Balance Brief: 7-21 Oct 2025
Technology moves fast, but power moves faster. Every fortnight, the Balance Brief gathers the most compelling stories, debates, and ideas at the intersection of technology, rights, and imagination — helping you stay grounded in a world being rewritten by code, platforms, and politics.
The Balance Brief is for those of us who are time-poor but wish to stay connected with the key shifts, sharpest analyses, and creative responses shaping digital power today. From new research and critical essays to emerging movements and upcoming events, this newsletter is your window into the evolving landscape of digital power, and the people rebalancing it.
Covering 7th Oct 2025 to 21st Oct 2025 ...
News and Views
#Infrastructures of power
‘Sovereign AI’ Has Become a New Front in the US-China Tech War OpenAI announces ‘AI sovereignty’ partnerships, but questions remain about whether it can compete with China’s open source offerings. (14th Oct, Wired)
America’s Crypto Apocalypse by Hilary J. Allen - Project Syndicate The GENIUS Act passed through the US legislature recently. Critics fear it would make the US financial system more vulnerable to crises, increase the chances of government bailouts for tech platforms, and further entrench Silicon Valley’s already substantial political power. (30th Sept, Project Syndicate)
Digital Rights NGO Roskomsvoboda Shuts Down A NGO documenting internet censorship and restrictions shuts down in Russia, citing the impossibility of the current political climate. (9th Oct, The Moscow Times)
From productive force to destructive force: Digital colonialism in Palestine Settler colonialism and apparatuses of violence in Palestine are fusing with digital technologies to become deadlier. (7th Oct, Bianet)
Kenya’s New Cybercrime Law and the Risk to Public Speech | Dawan Africa Kenya’s new cybercrime law raises concerns among digital rights activists. (17th Oct, Dawan Africa)
OpenAI thinks Elon Musk funded its biggest critics—who also hate Musk - Ars Technica OpenAI is being accused of using its fight with Musk to silence critics. (16th Oct, Ars Technica)
Instagram Will Limit Content for Teenagers Based on PG-13 Ratings Meta announced this week that it would begin limiting the content Instagram’s teenage users can see, based on the PG-13 ratings system used by the film industry. (14th Oct, The New York Times)
#Labour and displacement
Meet the AI chatbots replacing India's call-center workers India’s cheap labour and English language proficiency made it the world’s back office, but today, AI systems are fast-replacing workers in jobs like customer care and data management. (15th Oct, Reuters)
Why AI is being trained in rural India Firms outsourcing IT support from India are ‘cloud farming’ — where they move to remote areas in search of low costs. That’s why AI is now being trained in rural India. (16th Oct, BBC)
Charting a responsible AI transition for Southeast Asia’s workforce | East Asia Forum An essay on the AI-driven workforce transformation in Southeast Asia (19th Oct, East Asia Forum)
#Cultural frontiers
Indonesia’s film industry embraces AI to make Hollywood-style movies for cheap - Rest of World Indonesia’s film industry is using AI tools to more efficiently generate ambitious, high-quality movies on smaller budgets. (10th Oct, Rest of World)
On the cusp of abundance? How AI may redefine our relationship with news | Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism An essay on the applications of AI in journalism (13th Oct, Reuters Institute)
#Digital power reimagined
AI flood forecasting allows aid to reach farmers before disaster strikes GiveDirectly uses AI to offer support to farmers in Bangladesh before floods wash away their crops. (14th Oct, Rest of the World)
Reimagining School In The Age Of AI - NOEMA Thoughtful AI design could move American classrooms beyond rigid curricula toward adaptive programs. (25th Sept, Noema)
Research and reports
Children's Rights in Digitalised Societies and Conflict Times: Perspectives from Southeast Asia and the Arab World A policy brief examining how digital technologies and armed conflicts intersect to impact children’s rights in Indonesia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Thailand, Palestine, Lebanon, Syria, and Sudan.
Regulating Social Media: Surveying the Impact of Nepali Government's TikTok Ban A study from Nepal exploring user values, experiences, and strategies for navigating online spaces post-TikTok ban.
On its current trajectory, AI is inconsistent with democracy, sustainability, and autonomy A think piece exploring how AI’s current trajectory may cost us our democracy.
Report: Tracing the Indonesian Government’s AI Technology Procurement Track from 2021 to 2024 – EngageMedia. A research studying the procurement of AI technologies by the Indonesian government.
Upcoming events
18th Oct to 15th Nov 2025: Edge City Patagonia 2025 Pop-up village for builders, researchers, and creators
7th Nov to 9th Nov 2025: Mozilla Festival Festival to reclaim the internet
15th & 16th Nov 2025: EAGxSingapore 2025 | Effective Altruism Conference for the effective altruism movement
20th Nov to 24th Nov 2025: Global Investigative Journalism Conference 2025 Conference on investigative journalism
21st Nov 2025: Expert Briefing: Intellectual Property in the Digital Age Training on intellectual property in the digital age
26th & 27th Nov 2025: Splice Beta 2025 Convening for media startups in Asia
If you have something that should be highlighted in Balance Brief please let us know via balance at commonedge dot asia
