Aaron Martin

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 ❤️

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said Tuesday that “we haven’t pulled anything back,” but “Starlink has the option to make decisions concerning its terms of service.” He told reporters in Eau Claire, Wisconsin: “We haven’t made any directives or anything like that.” www.wsj.com/world/ukrain...

The @digsovobs.bsky.social is hiring a short-term research consultant to develop a #digitalsovereignty digest to inform policymaking and shape future research directions. Apply by October 26th! Details here: lnkd.in/p/g2ff42AV

Next week, Google is set to launch an experimental satellite to test the feasibility of data centers in space and it's doing it on a SpaceX rocket. www.nytimes.com/2026/09/24/t...

📣 We're hiring an open rank tenured/tenure track prof. in 𝐝𝐚𝐭𝐚 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐬𝐨𝐜𝐢𝐞𝐭𝐲 If you work on the governance of data and AI, we'd love for you to consider joining @uvadatascience.bsky.social ❤️ Details in the job advert: apply.interfolio.com/191214

"There’s a special place in hell for people who steal from the poor" Criminals exploit a well-known flaw in the cards most low-income Americans use to get aid: magnetic-stripe tech. Few states have switched to the [more secure] chip cards that distribute welfare funds. www.wsj.com/us-news/how-...

"To the extent that Miami represents what's happening in the greater US, we have only the rickety scaffolding of the panopticon; it's not yet fully constructed. We still have time to decide whether or not we actually want to build it." — @kashhill.bsky.social's 𝘠𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘍𝘢𝘤𝘦 𝘉𝘦𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘨𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘜𝘴 (2023, p. 236)

"In this book, we make the case that the technology sector has an affirmative obligation to support the state that made its rise possible." (pp. 10-11) techrepublicbook.com

"Kick rocks and don’t come back." www.wsj.com/tech/ai/ai-d...

FT editorial board: "Rather than fighting rearguard court actions, tech firms would be best advised to heed the changing political & legal mood. They should redouble their efforts to run safer, privacy-preserving services that serve the public interest & consumers’ needs." www.ft.com/content/105b...

"Remarkably, little of the domestic critique [about Aadhaar] appears to have shaped how the system is described to the rest of the world. This is worth a closer look, not b/c digital identity is a bad idea, but b/c Aadhaar embodies one particular design choice." www.techpolicy.press/aadhaars-suc...

'Surveillance sprawl' is a nice concept "Greg Walton, a cybersecurity researcher, said the exposure wasn't an anomaly. It's a consequence of China's surveillance sprawl, which is fueled by an expanding ecosystem of vendors, contractors and public security agencies." www.nytimes.com/2026/08/02/w...

"The rapid adoption of AI has fueled a wave of legal disputes over the unauthorized use of people’s likenesses. The city-level Guangzhou Internet Court has heard approximately 700 AI-related face theft cases over the past three years."

'The math superpowers of quantum computers are likely to help in only a few areas like making possible rigorous digital simulations of complex physics & chemistry. In one area, though, they're certain to make a world of destructive difference: cracking encryption.' www.economist.com/leaders/2026...

From @wfp.org's statement following its recent cyber incident: "Recent reports indicate the [humanitarian] sector is now the second most targeted globally with increasingly sophisticated attacks." docs.wfp.org/api/document... [pdf] Does anyone know where this data originates from?

"Two companies—Guowang & Thousand Sails—are each planning to deploy 10k+ satellites in space, putting them in direct competition w/ SpaceX’s Starlink constellation. This comes as China is pushing to build LEO broadband networks w/ dual civilian & military applications." www.ft.com/content/fedc...

"Imagine an employee inside an American company who was smart and hard-working and whose goal in life was to promote the interests of a foreign government. We would call that person a foreign agent. We are now hiring millions of them through the use of Chinese AI." 🤔 www.nytimes.com/2026/07/29/o...

"As of early this month, SpaceX’s Starlink alone comprised about 65% of all active satellites in low-Earth orbit—over 10,700 out of around 16,200 operational satellites—giving a single firm a near-monopoly presence beyond the stratosphere." phenomenalworld.org/analysis/orb...

Outer space has emerged as a new frontier of intense commercial activity, with SpaceX now commanding much of the low-Earth orbit launch and satellite market. Our essay of the week examines the deregulation of outer space. By @fulyaapaydin.bsky.social in @phenomenalworld.bsky.social buff.ly/uOx1akP

To add: why would humanitarian actors sacrifice their values by using his satellite connectivity?

"I didn’t want to talk about Claude. I wanted to talk about the user, about addiction & dehumanization, about power & accountability. But there was resistance. I worried that behind this wish to draw attention to Claude’s “status” there was a hope for a kind of baptism." www.ft.com/content/bdb3...

Very interesting that China's "unified regulatory framework" is cited as one of the reasons Chinese tech talent prefers to return home to launch AI start-ups www.ft.com/content/0c77...

Just lost 300+ Safari tabs. Life goes on, right?

"As some trusts make greater use of the Palantir platform, more data flows onto it, leaving the NHS more reliant on the firm. If the contract were to be terminated, NHS staff would lose access to everything. Even supporters admit this 'vendor lock-in' is problematic." www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v4...

“It’s increasingly clear that in places like Virginia, AI is an inflationary pressure. That’s one reason why people are worried about this.” — @adamtooze.bsky.social open.spotify.com/episode/5DwR...

Resistance to data centres – which are vital for AI – is growing. But these social justice efforts mostly operate at a local level. So what happens if data centres are put into space? Quito Tsui & @sixfouronea.net explore in our latest blog post #LSEInequalitiesBlog

We just launched a new pilot for Assured Enrollment in our BSDS program here at the University of Virginia School of Data Science. More info: datascience.virginia.edu/degrees/bsds...

"Many [Anthropic] engineers run several Claude Code agents simultaneously, giving them tasks to complete overnight so that someone — human or machine — is always on the clock. They muse about the postwork future while pulling 80-hour workweeks." www.nytimes.com/2026/04/30/o...

"An essential quality of money is singleness—meaning a dollar must always equal a dollar no matter when, where or with whom it's used. By contrast stablecoins move through proprietary, fragmented infrastructures. They don’t exhibit singleness." www.wsj.com/finance/curr... h/t @margchee.bsky.social

"Unlike Palantir’s contract with the UK’s NHS, [which] has prompted unionized, legal, political and patient oriented organizing by multiple groups – WFP's partnership has so far largely escaped sustained mobilization – despite it being the 𝐦𝐨𝐬𝐭 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐝𝐢𝐜𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐲 𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐧𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐩 𝐨𝐟 𝐚𝐥𝐥." techforbad.com

The antithesis of #scale... "After withdrawing from the WHO and losing access to its global network that tracks and combats disease outbreaks, the US is attempting to obtain the information necessary to address potential pandemics through a patchwork of deals..." www.propublica.org/article/trum...

In a new privacy policy, Anthropic says Claude will soon require you to upload your driver's license or passport for a variety of reasons. The ID checker is Persona, a firm funded by Trump ally Peter Thiel. As a U.S. company, Persona is also subject to gov't demands for people's verification data. 👀

“Humanitarian organizations need to rethink their relationship to tech, be less deferential to corporate execs pitching their wares, and recover their duties as a platform for human dignity.”

This week, as the UN holds its annual Humanitarian Affairs Segment in New York, Aaron Martin (@sixfouronea.net) & Quito Tsui urge humanitarian organizations to break away from their reliance on private technology.

ᴜɴᴅᴏɪɴɢ ᴘʟᴀᴛꜰᴏʀᴍ ʜᴜᴍᴀɴɪᴛᴀʀɪᴀɴɪꜱᴍ A critical reflection qua book review on the state of datafication and digital dependence in the humanitarian sector Written with Quito Tsui for @publicbooks.bsky.social 📚 www.publicbooks.org/undoing-plat... Thanks to @monasloane.bsky.social for the opportunity ❤️

We strongly condemn the cyberattack on the World Food Programme (WFP) exposing the personal data of 600,000 Palestinian households in Gaza, putting vulnerable people at further risk. We call on the WFP to be transparent and act NOW to prevent further harm. ⬇️ www.accessnow.org/press-releas...

“There’s evidence that WFP and Palantir staff cooperate closely… Knowledge transfer, from WFP’s global humanitarian operations, to Palantir, is indicated by the movement of [at least two former WFP] staff… and through the description of Palantir roles that interface with WFP.” techforbad.com

"Sovereign power came from controlling hydrocarbons, but in the 21st century, it will be from increasingly controlling compute..." restofworld.org/2026/uae-qui...

"Regardless of how Big Tech dreams of space data centers end, the prospect should generate greater scrutiny of what precisely resistance movements are trying to target." My op-ed with Quito Tsui in @policyr.bsky.social policyreview.info/articles/new...

"Muskism" is a 21st-century political economy in which private firms sell sovereignty through infrastructure. This piece traces its roots to apartheid South Africa's self-sufficient "fortress futurism." With @quinnslobodian.com and @bentarnoff.com on @publicseminar.bsky.social buff.ly/8eYY5bG

📣 @7amleh.bsky.social calls on the World Food Programme to protect Palestinian data in the wake of the recent breach 7amleh.org/post/wfp-mus...

"Zambia deepens #digitalsovereignty push with Huawei AI partnership; the two parties will co-invest to build a national data center which will make it possible for critical data to be stored within the country" 🤔 www.biometricupdate.com/202606/zambi...