Pioneering transdisciplinary research to explore democracy in the digital age

• Data in the Dark

Synthetic Nights: Machine and Human Learning in 24-Hour Cities

Jess Reia, DTD Lab faculty co-lead, has published a new open access paper, in which they ask whether algorithms can understand or shape the urban night. In the paper, Jess shows how the opacities and refusals of nocturnal life expose the limits of machine learning while making the case for expanding what counts as data in our cities.

www.mediapolisjournal.com

The Digital Wellness Industry Is Hijacking Women’s Health

Menopause and perimenopause, long under-researched and dismissed, have become a growth industry for online advertisers and wellness companies. Mining intimate data, this lucrative digital ecosystem exploits medical uncertainty to sell women hormones and supplements they don't need, or that can even harm them.

www.project-syndicate.org

Bridging the Legal-technical Gap: AI Surveillance and Data Sovereignty in Africa

Maria Lungu, DTD Lab research affiliate, participated this summer in an international symposium hosted by the Data Science Law Lab at the University of Pretoria, which brought together researchers from the U.S., U.K., South Africa, Nigeria, Zambia, and Kenya. The conversations examined the legal and governance challenges created by AI technologies across African contexts and ultimately resulted in a new publication.

perjournal.co.za