Journalist - tech & society. Deputy editor, Rest of World. San Francisco.https://bsky.app/profile/rinachandran.bsky.socialhttps://bsky.app/profile/rinachandran.bsky.social/post/3mkld33qlzc2fSince I moved to the Bay Area about 6 months back, I've been struck by how different the worldview here is from Asia. It's particularly stark in the embrace of AI. The Chinese and Southeast Asians are way more optimistic, and trust their governments to deploy it well. https://restofworld.org/2026/ai-optimism-asia/28 Apr 2026 19:30 +0000at://did:plc:qdurzbraw4bm7fpbum3iqt5u/app.bsky.feed.post/3mkld33qlzc2fhttps://bsky.app/profile/rinachandran.bsky.social/post/3mklctiusqs2fSo excited to be hosting our first event at #NYCTechWeek on June 2! Looking forward to this timely and vital conversation with @ambakak.bsky.social @accessnow.org Sam Winter-Levy and Aditya Vashistha. Sign up here: https://partiful.com/e/2UzoY58jttvpNlysyUbc28 Apr 2026 19:25 +0000at://did:plc:qdurzbraw4bm7fpbum3iqt5u/app.bsky.feed.post/3mklctiusqs2fhttps://bsky.app/profile/rinachandran.bsky.social/post/3mjkrjbdsws2gFrom Allbirds to Newbird AI. Under what category should we file a shoe company pivoting to AI infrastructure .... https://www.engadget.com/ai/shoe-company-pivots-to-ai-compute-in-sign-of-a-totally-normal-and-healthy-economy-161449196.html15 Apr 2026 20:50 +0000at://did:plc:qdurzbraw4bm7fpbum3iqt5u/app.bsky.feed.post/3mjkrjbdsws2ghttps://bsky.app/profile/rinachandran.bsky.social/post/3mj3atk5krc2iWe are all after the same stories, and it’s customary to acknowledge previous reporting. That’s missing in @financialtimes.com story on AI companion dolls for the elderly in Korea, which is uncannily similar to our story from last year. I think our story is better. https://restofworld.org/2025/korea-ai-robot-senior-care-hyodol/09 Apr 2026 16:42 +0000at://did:plc:qdurzbraw4bm7fpbum3iqt5u/app.bsky.feed.post/3mj3atk5krc2ihttps://bsky.app/profile/rinachandran.bsky.social/post/3mhmi2oyhcs2vMore than 100 people gathered in downtown San Francisco today outside the offices of #Anthropic, #OpenAI and #xAI to demand that they #PauseAI and #StopAI and stop the AI race.22 Mar 2026 02:16 +0000at://did:plc:qdurzbraw4bm7fpbum3iqt5u/app.bsky.feed.post/3mhmi2oyhcs2vhttps://bsky.app/profile/rinachandran.bsky.social/post/3mgatqfvdjc2jIn Colombia's parliamentary elections this weekend, voters can vote for an AI avatar, Gaitana, a stand-in for two Indigenous candidates, who say they will use AI platform for consensus from their communities on all legislative matters. https://restofworld.org/2026/ai-avatar-colombia-political-candidate/04 Mar 2026 17:48 +0000at://did:plc:qdurzbraw4bm7fpbum3iqt5u/app.bsky.feed.post/3mgatqfvdjc2jhttps://bsky.app/profile/rinachandran.bsky.social/post/3mg5yyrj4jc2iOver the past decade, India has launched schemes promising to harness digital technology to overcome social and political challenges. Yet they have only delivered new forms of dependent development and state capture. An excerpt from @dwaipayanbanerjee.bsky.social book https://restofworld.org/2026/dwaipayan-banerjee-india-technology-book/03 Mar 2026 14:44 +0000at://did:plc:qdurzbraw4bm7fpbum3iqt5u/app.bsky.feed.post/3mg5yyrj4jc2ihttps://bsky.app/profile/rinachandran.bsky.social/post/3mfrk6uafo22vThere are growing concerns around AI safety, yet whistleblowers are not protected in all countries. Mary Inman, who has represented Frances Haugen and Tyler Shultz, hopes that a digital safe will encourage more AI workers in any country to come forward. https://restofworld.org/2026/ai-whistleblower-psst-mary-inman/26 Feb 2026 15:47 +0000at://did:plc:qdurzbraw4bm7fpbum3iqt5u/app.bsky.feed.post/3mfrk6uafo22vhttps://bsky.app/profile/rinachandran.bsky.social/post/3mf7uf7dzds2tIndia is introducing some of the strictest laws on deepfakes, requiring creators and platforms to label all AI-generated content and to remove such content within hours when ordered to. "Good-faith" deepfakes are exempt, and this story shows how they also bring joy. https://restofworld.org/2026/ai-deepfakes-grief-celebrations-india/19 Feb 2026 15:02 +0000at://did:plc:qdurzbraw4bm7fpbum3iqt5u/app.bsky.feed.post/3mf7uf7dzds2thttps://bsky.app/profile/rinachandran.bsky.social/post/3mf5dmuywvk2vAs the #IndiaAIImpactSummit continues, the most important divide may not be East-West or North-South but public-private. AI is shifting economic and, increasingly, political power away from governments. Who gets to govern them? https://restofworld.org/2026/ai-government-regulation-tech-giants/18 Feb 2026 14:56 +0000at://did:plc:qdurzbraw4bm7fpbum3iqt5u/app.bsky.feed.post/3mf5dmuywvk2vhttps://bsky.app/profile/rinachandran.bsky.social/post/3meoc2cia7s2aExcerpt from Silicon Elsewhere: Nairobi, Global China, and the Promise of Techno-Capital by Andrea Pollio on the crucial role of cheap Chinese phones. "Mobile phones are the unsung material commodities without which Kenya’s ambitious programs would have faltered.” https://restofworld.org/2026/china-kenya-silicon-elsewhere-book/12 Feb 2026 15:18 +0000at://did:plc:qdurzbraw4bm7fpbum3iqt5u/app.bsky.feed.post/3meoc2cia7s2ahttps://bsky.app/profile/rinachandran.bsky.social/post/3mejkzqxm7c2sThe AI boom is disproportionately benefiting male-led startups, with only 2% of VC funding going to women-led startups. Immigrant women fare even worse, as they face racism and sexism. This has consequences for how AI is shaped globally. https://restofworld.org/2026/immigrant-women-founders-vc/10 Feb 2026 18:16 +0000at://did:plc:qdurzbraw4bm7fpbum3iqt5u/app.bsky.feed.post/3mejkzqxm7c2shttps://bsky.app/profile/rinachandran.bsky.social/post/3mebr5hkvgc2iAh gee, thanks guys! #superbowl #sanfrancisco07 Feb 2026 15:44 +0000at://did:plc:qdurzbraw4bm7fpbum3iqt5u/app.bsky.feed.post/3mebr5hkvgc2ihttps://bsky.app/profile/rinachandran.bsky.social/post/3me5mod4nvs27When is the ChatGPT moment for robotics? Ken Goldberg, a prof at UC Berkeley, and co-founder of two robotics firms, said robots are getting better at doing specific tasks – like sorting parcels and folding towels – and that we can get to general robots that can do everything. There is a data gap.06 Feb 2026 00:13 +0000at://did:plc:qdurzbraw4bm7fpbum3iqt5u/app.bsky.feed.post/3me5mod4nvs27https://bsky.app/profile/rinachandran.bsky.social/post/3me24lwn3wc2kRead an excerpt from @yilingliu95.bsky.social new book! “To understand China today and where it’ll go tomorrow, we must learn to read the Chinese internet: what goes viral and what disappears just as swiftly, how it shapes and is shaped by the outside world ... .” https://restofworld.org/2026/wall-dancers-china-internet-book04 Feb 2026 14:47 +0000at://did:plc:qdurzbraw4bm7fpbum3iqt5u/app.bsky.feed.post/3me24lwn3wc2khttps://bsky.app/profile/rinachandran.bsky.social/post/3mdv4zac7qk2cThere is growing frustration and unease with the domination of U.S. tech, and more countries and startups are trying to find or build alternatives. https://restofworld.org/2026/big-tech-backlash-alternatives-upscrolled/02 Feb 2026 15:11 +0000at://did:plc:qdurzbraw4bm7fpbum3iqt5u/app.bsky.feed.post/3mdv4zac7qk2chttps://bsky.app/profile/rinachandran.bsky.social/post/3mdil4ovmq22tSoon after the TikTok deal was done, Issam Hijazi saw a big uptick in users to his platform UpScrolled. That stream of disgruntled users fleeing TikTok over censorship fears turned into a flood this week, crashing UpScrolled’s servers. Read @restofworld.org interview https://restofworld.org/2026/upscrolled-tiktok-competitor-palestine-censorship/28 Jan 2026 15:19 +0000at://did:plc:qdurzbraw4bm7fpbum3iqt5u/app.bsky.feed.post/3mdil4ovmq22thttps://bsky.app/profile/rinachandran.bsky.social/post/3mdfyunpe5c25India’s $280-billion tech sector is fueling extreme burnout, and grappling with a series of suicides among its stretched workers. As AI disruption mounts, is India a canary in the coal mine for global tech? Read our new feature on @restofworld.org by Parth MN https://restofworld.org/2026/india-tech-workers-crisis-suicide27 Jan 2026 14:47 +0000at://did:plc:qdurzbraw4bm7fpbum3iqt5u/app.bsky.feed.post/3mdfyunpe5c25https://bsky.app/profile/rinachandran.bsky.social/post/3mde6534zd22wU.S. politicians and their family members are trading in stocks of foreign companies such as TSMC, Alibaba, Tencent and Infosys, while serving on committees with the power to oversee or influence policies affecting these firms. Hazel Gandhi reports @restofworld.org https://restofworld.org/2026/us-politicians-china-policy-family-tech-stock-trades/26 Jan 2026 21:16 +0000at://did:plc:qdurzbraw4bm7fpbum3iqt5u/app.bsky.feed.post/3mde6534zd22whttps://bsky.app/profile/rinachandran.bsky.social/post/3md4sf6uvbc2qWhile the U.S. government refuses to regulate AI and is trying to prevent states from legislating AI, other countries - notably in Asia - are going ahead and doing just that. South Korea this week became the first country to adopt comprehensive legislation on AI safety.23 Jan 2026 22:57 +0000at://did:plc:qdurzbraw4bm7fpbum3iqt5u/app.bsky.feed.post/3md4sf6uvbc2qhttps://bsky.app/profile/rinachandran.bsky.social/post/3mczsbavdm22tA new report from LinkedIn on #AI and #jobs has the term "new-collar" roles. These require hybrid skills—technical fluency, manual capability, and continual adaptability. In the past two years, ~1.3 mln AI‑related jobs were created, including data annotators and AI engineers.22 Jan 2026 18:17 +0000at://did:plc:qdurzbraw4bm7fpbum3iqt5u/app.bsky.feed.post/3mczsbavdm22thttps://bsky.app/profile/rinachandran.bsky.social/post/3mcze7xn24s2sIn his book “Love Machines: How Artificial Intelligence is Transforming Our Relationships,” James Muldoon explores why people build and use AI companions. Read an excerpt on a woman who built a deathbot of her mother @restofworld.org restofworld.org/2026/james-multon-love-machines-book-ai-companions https://restofworld.org/2026/james-multon-love-machines-book-ai-companions22 Jan 2026 14:06 +0000at://did:plc:qdurzbraw4bm7fpbum3iqt5u/app.bsky.feed.post/3mcze7xn24s2shttps://bsky.app/profile/rinachandran.bsky.social/post/3mcwxuzygm22xThe Philippines is the most vulnerable to extreme weather events. Besides earthquakes, cyclones and floods are frequent and becoming more intense. Call center and AI data workers are being told to work through it all, on-site. Anita Zhang reports @restofworld.org https://restofworld.org/2026/philippines-disasters-bpo-workers/21 Jan 2026 15:20 +0000at://did:plc:qdurzbraw4bm7fpbum3iqt5u/app.bsky.feed.post/3mcwxuzygm22xhttps://bsky.app/profile/rinachandran.bsky.social/post/3mclf5677ds2lOpenAI said it will run “truly relevant, high-quality ads” on ChatGPT, starting with the US. Despite stressing user privacy, OpenAI has ambitious revenue targets. Subscriptions make up a majority of its revenue, but even with anticipated subscriber growth and price increases, it faces a shortfall.17 Jan 2026 00:45 +0000at://did:plc:qdurzbraw4bm7fpbum3iqt5u/app.bsky.feed.post/3mclf5677ds2lhttps://bsky.app/profile/rinachandran.bsky.social/post/3mcl55t6u4c2hThis week, Microsoft unveiled a “community-first AI infrastructure” plan. It said it will “pay our way to ensure our data centres don’t increase your electricity prices,” minimize water use, create jobs, forgo tax breaks and invest in AI training.16 Jan 2026 22:22 +0000at://did:plc:qdurzbraw4bm7fpbum3iqt5u/app.bsky.feed.post/3mcl55t6u4c2h