Data & Society is a nonprofit research institute that studies the social implications of data-centric technologies, automation, and AI.https://bsky.app/profile/datasociety.bsky.socialhttps://bsky.app/profile/datasociety.bsky.social/post/3ml4uf3q4sc2f“Nowhere is it written that a multinational conglomerate with a market cap of roughly four trillion dollars is fated to command our public schools, or to grant fellowships to the leaders of those schools, or to monetize the inefficient children who attend them.” https://www.newyorker.com/culture/progress-report/what-will-it-take-to-get-ai-out-of-schools05 May 2026 18:55 +0000at://did:plc:z2iqahfphta5aegpvylud3hb/app.bsky.feed.post/3ml4uf3q4sc2fhttps://bsky.app/profile/datasociety.bsky.social/post/3ml4hltsxvs2fSince ChatGPT debuted in the fall of their freshman year, the Class of 2026 has been the testing ground for a technology that upended higher education. What happens after they graduate? https://www.businessinsider.com/graduating-class-college-cheating-chatgpt-ai-jobs-hiring-2026-405 May 2026 15:06 +0000at://did:plc:z2iqahfphta5aegpvylud3hb/app.bsky.feed.post/3ml4hltsxvs2fhttps://bsky.app/profile/datasociety.bsky.social/post/3ml2enxllmk2l"Even if AI improves and becomes more useful to physicians and researchers, it will never replace the human relationships at the heart of medicine," @sarahjones.bsky.social writes. "Health is a public endeavor." https://nymag.com/intelligencer/article/ai-maha-america-diagnosis-crisis.html04 May 2026 19:08 +0000at://did:plc:z2iqahfphta5aegpvylud3hb/app.bsky.feed.post/3ml2enxllmk2lhttps://bsky.app/profile/datasociety.bsky.social/post/3mkzzlyicik26"In an era when Americans are divided on everything — even the cars they drive and the TV shows they watch — data centers seem to have bridged the partisan divide." https://www.nytimes.com/2026/05/01/us/politics/liberals-conservatives-data-centers.html04 May 2026 15:50 +0000at://did:plc:z2iqahfphta5aegpvylud3hb/app.bsky.feed.post/3mkzzlyicik26https://bsky.app/profile/datasociety.bsky.social/post/3mksro2iv7226In @socialmedia-soc.bsky.social, Director of Research @alicetiara.bsky.social reflects on her experience of '90s & early 2000s internet culture to examine how online communication once fostered intimacy, community, & meaningful social ties — and what’s been lost. https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/2056305126143479601 May 2026 18:39 +0000at://did:plc:z2iqahfphta5aegpvylud3hb/app.bsky.feed.post/3mksro2iv7226https://bsky.app/profile/datasociety.bsky.social/post/3mksegmfim226Historical precedent shows that we should be skeptical of the grand claims tech CEOs are making about AI's impact on work; their sweeping statements serve to distract us from what the technology is being used for right now. #mayday https://disconnect.blog/sacrifice-your-job-for-the-glorious-ai-future/01 May 2026 14:43 +0000at://did:plc:z2iqahfphta5aegpvylud3hb/app.bsky.feed.post/3mksegmfim226https://bsky.app/profile/datasociety.bsky.social/post/3mkqdmxptcc26In "an escalating national reckoning for the powerful classroom technology industry," parents are demanding more sway over the digital tools that schools give children. And they're seeing some success. https://www.nytimes.com/2026/04/29/technology/parents-school-tech-backlash.html?partner=slack&smid=sl-share30 Apr 2026 19:23 +0000at://did:plc:z2iqahfphta5aegpvylud3hb/app.bsky.feed.post/3mkqdmxptcc26https://bsky.app/profile/datasociety.bsky.social/post/3mkpupb52hc27"AI threatens to enclose what’s left of our threadbare epistemic commons — the bottom-level online communication where people still figure out what they think, together," @edwardongwesojr.com writes. https://www.thedriftmag.com/directing-the-herd/30 Apr 2026 14:56 +0000at://did:plc:z2iqahfphta5aegpvylud3hb/app.bsky.feed.post/3mkpupb52hc27https://bsky.app/profile/datasociety.bsky.social/post/3mknonmlqf22mWhen people compare AI systems to grad students, it speaks to a real and consequential shift in how academic work is being reorganized, and the anxieties swirling around it, Program Director Ranjit Singh writes on Points. https://datasociety.net/points/could-this-be-the-last-generation-of-graduate-students/29 Apr 2026 18:02 +0000at://did:plc:z2iqahfphta5aegpvylud3hb/app.bsky.feed.post/3mknonmlqf22mhttps://bsky.app/profile/datasociety.bsky.social/post/3mkneuxcgg22hTaylor Swift and Matthew McConaughey’s recent trademark filings are testing new theories on how trademark law will work in the AI age. https://variety.com/2026/music/news/taylor-swift-trademark-voice-likeness-ai-misuse-1236731401/29 Apr 2026 15:07 +0000at://did:plc:z2iqahfphta5aegpvylud3hb/app.bsky.feed.post/3mkneuxcgg22hhttps://bsky.app/profile/datasociety.bsky.social/post/3mklasw5rhk2h"As we stand at the cusp of AI’s broader societal integration, we must remember that people are AI’s designers, users, investors, and inventors, and we can also be its governors," @palfrey.org writes. https://time.com/article/2026/04/14/agency-in-the-age-of-ai/28 Apr 2026 18:49 +0000at://did:plc:z2iqahfphta5aegpvylud3hb/app.bsky.feed.post/3mklasw5rhk2hhttps://bsky.app/profile/datasociety.bsky.social/post/3mkktwawi5c2hPeople from a range of backgrounds are pushing back against AI, concerned that tech companies are more focused on profit than on how AI might affect regular people: "They want regulation — or at least a debate before AI becomes entrenched in American life." https://www.nytimes.com/2026/04/27/technology/ai-artificial-intelligence-backlash.html28 Apr 2026 14:58 +0000at://did:plc:z2iqahfphta5aegpvylud3hb/app.bsky.feed.post/3mkktwawi5c2hhttps://bsky.app/profile/datasociety.bsky.social/post/3mkinqgaitk2fResearch on how various chatbots protect users’ mental health (or fail to) found that Grok in particular was "extremely validating" of delusional inputs and often went further, "elaborating new material within the delusional frame." https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2026/apr/24/musk-grok-x-ai-researchers-delusional-advice-inputs?CMP=fb_gu&utm_medium=Social&utm_source=Facebook&fbclid=IwY2xjawRYRDhleHRuA2FlbQIxMQBicmlkETBzaXQ3S3MyZUtMcEJzbkRic3J0YwZhcHBfaWQQMjIyMDM5MTc4ODIwMDg5MgABHos3yCnzvQzeGkhyhuDO9Fdbdyf3PCIuUfDl8zQLFmvPsK7N9NVFUN4OUxJC_aem_1P4gUPpCFfGig3KAQkI21A#Echobox=177702775627 Apr 2026 18:02 +0000at://did:plc:z2iqahfphta5aegpvylud3hb/app.bsky.feed.post/3mkinqgaitk2fhttps://bsky.app/profile/datasociety.bsky.social/post/3mkid24y6622fTech CEOs "want a version of AI that amplifies and entrenches their individual perspectives," imagining that it will give them more control over their companies and enable them to become "even more central, singular, and irreplaceable figures than they already are." https://www.wired.com/story/tech-ceos-using-ai-to-be-everywhere-at-once/27 Apr 2026 14:51 +0000at://did:plc:z2iqahfphta5aegpvylud3hb/app.bsky.feed.post/3mkid24y6622fhttps://bsky.app/profile/datasociety.bsky.social/post/3mkb6dz2ly222Evan Gorelick reports on how incarcerated people are thinking about AI tools, which remain largely out of their reach. Eager to use the technology for a range of uses, including legal defense, some in prison are finding creative ways to access it. https://www.nytimes.com/2026/04/21/business/ai-chatbots-prisoners.html24 Apr 2026 18:38 +0000at://did:plc:z2iqahfphta5aegpvylud3hb/app.bsky.feed.post/3mkb6dz2ly222https://bsky.app/profile/datasociety.bsky.social/post/3mkavy4lba222To address the harms chatbots can cause, we need to start at the beginning, D&S exec director Janet Haven tells @npr.org: "Chatbots are designed to be agreeable & validating, and that can become really dangerous when users are spiraling or contemplating harmful actions." https://www.npr.org/2026/04/23/nx-s1-5794016/openai-is-under-scrutiny-after-two-mass-shooters-used-chatgpt-to-plan-attacks24 Apr 2026 16:09 +0000at://did:plc:z2iqahfphta5aegpvylud3hb/app.bsky.feed.post/3mkavy4lba222https://bsky.app/profile/datasociety.bsky.social/post/3mk6mgaghk222A nationwide data privacy standard is long overdue. But the SECURE Data Act and GUARD Financial Data Act would do more harm than good. Here's why: 1/3 https://www.politico.com/news/2026/04/22/house-republicans-roll-out-landmark-data-privacy-push-0088680023 Apr 2026 18:12 +0000at://did:plc:z2iqahfphta5aegpvylud3hb/app.bsky.feed.post/3mk6mgaghk222https://bsky.app/profile/datasociety.bsky.social/post/3mk6aom7yzc2b"At some point, our Silicon Valley overlords forgot that in order for their vision of the future to be adopted, people had to want it," @lopatto.bsky.social writes. "Normal people aren’t running around...trying to automate every single part of their lives." https://www.theverge.com/tldr/915176/nft-metaverse-ai-weirdos?view_token=eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiJ9.eyJpZCI6Ik1KU25RQmY4elQiLCJwIjoiL3RsZHIvOTE1MTc2L25mdC1tZXRhdmVyc2UtYWktd2VpcmRvcyIsImV4cCI6MTc3NzIxNzQ3NSwiaWF0IjoxNzc2Nzg1NDc1fQ.3Qvvwrjt9ZY-BAZ3LObw1r9vN1scAn9lGyi8dCJUKT0&utm_medium=gift-link23 Apr 2026 14:42 +0000at://did:plc:z2iqahfphta5aegpvylud3hb/app.bsky.feed.post/3mk6aom7yzc2bhttps://bsky.app/profile/datasociety.bsky.social/post/3mk43ysstn22wMay 7! Join author @hellobrittparis.bsky.social for a discussion of her book “Radical Infrastructure: Imagining the Internet from the Ground Up” with Mizue Aizeki, exec director of the Collaborative Research Center for Resilience, and D&S's @anthrotechana.bsky.social. https://datasociety.net/events/what-if-we-could-rebuild-the-internet/22 Apr 2026 18:13 +0000at://did:plc:z2iqahfphta5aegpvylud3hb/app.bsky.feed.post/3mk43ysstn22whttps://bsky.app/profile/datasociety.bsky.social/post/3mk3temoqhs2wHappy Earth Day! Big AI companies are developing new gas projects to bypass the grid and provide power solely for their data centers. @wired.com found that projects linked to just 11 data center campuses could emit more than 129 million tons of greenhouse gases a year. https://www.wired.com/story/new-gas-powered-data-centers-could-emit-more-greenhouse-gases-than-entire-nations/22 Apr 2026 15:39 +0000at://did:plc:z2iqahfphta5aegpvylud3hb/app.bsky.feed.post/3mk3temoqhs2whttps://bsky.app/profile/datasociety.bsky.social/post/3mjzmcljt6s2kTomorrow! @ainowinstitute.bsky.social's Data Center Policy in Practice training series kicks off w "The AI Industry, Data Center Buildout, and How to Take Power Back." Register to explore practical policy pathways to stop, slow, & restrict the rapid expansion of data centers: https://bit.ly/policy-in-practice-training-series21 Apr 2026 18:27 +0000at://did:plc:z2iqahfphta5aegpvylud3hb/app.bsky.feed.post/3mjzmcljt6s2khttps://bsky.app/profile/datasociety.bsky.social/post/3mjz7zoo7uc2l"If you tell people often enough that your product is going to upend their way of life, take their jobs, and very possibly pose an existential threat to humanity, they just might start to believe you," @chaykak.bsky.social writes. https://www.newyorker.com/culture/infinite-scroll/ai-has-a-message-problem-of-its-own-making#intcid=_the-new-yorker-homepage-bkt-a_c0441a6a-4a21-4390-8429-6a5daea318ba_cygnus-personalized21 Apr 2026 14:47 +0000at://did:plc:z2iqahfphta5aegpvylud3hb/app.bsky.feed.post/3mjz7zoo7uc2lhttps://bsky.app/profile/datasociety.bsky.social/post/3mjx6gvdsls2l“As automation and AI become ubiquitous, the human touch has become a luxury good,” @kaliholloway.bsky.social writes. Meanwhile, it’s the poor who are subject to the most consequential uses of AI. https://www.thenation.com/article/society/ai-luxury-class-social-programs/20 Apr 2026 19:13 +0000at://did:plc:z2iqahfphta5aegpvylud3hb/app.bsky.feed.post/3mjx6gvdsls2lhttps://bsky.app/profile/datasociety.bsky.social/post/3mjwm4lfzsc2sJoe Riley died of leukemia after relying on AI for medical advice and refusing treatment. The story of how it unfolded is also a window into how tech is reshaping our most fundamental relationships: including between father and son, and doctor and patient. https://www.nytimes.com/2026/04/13/well/ai-chatbots-cancer.html20 Apr 2026 13:46 +0000at://did:plc:z2iqahfphta5aegpvylud3hb/app.bsky.feed.post/3mjwm4lfzsc2shttps://bsky.app/profile/datasociety.bsky.social/post/3mjp4ewtejk2y“What AI changes is scale, speed, and accessibility. The technical barrier has dropped significantly, which means more people...can produce more convincing outputs with minimal effort. As with many AI-enabled harms, this results in a glut of content.” https://www.wired.com/story/deepfake-nudify-schools-global-crisis/17 Apr 2026 14:15 +0000at://did:plc:z2iqahfphta5aegpvylud3hb/app.bsky.feed.post/3mjp4ewtejk2yhttps://bsky.app/profile/datasociety.bsky.social/post/3mjmrlykd3s2nWith the industry on a construction spree, a commanding majority of Virginia voters are not comfortable with a new data center getting built in their community. Even residents of Loudoun County, who benefit in the form of lower taxes, aren't sold. https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2026/04/15/data-centers-poll-virginia/16 Apr 2026 15:57 +0000at://did:plc:z2iqahfphta5aegpvylud3hb/app.bsky.feed.post/3mjmrlykd3s2nhttps://bsky.app/profile/datasociety.bsky.social/post/3mjklbfetb22kListen to @whitneyphillips.bsky.social on the @404media.co podcast! https://www.404media.co/how-the-internet-became-hell-with-whitney-phillips/ [contains quote post or other embedded content]15 Apr 2026 18:58 +0000at://did:plc:z2iqahfphta5aegpvylud3hb/app.bsky.feed.post/3mjklbfetb22khttps://bsky.app/profile/datasociety.bsky.social/post/3mjk5xga4dk2c“People should be able to move through their daily lives without fear that stalkers, scammers, abusers, federal agents, and activists across the political spectrum are silently and invisibly verifying their identities," as face recognition on smart glasses would enable. https://www.wired.com/story/meta-ray-ban-oakley-smart-glasses-no-face-recognition-civil-society/15 Apr 2026 15:00 +0000at://did:plc:z2iqahfphta5aegpvylud3hb/app.bsky.feed.post/3mjk5xga4dk2c