Digital strategies of resilience: LGBTQ+ youth and identity fluidity in rural Iraq
LGBTQ+ youth in rural Iraq remain largely absent from global scholarship despite facing profound risks arising from criminalization, entrenched conservatism, and geographic isolation. A recent article co-authored by Ahmed Alrawi, DTD Lab 2024-26 postdoc, examines how rural Iraqi LGBTQ+ youth employ digital platforms to negotiate identity, manage stigma, and sustain community ties under repressive social and legal conditions.
New Digital Technology for Democracy Grant to Support AI Impact Atlas
How might artificial intelligence reshape jobs and local economies? New support from UVA’s Digital Technology for Democracy Lab will help Biocomplexity Institute researchers expand the AI Impact Atlas, a decision-support platform designed to help communities prepare for a range of possible workforce futures.
AI Is Infrastructure. Govern It Accordingly.
As prediction increasingly shapes decisions about jobs, healthcare, education, and public services, the next frontier is how it organizes society. In a new essay from Mona Sloane, DTD Lab faculty co-lead, she draws on the history of the railroads to argue that policymakers already have a blueprint for governing essential technologies: treat AI as infrastructure, apply public oversight, and ensure that systems central to modern life serve the public interest rather than private power.
- AI Shock
- AI Impact Atlas
- Automated Futures
- Open-Source AI as Democratic Infrastructure
- Subterranean Convergence
DTD Lab Funds Five New Faculty Projects
The DTD Lab has awarded 2026-2027 grant funding to support five research projects across a variety of disciplines. These UVA faculty-led projects connect to the Lab’s mission of understanding the intersections of democracy and digital technology, including how rapidly evolving digital technologies and artificial intelligence can challenge but also fortify democratic institutions and practices.
Amplifying the storm: Climate disinformation dynamics during natural disasters on right-wing extremist Telegram channels
A new article from the DTD Lab research team including UVA alum Diego DiMattina, postdoc Andre Sobral, and faculty co-lead David Nemer, finds that climate disinformation is consistently amplified through unregulated platforms and conspiracist sources. Strikingly, a substantial portion of this amplification reflects coordinated behavior, suggesting both an opportunistic nature and the potential involvement of actors seeking to control climate narratives.
Data Science Team Receives $70,000 Environmental Institute CoLab Grant
UVA Data Science research team received a $70,000 Environmental Institute grant to develop AI climate models that incorporate community knowledge for local decision-making.
From Climate AI to Post-Flood Health Risks: UVA Funds New Environmental Research Projects
Congratulations to DTD Lab members Mona Sloane, Chirag Agarwal, and Aashka Dave, who are among the team recipients of a $70k CoLab grant from UVA's Environmental Institute for a new interdisciplinary project, "Community Climate Knowledge and Multimodal Climate AI”. CoLab grants support projects that represent novel and interdisciplinary approaches required to address some of the most pressing climate crises with high potential for societal impact.
A Brazilian Startup Is Betting on AI to Fight Crime. Critics See a Surveillance State
Jess Reia, DTD Lab faculty co-lead, provided expert perspective on the risks of AI-enabled surveillance, noting that systems like Gabriel can support broader surveillance networks and may be vulnerable to misuse, emphasizing the importance of accountability and safeguards when deploying public safety technologies.
The Right to the City: Busking, Data, and Everyday Life
Jess Reia, DTD Lab faculty co-lead, discussed their research in a recent Lifetime Learning article, pointing out how it highlights disputes around concepts of rest, ownership, noise, culture, and accessibility. "It also shows the importance of responsible governance mechanisms that consider those who are less visible as data points in policymaking, and how significant certain practices can be in making our cities more enjoyable."
The Sad Legacy of the Bets
David Nemer, DTD Lab faculty co-lead, recently discussed the research he has been developing for the past two years on the impacts of online betting in favelas. The results show that bets have hijacked the passion for football and that, even if they are banned, they will leave a deep legacy of social dependence.
