Ian G. Williams

@igraywill

Personal account. #socialwork, PhD student @thegraduatecenter.bsky.social @gcsocialwelfare.bsky.social. Read & think about tech ethics, digital literacy, innovation, inequality, & social change. Find refuge & inspiration in #humanities & #openscience.

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Ian G. Williams@igraywill· 6d

This is both infuriating (as reminder of how much money is being thrown at this fascist ethnic cleansing campaign of mass deportations) and exciting (as a means of prompting people to think otherwise). NYC costs at $9,814,566,134 or $3,544 per taxpayer. What are our priorities as a country?

A screenshot from the Economic Policy Institute Cost of Deportations Calculator, which shows that taxes from New York City being spent on mass deportations total $9,814,566,134, or $3,544 per tax payer. It also shows other things that money could be spent on that actually serve a public benefit.

Ian G. Williams@igraywill· 15d

A few glimpses from a mostly offline week in Maine, enjoying natural beauty, the outdoors, and having seemingly nothing to do with deadlines, AI, or LinkedIn.

A picture of a rock pile on a mountain in Maine.

A picture of trees and a mountaintop view of lakes in Maine.

A picture of a sunset in a bay in Maine.

A picture of a kayak paddle on a lake in Maine.

Ian G. Williams@igraywill· 16d

I concur. Photo taken June 2018, when I went to The Louvre, on my first trip to Europe.

A photo of the Mona Lisa on display in The Louvre, taken in June 2018.

Ian G. Williams@igraywill· 24d

Dismantling and defunding public health infrastructure might have something to do with it...

Ian G. Williams@igraywill· 28d

www.404media.co/these-are-th... Last night I saw that AI generated flyers popping up in Park Slope. The food is good at both places, new flyer design... Not so much. The article above is a good crowd sourced collection of the worst offenders of this strange new trend.

An obviously AI generated flyers outside a restaurant.

Two obviously AI generated flyers at a restaurant.

Ian G. Williams@igraywill· Jun 28

www.theguardian.com/world/live/2... Been in Berlin all week and attempting to take trains to Brussels today, though delays are already piling up. It is indeed brutally hot out (and inside).

A screenshot from the article https://www.theguardian.com/world/live/2026/jun/27/europe-heatwave-germany-poland-france-uk-temperature-heat-latest-news-updates

Ian G. Williams@igraywill· Jun 25

I couldn't make it in person to The Institute for Network Cultures (INC) Exit Fest, so I'm glad to catch the live stream on The Inbetween: etherport.org/publications... Full program: networkcultures.org/geert/events... #INCExit #MediaStudies #DigitalStudies #DigitalHumanities #SWTech

A flyer for the INC Exit Fest. https://networkcultures.org/geert/events/incs-exit-fest/

A screenshot from The Inbetween stream of INC Exit Fest.

Ian G. Williams@igraywill· Jun 24

Today, I take great pleasure in reading this headline in the NY Times. What a good year it's been for NYC so far. www.nytimes.com/2026/06/24/n...

Ian G. Williams@igraywill· Jun 13

Cheers to the guys shouting "fuck yeah Mike!" during the AVTT/PTTN show at Kings Theater in Brooklyn last night whenever Mike Patton did his thing. I was there with you in spirit, while in an audience section a bit confused by the Mr Bungle & Faith No More songs woven into the set. What a show.

Ian G. Williams@igraywill· Jun 11

After a riveting day two of @gctlc.bsky.social's Critical AI Literacy Institute (CALI), now attending the COGE public hearing at @brooklynlawschool.bsky.social & glad to see a strong @beta.nyc presence. Many interesting testimonies & varying perspectives in the room. cc @cunypitlab.bsky.social

A photo from the NYC Charter Revision Commission Commission Hearing on Modernizing Government and Streamlining Government Technology in June 11, 2026.

A sign that says Critical AI Literacy Institute <- Room 9205/9206.

Ian G. Williams@igraywill· Jun 11

Got to help out today with the @gctlc.bsky.social's 2026 Critical AI Literacy Institute, in my capacity as a fellow w/ @cunyailab.bsky.social. Such fun & interesting conversations with faculty across CUNY, across disciplines. @thegraduatecenter.bsky.social #CriticalAI #AILiteracy #CriticalPedagogy

A sign that says "Critical AI Literacy Institute <- Segal Theater"

Ian G. Williams@igraywill· May 31

Thrilled to be back in Ann Arbor for #DigitalIDEAS2026 this week @umichdigital.bsky.social

An image of an octopus in binary code with the words DIGITAL IDEAS overlaid.

A picture of the Ann Arbor Nickels Arcade

Ian G. Williams@igraywill· May 19

Just visited @thetrumpsonian.bsky.social . It is heavy, it is profound, it is hard to sit with. Worth visiting to get off of streams & screens, & take in the scope of it all. What a disgusting failure in delivering "justice" we've lived through as our mad wannabe king builds himself a fortress.

A photo from the Trump-Epstein Memorial Library.

Ian G. Williams@igraywill· May 13

A parallel communications infrastructure pumping out racist conspiratorial uncle mode on a platform he owns a majority share of. Equally fascinating as it is horrifying. Did the authors post their data set and analysis anywhere? This should be on a Github repo.

Ian G. Williams@igraywill· May 7

A very fun evening workshop w/ @dairfutures.bsky.social. Relaxing, soothing, inspiring. Good conversation, made some new friends. Highly recommend if you can go to a future one. Some of the pages will end up in DAIR's zine library (where creators consented to share): zines.dair-institute.org

A photo from the Distributed AI Research Institute Possible Futures zine-making workhsop.

A screenshot of the video "A Message from the Future II: The Years of Repair" illustrated by Molly Crabapple: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2m8YACFJlMg

A slide that says "a page from a future you want to live in."

Ian G. Williams@igraywill· Apr 22

Fantastic mouse-over animation in this petition page. @purgepalantir.bsky.social

A screenshot of text from the petition, with a purple Sphere with the text "New capability unlocked: Palantir integration."

Ian G. Williams@igraywill· Apr 15

Meme lifted from x.com/TrungTPhan/s...

Ian G. Williams@igraywill· Mar 30

A good, full weekend of life in NYC. Simultaneously a bad weekend for subway service interruption due to MTA trackwork. Friday: comedy & cats night at Brooklyn Brainery. Saturday: @schoolofdata.nyc in LIC. Sunday: #TaxTheRich #FightOligarchy rally w/ @sanders.senate.gov in the Bronx.

A picture of people petting a cat at Brooklyn Brainery

Open remarks at NYC School of Data, given by Councilmember Carmen Da La Rosa.

Photos from a game of by the CUNY PIT Lab for the NYC School of Data.

A photo of Bernie Sanders speaking at the #TaxTheRich #FightOligarchy rally at Lehman College.

Ian G. Williams@igraywill· Mar 25

Fun stuff for #NYCOpenDataWeek at the NYC PIT Pop-up in The Oculus WTC. Two more days @cunypitlab.bsky.social @beta.nyc nycpitpopup.org

Ian G. Williams@igraywill· Mar 25

@schizanon.bsky.social thanks for the add but I prefer techno-skeptic. Skepticism is healthy, particularly in hype-driven, speculative financial markets that endlessly push deterministic narratives of progress. Some good reading in the techno-skeptic frame: www.disconetwork.org/technoskepti...

Ian G. Williams@igraywill· Mar 22

@cunypitlab.bsky.social NYC PIT Pop-Up has a great lineup for #NYCOpenDataWeek 2026. Learn more at nycpitpopup.org and stop by their storefront in The Oculus WTC (#53, South Concourse, Main Floor C2) this week. @beta.nyc @thegraduatecenter.bsky.social @newamerica.org #CivicTech #PITech #OpenData

Ian G. Williams@igraywill· Mar 22

Tuesday 3/24/26 at 6pm ET I'm hosting this online panel for #NYCOpenDataWeek on public scholarship at @thegraduatecenter.bsky.social & @ccnysustainability.bsky.social, #civictech, & #opendata. RSVP here: opendataweek.nyc/event/forgin... @beta.nyc @cunypitlab.bsky.social @metagov.bsky.social

A flyer for the 3/24/26 at 6pm ET panel event for NYC Open Data Week. RSVP here:

https://opendataweek.nyc/event/forging-links-between-public-scholarship-civic-tech-and-open-data-a-showcase-of-cuny-public-scholarship-practice-space-ps2-projects/

Ian G. Williams@igraywill· Mar 8

New paper: "Opportunities, challenges, and conspicuous absences: An integrative review of the social work literature on artificial intelligence." For a special issue of critical perspectives on technology and social work. Check it out: anzswjournal.nz/anzsw/articl... #SocialWork #SWTech #CriticalAI

Ian G. Williams@igraywill· Feb 22

"Set against the backdrop of the administration’s declarations that it is retaliating against people for their political speech, the expansive new requirement approved last week is a serious threat to constitutional rights."

"In a blow to the First Amendment and privacy, the Trump administration last week approved a U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) plan to collect social media handles from people applying to change their immigration status. The new requirement, which was approved for one year, comes after the administration has openly declared its intent to use social media handles to screen people for speech it dislikes.

The more than 3 million people applying each year for immigration status changes — such as seeking work or travel authorization, a green card, or citizenship — will now be required to give the government their social media handles. In some cases, they must also provide the handles of their young children, spouses, and parents, many of whom are U.S. citizens, green card holders, or are otherwise in the United States legally. The new rules will require them to submit any social media handles they have used over the past five years, whether used in a personal or professional capacity or even on behalf of an organization. This covers platforms including Facebook, X, Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube as well as messaging services such as WhatsApp, Telegram, and GroupMe."

Ian G. Williams@igraywill· Feb 15

"This version of campus “neutrality” resulted in a two-tiered system for free speech. Free inquiry and academic freedom for most topics; censorship and chilled speech when donors and politicians complained."

"Dozens of statements on controversial matters from academic freedom to the murder of George Floyd remain on our university websites. This version of campus “neutrality” resulted in a two-tiered system for free speech. Free inquiry and academic freedom for most topics; censorship and chilled speech when donors and politicians complained. The reason for this two-tiered result is both obvious and unavoidable: There is no objective standard for what qualifies as “political” or “controversial.”

The killings of Renee Good and Alex Pretti have highlighted the repressive side of neutrality once again. Recently, our university held what it described as a “Community Gathering” to memorialize Pretti. But the event could hardly be described as a community gathering with diverse perspectives and recollections on his death. It was instead a choreographed video presentation staged to erase any political valence from a death that was, by definition, political: Pretti was killed by the state while participating in a popular protest movement."

Ian G. Williams@igraywill· Jan 19

This tracks for City Journal and the many wretched, revanchist urban politics it holds onto tightly like clutched pearls at the sight of poverty - views which this reviewer clearly fits in the mold of.

A screenshot of articles in City Journaly by John McMillian

Ian G. Williams@igraywill· Jan 14

Friday morning at #SSWR2026: a roundtable on philosophy of science perspectives w/ Beth Counselman-Carpenter, Melissa Thompson, & @jbsinger.bsky.social. This will to be a fun jam of ideas & viewpoints. @sswrorg.bsky.social sswr.confex.com/sswr/2026/we... #SWTech #CriticalAI

A flyer for the roundtable "More Than Prompt Engineers: Philosophical Perspectives on Generative AI in Social Work Scholarship."

Ian G. Williams@igraywill· Jan 13

A slice of joy and hope from 1/9/26: scenes from the @cunypitlab.bsky.social x @beta.nyc NYC Public Interest Tech Pop-up Open House and Relaunch. I had so many conversations with people of very different backgrounds in a relatively short amount of time. Grateful to be in its orbit nycpitpopup.org

A picture from the NYC PIT Pop-Up Open House and Re-Launch on January 9, 2026. Rev Dr. Katie Cumiskey giving opening remarks.

A picture from the NYC PIT Pop-Up Open House and Re-Launch on January 9, 2026. BetaNYC Executive Director Noel Hidalgo giving historical context to pop-up spaces, infoshops, hackerspaces, and other open spaces that birthed much of the open data movement.

A shrine to Octavia E Bulter at the NYC Public Interest Technology Pop-Up.

A cake for the open house and re-launch of the NYC Public Interest Technology Pop-Up on January 9, 2026.

Ian G. Williams@igraywill· Jan 12

Some photos from yesterday's "No War, No Kings, No ICE" march. NYC street scenes can be so interesting to capture; the carnivalesque aspects of these kinds of big planned demos comes out in the cityscape, especially when ending up in Times Square. Reminded of OWS #MayDay protests outside Disney.

A picture of a protest behind a sewer steam vent in NYC.

Picture of a protester in NYC dressed in a bald eagle costume with a sign that says "Truth is patriotic," and a photographer taking their picture.

Ian G. Williams@igraywill· Jan 10

NYC DORIS on @wnyc.org ❤️ "Mamdani’s victory suggests ... arguments on behalf of the poor, working class, and disenfranchised ... have reentered the civic mainstream, carrying with them a history that is longer, and more complex, than current headlines may suggest." www.archives.nyc/blog/2026/1/...