generative AI Boom Silicon Valley Mythology, Distilled and Accelerated From “Safe AI” to AGI — and the Hype-Led Business Model Genesis Mar...
ainowinstitute.org
December 5, 2024 at 5:19 PM
Two years into the AI boom, it's imperative we understand the true power of "AGI"—as a narrative tool useful for winning investment, talent and headlines.
My report for AI Now details how OpenAI used the story of a rising AI that will replace humans to replace the need for an actual business model.
My report for AI Now details how OpenAI used the story of a rising AI that will replace humans to replace the need for an actual business model.
School shootings to sell face surveillance in US schools.
Digital futurism to sell face surveillance in Indian schools.
indiaai.gov.in/news/tamil-n...
Digital futurism to sell face surveillance in Indian schools.
indiaai.gov.in/news/tamil-n...
Yes. For instance if you ask companies who sell the tech and students who the tech is used against, you will tend to get very different answers.
Does Facial Recognition Belong in Schools? It Depends Who You Ask - EdSurge News
For all the excitement around artificial intelligence in education, its use in surveilling students in the name of safety has been met with resistance ...
www.edsurge.com
December 5, 2024 at 5:26 PM
School shootings to sell face surveillance in US schools.
Digital futurism to sell face surveillance in Indian schools.
indiaai.gov.in/news/tamil-n...
Digital futurism to sell face surveillance in Indian schools.
indiaai.gov.in/news/tamil-n...