This is a paraphrasing of an article written by Suresh Venkatasubramanian and published last year on the Bulletin of Atomic Scientists’ website, entitled How AI and surveillance capitalism are undermining democracy. In March 2025, the U.S. State Department launched a program called “Catch and Revoke,” which uses AI to scan the social media accounts of tens…
Climate change is being undermined through various means, primarily driven by a combination of ignorance, vested interests, and short-term thinking. These undermining efforts hinder progress in addressing climate change and exacerbate its impacts. Who is undermining climate change and why? When discussing the undermining of climate change, it is important to note that it involves…
Climate change and sustainability have become pressing global concerns, urging humanity to take immediate action. The Earth’s climate is undergoing significant transformations, primarily due to human activities. This essay explores the interconnectedness of climate change and sustainability, highlighting the urgent need for collective efforts to mitigate the adverse effects and ensure a sustainable future for…
When I first spoke of AI 6 years ago, everyone said ‘sentient’ is way in the future. Apparently not, and especially not after ChatGPT4. It is becoming more serious and, so far, more disturbing. I am neither an alarmist nor a luddite. However, there are some disturbing issues about it. While doing some more research,…
In June 2023, Executive Director Marlyn Tadros attended the 53rd session of the Human Rights Council (19 June to 14 July 2023) in Geneva, Switzerland at the UN headquarters. UNHRC is an intergovernmental body within the United Nations system responsible for promoting and protecting human rights globally, with 47 member states elected by the UN General…
Virtual Activism and Femena are co-sponsoring an event at the Generation Equality Forum 2021 in Paris. The event is Defending Gains & Demanding Rights – Innovative Strategies to Advocate for Women’s Rights in Contexts of Closing Civic Space and Extremism. The talk is about how repression, conflict and extremism are impacting women and women’s organizing in…
Instead of regular attempts at securing one’s own computer, which still leaves it open to privacy problems since it is still dependent on ISPs, many open source developers have been thinking of ways to help. Two new technologies have come up to help in cases of internet shutdowns, which we are seeing more of every…
I’d blush if I could: closing gender divides in digital skills through education is the name of a new much-touted UNESCO report published in May 2019. It was written in collaboration with the EQUALS Skills Coalition, a partnership of governments and organizations dedicated to promoting gender balance in the technology sector by championing equality of…
