Hosted by UVA’s Digital Technology for Democracy Lab, NYU’s Institute for Public Knowledge, and Sloane Lab, this event will examine the geopolitical dimensions of AI, including national security, global political economy, ethics, and diplomatic implications.
dtdlab.virginia.edu/event/co-opt...
A flyer sharing information on the "Co-opting AI: Geopolitics" webinar with speaker names and sponsor information.
Looking forward to a great discussion in the "Co-Opting AI: Geopolitics" webinar this week! I'll focus on Africa's position in the global AI race and broader implications for the Global Majority.
Date: Wednesday, April 15th
Time: 4:00 PM – 5:15 PM ET
RSVP: dtdlab.virginia.edu/event/co-opt...
“As AI becomes increasingly central to economic competitiveness and social development, Africa’s marginalisation could impede its ability to fully harness AI’s potential while protecting its citizens’ interests.”
cipesa.org/2026/04/indi...
how much money does the marine corps lose
A man on a motorbike wearing a University of Michigan jacket
Saw someone in Marrakesh wearing a Michigan jacket
Seeing Macky Sall announced as a UN candidate was truly shocking.
"Despite the collapse of the proposal for AU endorsement and Africa’s interests at stake, Sall’s candidacy and campaign continue to be imbued with misinformation and deceitful propaganda."
amaniafrica-et.org/aus-rejectio...
Academic institutions are a core part of thriving societies and remain vital for socioeconomic advancement.
Chinasa speaking on a podium at CMU Africa
A seated area on a stage with African flags in the background and CMU Africa mini podiums
A view of CMU Africa from inside the campus. There is greenery and tall trees with a white building in the background
Chinasa is smiling, standing next to a Nigerian flag wearing a white top, orange/blue/yellow Ankara kimono, and a khaki skirt.
Wrapped up a wonderful visit to Carnegie Mellon University Africa in Kigali!
I enjoyed my chats with faculty and staff and meeting students from dozens of African countries. I remain even more hopeful about the continent’s future engineers, scientists, professors, entrepreneurs, and policy leaders.
Opinion The Editorial Board U.S. cut aid to Africa. The continent proved resilient. The abrupt change was messy, but forced governments to reform fast. Today at 6:00 a.m. ET • 3 min
Extremely evil/cursed take from the WaPo this morning
"As Georgian surrogates demanded higher rates, clinics turned to foreign surrogates who could be paid significantly less...women from Russia, Ukraine and Central Asia earn roughly $18,000 per singleton birth, Thai women around $16,000, while women from Africa make as little as $6,000."
"On any night in Tbilisi, it’s possible to see clusters of heavily pregnant women — from Kenya, Ethiopia, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia and Ukraine — treating themselves to a meal from their regional restaurant or going to the supermarket."
www.nytimes.com/2025/12/14/m...
African governments must make strategic decisions to align with global AI norms while protecting local interests, harness foreign investment without compromising sovereignty, and close compute and talent gaps to advance locally-driven AI development.
just-tech.ssrc.org/articles/str...
My latest piece, "Strategic Geopolitical Competition and Africa's AI Future," has been published by the Social Science Research Council! just-tech.ssrc.org/articles/str...
Without deliberate governance and careful alignment, African nations risk becoming pawns in AI's current geopolitical contest.
I don’t know which deity I’ve upset, but on each of my flights over the past week, I’ve been seated in front of someone who doesn’t understand that touchscreens only need light, firm touches and not rough jabs 😖
I enjoy coming to Kigali because it’s one of the few African airports I don’t feel stressed in.
Nigeria’s Christian nationalism and religious conservatism are being exploited—Trump’s populist overtures are a convenient smokescreen for the fortification of US influence in West Africa and the Sahel region. Nigerians have consistently ranked among Trump’s most favorable international audiences. Trump uses Christian propaganda, which feeds off historical ties to the evangelical churches in the United States, to reinforce Nigerians’ deepening social conservatism across religions and ethnic groups, and feeds into the admiration for strongman politics, the distrust of the new liberal internationalism and radicalism, and Islamophobia. On the other hand, many Muslims condemned the bombings and rejected US interventions. These split reactions expose a widening chasm between Christians and Muslims, the North and the South, and demonstrate how imported culture‑war scripts, religious nationalism, and a stubborn white‑savior fantasy shape responses to anti‑Black imagery in the world’s most populous Black nation.
I've been waiting to see more discourse unpacking Trumpism in Nigeria, and this piece is so good 👌🏾
"The continuing strength of Trumpism in Nigeria is particularly striking given that Nigeria has been subject to discriminatory US anti-immigration policies, including travel bans that targeted the country directly."
africasacountry.com/2026/03/trum...
"...AI ethics must move beyond the concepts of race-based representation and bias, and towards those that probe the deeper relations that impact how these systems are designed, developed, and deployed."
arxiv.org/abs/2111.03687
“Can’t nothing make your life work if you ain’t the architect.”
— Terry McMillan
TONIGHT: Making AI Work for the People
Join @gabriela-ramos.bsky.social, @chinasa.bsky.social, @kdaniels8.bsky.social, and Michele Jawando at 5 pm today on Georgetown University's Capitol Campus for a critical conversation on AI and democracy!
RSVP: events.georgetown.edu/aidc/event/m...
"Even if AI may someday transform science, medicine and education — claims we should remain highly skeptical of — those breakthroughs will only materialize through robust oversight, inclusive policymaking and long-term thinking."
www.sfchronicle.com/opinion/open...
"You are what you do, not what you say you'll do."
Israel’s campaigns in Gaza, Lebanon, and Iran are not discrete crises but interconnected fronts in a broader project of regional dominance. africasacountry.com/2026/03/grea...
I look forward to speaking at Georgetown this week! events.georgetown.edu/aidc/event/m...
On the “AI in the World” panel, I'll offer insights into the challenges of global AI governance.
Date: Wednesday, March 25th
Time: 5 - 8:30 PM
Location: Georgetown University, Capitol Campus
"Vulnerability should never be seen as an opportunity to advance research at the expense of those it claims to serve."
www.nature.com/articles/d41...
I love Black people
It’s amazing how quickly Black women have been targeted by these laws and doubly so how little this factors into the analysis around the sexual and gender politics of this movement.
This health partnership between Senegal and the United States claims that it doesn't "give the U.S. access to private patient data," but I'm a bit skeptical, given that other partnerships with African countries mandated data access.
I'll be watching this closely...
sn.usembassy.gov/united-state...
