Aline Blankertz

Tech Economist
 cofounder [@structural_integrity](https://kolektiva.social/@structural_integrity ) | Tech Economy Lead [@rebalance_now](https://bewegung.social/@rebalance_now ) | fan Champagne Anarchism (npub1ys9…9upl)  
believes in people's ability to learn and change (neoliberal in a previous life, now all about solidarity & mutual aid) | Berlin-based with a soft spot for night trains | blurry boundaries between private and professional - content from both domains here

Ongoing projects + contact info: https://linktr.ee/alineblankertz

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npub1l7g6zrula93wc2xnq4lhrjwgw5k3lkrgepdk5pmcqpdyldp6wasq8xnudk

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nprofile1qqs0lydpp707jchv9rfs2lm3e8y82tglmp5vskm2qauqqkj0ksa8wcqpz3mhxue69uhhyetvv9ujuerpd46hxtnfduqs6amnwvaz7tmwdaejumr0ds86w3nd

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relay.damus.io

nos.lol

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npub1l7g6zrula93wc2xnq4lhrjwgw5k3lkrgepdk5pmcqpdyldp6wasq8xnudk

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Last Notes

2026-06-30 06:26:14 UTC

Ok, können jetzt bitte diese schrecklichen Flaggen endlich wieder verschwinden?

2026-06-27 15:31:46 UTC

RE: https://det.social/@lostgen/116820546568940358
Daniel Ek (Spotify), Daniel Berntsson (Mullvad VPN), Tim Höttges (Telekom) etc: Whoever thought "our" tech bros would be less fascist - you can stop arguing now.
Join our side of fighting tech billionaires and millionaires across the globe.
#note1rs4…p8c4

2026-06-21 08:46:56 UTC

The Luddites were not the first to refuse technology - the ancient Greeks and medieval Christians did so much before. Thomas Dekeyser's awesome book "Techno-Negative" uses that history to make the violence in liberal humanism explicit. This also applies to how we deal with "AI".
Technology is not progress and it was never linear. An extremely thought-provoking book that got me pondering humanism (in e.g. Hannah Arendt and Langdon Winner). Check out the blog article: https://www.structural-integrity.eu/towards-a-more-open-ended-future-through-refusal-thomas-dekeyers-techno-negative/

2026-06-17 19:09:06 UTC

The UK is prosecuting thousands of peaceful Palestine Action protesters as terrorists, while intervening rather mildly in the racist riots in Belfast. Activism with a conscientious motivation is condemned, racism excused.
[@georgemonbiot.bsky.social](https://bsky.brid.gy/r/https://bsky.app/profile/georgemonbiot.bsky.social ) provides very helpful context and details and sums it up:
"one rule for the right, another for the left. In other words, two-tier justice."
Terrible for the UK, really bad precedent for nearby continental Europe.
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2026/jun/17/belfast-riots-palestine-action-protests-terrorism

2026-06-16 18:10:08 UTC

Bayern hat Angst vor Sozialismus aka Vergesellschaftung nach dem Grundgesetz: "Zudem würden die „Kollateralwirkungen“ weit über Berlin hinaus wirken und im schlimmsten Fall den Finanzmarkt in die Bredouille bringen." Yeah baby yeah, bring - it - on. Entzieht den Wohnungsmarkt dem spekulativen Profitstreben.
https://www.tagesspiegel.de/berlin/sozialistische-methoden-bayern-droht-wegen-diskussion-um-enteignungen-in-berlin-mit-verfassungsklage-15720120.html

2026-06-13 18:35:17 UTC

Open-source software may be less bad than proprietary software, but it is also co-opted by big tech, follows proprietary design paradigms & is produced under similar conditions: extractivist, white, male and undemocratic.
The role of open source in digital is very much like that of the electric car in mobility. Check out the latest [@structural_integrity](https://kolektiva.social/@structural_integrity ) blog for how this relates to the EU Open Source Strategy in the Tech Sovereignty Package and how to be more ambitious: https://www.structural-integrity.eu/open-source-is-the-electric-vehicle-of-digital-policy/

2026-06-04 14:22:34 UTC

The Tech Sovereignty Package is largely about CREATING DEMAND for "AI", data centres and chips. This is most blunt in the Chips Act 2.0: https://digital-strategy.ec.europa.eu/en/policies/chips-act-2
If there was still any doubt: It is not just the Big Tech companies wanting to push "AI" and data centres down our throats. The European Commission is fully onboard, as long as "Europe" (aka European companies) gets a small slice of the pie.

2026-05-31 13:03:14 UTC

- reply

Yes, it sounds compatible (and great to hear you mention Section 230 CDA already in 2019 🔥). So we build small tech; what are we doing about big tech in the meantime? I am all up for socialising platforms (still need to put it into written form in English with @npub1xqv…uyyg )
And since your small tech proposals mentions interoperability: with current power imbalances, we need to make sure big tech paradigms do not end up poisoning better alternatives: https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=5238447

2026-05-31 10:53:27 UTC

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- The power of openness is v limited: Digital power is too concentrated for openness to reduce it, building alternatives is not enough. Alternatives have to compete under the paradigms shaped by VC money + big tech: in social media, that means choosing between shouting at each other in a digital supermarket or in a digital Nazi bar.
- We need more collective narratives, e.g. solidarity clearly transcends national borders. Let's take platforms out of private hands into democratic governance.✊
3/3

2026-05-31 10:48:49 UTC

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In the talk I was invited to join by Aditya from @npub1sje…hqh0 I made three points:
1: The sovereignty framing in Eurostack, but also [@eurosky.social](https://bsky.brid.gy/r/https://bsky.app/profile/eurosky.social ) (kudos to @npub1fxy…2ju5 for acknowledging that!) is easy prey for EU nationalists. Progressive digital policy must not simply ignore the broader political context: rising nationalism and reinforced colonial continuities (data work, extractivism) that sovereignty is used to justify.
2/3

2026-05-31 10:46:07 UTC

The Limits of Openness in Europe’s Digital Sovereignty Agenda: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9cNxX4xw5nI
Tl;dr: Both sovereignty and openness are very limiting framings given where we stand. We need to do more than describe problems or second-worst options. The motto of #rp26 unfortunately embodied this: "Never gonna give you up" is not the rallying cry we urgently need; it sounds more like a call for imo misguided moderation during an authoritarian turn. We need expansive horizons and broader visions!
1/3

2026-05-31 09:42:21 UTC

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Fair. The question then is where you channel your anger. Put slightly less despicable individuals in charge and appeal to their ethics? Or change the system?

2026-05-31 04:51:23 UTC

We should be *less* outraged about *individuals* as despicable as Musk.
We should be *more* outraged about *a system* that gives people like Musk almost unlimited powers (money and political influence), mainstream media that continues to frame them as visionaries for our common future even after their appetite for violence and destruction is clear and proven, and governments who depend on and crave their goodwill and products.
They should be outcasts, not put at the centre of our societies.

2026-05-21 20:14:42 UTC

I don't get the hype around "small AI".
If it is based on specific datasets, local, even deterministic - that sounds like a traditional algorithm to me.
Calling all tech "AI" is making it harder to talk about the harms of the large stochastic models.
Resisting "AI" does not mean to resist all tech. It means asking what kind of digital infrastructures we want - and rejecting vast extractivist data centres, stolen data and automated inequality while evading accountability as part of the answer.

2026-05-19 18:33:30 UTC

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Kann leider nur zustimmen. Gerade heute durfte ich einem Stiftungsvorsitzenden dabei lauschen, wie er erklärte, dass wir nicht an Positionen festhalten sollten, die zunehmend extrem erscheinen. Mehr „Pragmatismus“, mehr „Kompromisse“, weniger „Maximalforderungen“.
Als würde das einfach so „passieren“. Rechtsruck als Naturgewalt, an die wir uns anpassen müssten. Ich weiß gar nicht, wo ich anfangen soll zu widersprechen.

2026-04-27 07:44:22 UTC

"AI" is a huge redistribution scheme from the bottom to the top. It pays off for the billionaires no matter how big the bubble is. All we can do is limit the damage.
Pointing out the lack of profitability of "AI" products is pretty much meaningless. Investors have been speaking about this for years WHILE making billions from their investments into "AI". It is profitable for them, and that is what they care about.
I wrote about this already some time ago:
https://www.structural-integrity.eu/crashing-hard-why-talking-about-bubbles-obscures-the-real-social-cost-of-overinvesting-into-artificial-intelligence/

2026-04-18 19:28:10 UTC

Techmänner haben Zeugs wie Mythos und GPT 5.4 Cyber erfunden, weil sie Angst vor @npub1k4c…avp3 haben.
Ich glaub nicht, dass es ihnen hilft.

2026-04-13 06:23:45 UTC

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Rebuilding leftist movements in Hungary will hopefully be easier under Magyar. But it is not a no-brainer and it will take a lot of time and resources. The coalition with Tisza reached its objective of ousting Orban.
Now it is time to build up a meaningful leftist alternative and keep Tisza in check as much as possible.
So to all of the "EU friends" here: Don't embrace Magyar. Just because he is your enemy's enemy, that does not make him your friend.

2026-04-13 06:20:09 UTC

Yes, we should all celebrate Orban leaving office. It is a victory in the fight against autocrats - where Orban was a weird ally of the US AND Russia AND China.
But: This has come at a huge cost for any progressive movements in Hungary. Parliament is now run EXCLUSIVELY by right-wing, anti-migration parties. Leftists voted for Magyar to get rid of Orban.
Magyar will be an easier partner for EU institutions (also increasingly anti-migration). He is no ally for the left.
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cd9vg782kx7o
https://cdn.masto.host/indiewebsocial/media_attachments/files/116/395/927/621/809/540/original/d023eaed16cd26dd.png

2026-04-11 11:03:13 UTC

So sieht’s aus in Berlin 2026: Die extrem rechte Presse (nius, im roten Kreis) will die Teilnehmenden einer linken Konferenz trollen und einschüchtern und die Polizei ist da, um sie - die Presse - zu beschützen.
Noch mal: Die Polizei schützt extrem Rechte vor Menschen, die diese Rechten als „Linksextreme“ markieren wollen.
Wir stehen zusammen dagegen. Wir lassen uns nicht einschüchtern. #cablesofresistance
https://cdn.masto.host/indiewebsocial/media_attachments/files/116/385/704/297/148/016/original/015dec272f081303.png

2026-04-06 12:47:13 UTC

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That is such a great post. "Hates AI" is the most deserving label "we" - if there is such a thing as a community which is obviously very heterogeneous - could earn. Go Mastodon, so glad to be here!

2026-04-02 18:59:43 UTC

What so-called "AI" is not and will never be:
- ethical
- explainable
- safe
- democratic
- good
- in the public interest
- transformative
- emancipatory
edit: + feminist + sustainable + reasoning + sentient + open-source + accountable + for the people + liberatory
Please add to the list, I am sure I have forgotten some of the "feel-good" labels.
I am so fed up with people who insist on their illusions, who insist on [fill in] "AI" while refusing to talk about how "AI" works and its impact.

2026-04-01 07:14:42 UTC

https://karlbode.com/ceo-said-a-thing-journalism/
This is hilarious. A similar rule works for companies and ofc Trump, but the examples in the article are hi-la-ri-ous.
"You can never directly challenge anything the CEO said, even if the CEO has a long history of false or misleading promises and claims.
You can never include any useful historical context about the company or executives' past statements, even if they've been proven repeatedly wrong. The CEO's comments should always exist in a magic vacuum."

2026-03-28 12:54:37 UTC

What are good examples of concrete acts of resistance against "AI"? I am putting together an overview and am surely missing great stuff!
I have:
Data centre opposition (thx to @npub14sz…ur2r )
Examples of sabotage from @npub1mwg…zng5
Some ideas about practical refusal from @npub16wc…ehf0
Also everyday acts are great (such as not following orders to use "AI") if they are documented somewhere, somehow. Most references tend to be rather vague (e.g. in this otherwise great article
https://restofworld.org/2026/techno-negative-thomas-dekeyser-fighting-ai/)

2026-03-24 10:29:48 UTC

Wenn ein Polizeigewerkschaftssprecher gewaltlegitimierende Metaphern verwendet, ist das leider keine Drohung, sondern eine Ankündigung: "„Linksextremismus ist ein demokratiegefährdendes Krebsgeschwür, das sich durch unsere Gesellschaft frisst und leider auch im politischen Raum immer wieder auf Nährboden trifft.“" (https://www.tagesspiegel.de/berlin/linksextremismus-razzia-nach-anschlag-auf-strommasten-im-september-in-berlin-15392388.html, ursprünglich gepostet auf, wen wunderts, Fascho- und Verschwörungsplattform X.) Denn wie geht mensch mit Krebsgeschwüren um, was meint ihr?
1/2

2026-03-18 07:25:41 UTC

There is a lot to say about organising and resistance against AI and capitalism. Hence, I put that into a short blog post for [@structural_integrity](https://kolektiva.social/@structural_integrity ) which features that awesome manifesto by Cables of Resistance in English and German: https://www.structural-integrity.eu/structural-integrity-goes-cables-of-resistance/
"We organise and resist. We want to refuse, hack, shut down, break up, socialise and transform Big Tech." 🔥
Looking forward to also giving a talk together with @npub1xqv…uyyg on socialising digital platforms.
Hope to see you there!

2026-03-15 08:23:18 UTC

From the series: absurd arguments for "socialist AI"
How is it possible that people who want to overcome capitalism argue that "AI is inevitable"?! That level of cognitive dissonance...wow.
Capitalism is a deeply entrenched system that has shaped all domains of society for centuries. "AI" is a set of technologies that have come into widespread adoption over the last few years.
If we believe in a future beyond capitalism (and I do), then we can certainly believe in a future without "AI".

2026-03-08 07:09:18 UTC

My demand for 8/3: Scrap that anti-feminist propaganda machine called genAI! It generates misogynist slop even in the hands of those declaring to want the opposite.
The German ministry for research [@bmftr_bund](https://social.bund.de/@bmftr_bund ) just published a paper depicting female researchers in history who have been distorted to conform to gender norms - even with explicit prompts for smiles and dancing. But even without such prompts genAI reproduces and reinforces female oppression.
Publicly funded.
1/2
https://cdn.masto.host/indiewebsocial/media_attachments/files/116/192/212/487/698/527/original/4ae37b30e8a56894.png

2026-03-01 11:41:33 UTC

Cables of Resistance: programme & manifesto live! 🔥
Berlin, 10-12 April 2026
The programme: https://programm.infraunited.org/cableresist26/schedule/
The manifesto: https://cableresist.de/#manifest
So excited to see the absolute banger programme for #CableResist online: three days of great talks and workshops!
There will be excellent analysis 🤓 of how Big Tech is attacking our ecological, material and social foundations of life and deep strategising ✊ on how to resist and fight back.
1/x

2026-02-23 16:45:17 UTC

Ich finds richtig sweet, dass meine Mutter mit mir teilt, mit welcher Verve und Überzeugung sie an einer Anti-Höcke-Demo teilnimmt.
Sie ist über 70 und hat ihr Leben lang an keinen politischen Demos teilgenommen. Bis jetzt. Unsere Ansichten liegen weiterhin auseinander und natürlich halte ich Höcke-Protest für nötig, aber gar nicht hinreichend.
Dennoch: Politisierung braucht Praxis, und dafür ist es nie zu spät. Redet mit euren Familien, Freund*innen und anderen Menschen um euch herum!

2026-02-15 11:40:07 UTC

Leftist European nationalism, is that a thing?
Yes. And we need to confront it among and within us.
Fabian Lehr has a great episode (unfortunately in German) on how the EU project is used to project misguided hopes for a progressive future onto an antidemocratic, reactionary and imperialist EU.
"Leftist liberals who wave the EU-starred flag of Frontex murderers and proclaim "together against the right!" at the same time are clearly in a state of cognitive dissonance."
https://open.spotify.com/episode/1TdVhiJ162JLG0KdZeLEXJ

2026-01-31 19:45:56 UTC

“The revelation that a subsidiary of Capgemini, a multinational digital services firm listed on the Paris stock exchange, had agreed to provide “skip tracing” – a technique for locating targeted people – with big bonuses if successful, has provoked outrage in France.“
High time to let go of the illusions that firms or “sovereignty” will defend anyone against fascist forces. They are happy enablers and part of the problem, not just in the US.
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/jan/31/french-mps-demand-explanation-over-tech-firm-capgemini-contract-ice

2026-01-18 17:17:49 UTC

The hope that taking money from Big Tech can resolve the huge internal conflict at Wikimedia - between remaining open and feeding the parasites whose mission is to own the internet - was misguided from the very start. For those interested in some more background, this paper discusses "how the openness of the online encyclopedia Wikipedia allows Google Search to appropriate most of the value created by its vertical interaction":
https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=5238447

2026-01-03 12:35:37 UTC

It seems to take people (in particular fellow Europeans) so long to let go of what have always been myths: “transatlantic partnership for democracy” (always a lie) “US as global police for the rule of law” (read: use force to extort economic benefits) and “we stand up for European values” (only if they serve us economically).
The mask has been off for a while (deportations, army in the interior, DOGE…), Venezuela is another step in the very same direction.
We need anti-fascist resistance NOW.

2025-12-12 13:15:11 UTC

Let's make great plans for 2026! Tired of fighting alone? Join the Cables of Resistance in Berlin, April 10-12!
We are movements and anti-capitalist activists who practise various forms of resistance against big tech. We want to bring together interested people, network and connect local struggles.
https://cableresist.de/
Also check out the CfP! Whether you are politically active against Big Tech, conducting scientific research or involved in other ways, we look forward to your contribution.
https://cdn.masto.host/indiewebsocial/media_attachments/files/115/705/552/296/104/928/original/0e77f23a6b686f9f.jpg

2025-12-04 10:36:00 UTC

Shameless self-promotion alert!
It was such a pleasure to discuss with @npub157r…8pny how right-wing governments and international corporations in the European Union are pushing to gut tech regulations with the goal of boosting AI development in totally misguided hope of improving economic growth and geopolitical standing.
https://techwontsave.us/episode/305_europe_is_gutting_its_tech_regulations_w_aline_blankertz
A place for hope is Berlin, April 10-12, 2026: https://cableresist.de/

2025-11-20 13:55:10 UTC

Whoop whoop! Get ready for my already favourite event in 2026!! 🥳
✊ Cables of Resistance ✊
Movement conference against Big Tech
Berlin 10-12 April 2026
Save the Date NOW
and check out the
🎇 Call for Participation 🎇
looking for proposals in 8 tracks (DE/EN):
- climate & energy
- water & resources
- urban policy
- labour
- militarisation
- fascism
- feminism
- futures
https://programm.infraunited.org/cableresist26/cfp
Please share and join!

2025-11-19 16:58:38 UTC

I do not have any positive take on the Franco-German sovereignty summit. Yes, they do not throw the DMA under the omnibus, but apart from that it is an agenda that puts frontier AI before infrastructure, profits before people, EU before global antifascist resistance.
And: They still do not even address the core of Big Tech dependence. EU startups are subject to their control through investments and research agendas. Pouring more money into them cements dependence.
https://www.techpolicy.press/at-the-sovereignty-summit-europe-put-startups-on-stage-and-kept-big-tech-in-control

2025-11-15 15:58:46 UTC

RE: https://kolektiva.social/@champagneanarchism/115554500674824862
"The single defining feature of modern capitalism is that it acts like the party is almost over. So why stop now?"
I still remember when that dawned on me when reading Graeber's Debt 🤯 People have been saying they are in late-stage capitalism for decades, if not centuries.
It is 100% intuitive that growth and expansion cannot go on forever. But debt as an engine of growth has locked people/organisations/states into extractive behaviour.
Strongly recommend the book and the podcast series!
#note1l45…xh6g

2025-10-03 20:05:48 UTC

"Both Google and Apple recently removed Red Dot, an app people can use to report sightings of ICE officials, from their respective app stores [...] Google told 404 Media it removed apps because they shared the location of what it describes as a vulnerable group that recently faced a violent act connected to these sorts of ICE-spotting apps—a veiled reference to ICE officials."
Who is vulnerable and who is at risk? Google joins Apple in executing fascism.
https://www.404media.co/google-calls-ice-agents-a-vulnerable-group-removes-ice-spotting-app-red-dot/

2025-09-17 06:48:23 UTC

Apparently this requires restating:
We should not want a European Palantir.
We should not want an open-source Palantir.
We should not want a non-commercial Palantir.
If it is supposed to do what Palantir does, we should not want it.
And I don't care to what extent Palantir's products are shaped by political or profit motives. We know enough to reject its logic altogether.

2025-09-11 19:51:57 UTC

After reading his book, I am very much moved by the release of Mikola Dziadok from Belarusian prison.
https://kolektiva.social/@abcbelarus/115187324599172547
He has already spent over ten years in prison (while being slightly younger than me). And his book is testament to an incredibly fearless, courageous and compassionate mind:
https://black-mosquito.org/en/mikola-dziadok-the-colours-of-the-parallel-world.html
His case is not an isolated one, so I am even more glad that through his writing I got access to and started to care about political prisoners more generally.
(1/3)

2025-09-07 19:17:51 UTC

Digital sovereignty without techno-nationalism and an ambitious understanding of more democratic technology?
It is always such a pleasure to listen to Cecilia Rikap! 🫶 She conveys that we should not just demand governments to “get off Big Tech” and “build local data centres”, but also to go beyond the capitalist paradigm. Uruguay seems an interesting example among various others.
Finally managed to listen to her episode with Paris on @npub157r…8pny
👇
https://techwontsave.us/episode/290_why_countries_must_fight_for_digital_sovereignty_w_cecilia_rikap

2025-07-31 20:20:32 UTC

“From economy of occupation to economy of genocide”
Francesca Albanese, UN Special Rapporteur, details in remarkably clear words how companies across the world derive benefits from the suffering of people in Gaza. It’s vast - arms, finance, construction, tech, but also universities. “[E]nding it will not happen without holding the private sector accountable, including its executives.”
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2025/jul/31/as-gaza-suffers-us-companies-are-reaping-horrific-payoffs
Read the report (incl calls to action for govts+companies): https://www.un.org/unispal/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/a-hrc-59-23-aev.pdf

2025-07-25 13:55:52 UTC

@npub16wc…ehf0 is on #TWSU with @npub157r…8pny and has a clear view on AI use cases:
"But the other thing is that it is quite good at being destructive. It is not very good at actually optimising, actually reliably predicting or generating something that can be trusted enough to be a functional part for society. It is quite good at intervening in ways which in which collateral damage does not matter, and you can think of that as anywhere from DOGE to Gaza."
Great episode!👇
https://techwontsave.us/episode/286_decomputing_for_a_better_future_w_dan_mcquillan

2025-07-24 07:54:28 UTC

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Sounds a lot like this, no?
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/feb/16/air-canada-chatbot-lawsuit
“Canada’s largest airline has been ordered to pay compensation after its chatbot gave a customer inaccurate information, misleading him into buying a full-price ticket.
Air Canada came under further criticism for later attempting to distance itself from the error by claiming that the bot was “responsible for its own actions”.”

2025-06-30 17:34:50 UTC

Is it possible to work on AI as a computer scientist and not reinforce the hype?
Question for @npub1e2z…n97d at a great event at the [@Weizenbaum_Institut](https://social.bund.de/@Weizenbaum_Institut ). She has “no good news”. Among other concerns, the hype is creating a monoculture in research that draws away resources for actually useful topics.
Very much looking forward to reading “The AI Con” by her and fabulous @npub15xv…0jms!
Will use “synthetic content extrusion machine” from now on.
https://cdn.masto.host/indiewebsocial/media_attachments/files/114/773/504/451/591/689/original/b2ac6bdb7ea9ab6e.png

2025-06-17 20:10:27 UTC

I had the great pleasure of opening the @npub1n7w…w6z5 with a keynote on digital sovereignty, linking it to nationalism and the role of open.
This might be relevant if you are curious about:
- competing approaches to digital sovereignty
- what kind of approach the EU is pursuing
- how current politics influences tech development
- how AI is adding fascist ideology to nationalist agendas
- what to do
👇
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nbz66dUyLBs
Some key points, follow-on thoughts and references in a 🧵
1/
#bbuzz

2025-05-16 12:50:49 UTC

Only 30,000 (well, 29,690) signatures needed to crack the 1,000,000! Until tomorrow!
Ban on conversion practices in the European Union
https://eci.ec.europa.eu/043/public/#/screen/home
It feels like everybody here on Mastodon must have seen it by now, so make sure to pass it on to your friends and family chats.

2025-04-14 11:15:00 UTC

„Und das [Problem] lag nicht hauptsächlich an dem Standort ihrer Mutterkonzerne, sondern an der teils monopolistischen Marktmacht und Dominanz.“
Das gilt für Tech-Konzerne wie für Machtkonzentration überall, von Lebensmitteln & Agrar über Energie hin zu Pharma & Gesundheit.
Ich bin @npub1jdu…yzh4 echt dankbar für den Artikel für [@netzpolitik_feed](https://chaos.social/@netzpolitik_feed ) über die Wirrungen von #GoEuropean auf Reddit. Durfte ein klein wenig beitragen, lest mal rein.:)
👇
https://netzpolitik.org/2025/buyfromeu-am-problem-vorbei-gekauft/

2025-04-10 07:43:08 UTC

It was a pleasure to speak with @npub157r…8pny about ending dependence on Big Tech companies and how this is currently playing out in Europe.
How is this linked to current debates about security and regulation (well, anti-regulation)?
Who is most likely to benefit from a EU-nationalist understanding of sovereignty?
And what would a more structurally different, i.e. internationalist response encompass?
👇
https://open.spotify.com/episode/0rI8A5ivjvvIccwqmVMFrV
or here for avoiding extractive tech made in EU: https://techwontsave.us/episodes

2025-03-06 18:43:09 UTC

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Cecilia points out that intellectual monopolies and in particular Big Tech companies are exerting control beyond ownership - they write and execute (economic) plans. This is not a market exchange and there is no “free market” that will fix it. We need a democratic plan instead.

2025-03-06 18:23:49 UTC

Very inspiring presentation by Cecilia Rikap at the [@Weizenbaum_Institut](https://social.bund.de/@Weizenbaum_Institut ) on digital sovereignty! „It’s a time of confrontation! […] This is not about appeasing the centre.“
Now discussing with @npub12wd…aatc Adriana Groh and @npub1ecx…dntp moderated by @npub13kz…t8e2. How can we strengthen the public sector and protect it from a far-right takeover? Public procurement is a key lever, that’s agreed. But on a private or a public cloud?
https://cdn.masto.host/indiewebsocial/media_attachments/files/114/116/878/110/404/255/original/e9aea7a74e18c2f4.png

2025-02-17 12:33:08 UTC

Berlin (at the [@Weizenbaum_Institut](https://social.bund.de/@Weizenbaum_Institut )) on 6 March at 6pm: Protecting Democracy through Digital Sovereignty! A discussion on resilient digital infrastructures with @npub1ecx…dntp, Cecilia Rikap, @npub12wd…aatc and Adriana Groh from the @npub1yng…nhrk
Hosted by [@bits_und_baeume](https://mastodon.bits-und-baeume.org/@bits_und_baeume ) [@Weizenbaum_Institut](https://social.bund.de/@Weizenbaum_Institut ) and @npub1fjw…k7cv
Register now (places are limited): https://bits-und-baeume.org/anmeldung/2025-03-06-policy-lab
I very much look forward to this! And to seeing you there?
A longer description in the thread:
https://cdn.masto.host/indiewebsocial/media_attachments/files/114/019/206/471/111/846/original/cc4af292a32d950d.png

2025-02-07 17:08:40 UTC

Open source should be (more) different from proprietary options! @npub1j8v…ld5q explains why Pixelfed is not “better“ if it successfully imitates Instagram.
https://tante.cc/2025/02/07/the-open-source-torment-nexus/
Imho this also applies to “open-source” AI and things developed as “digital public good/infrastructure/…”. It gets more complicated when interoperability enters the picture, eg between Mastodon/Threads or WhatsApp/Signal - interop can push the “nicer” option to become more like the big player. (1/2)

2025-01-29 18:26:13 UTC

Keine Brandmauer, sondern unsere vermeintliche Abgrenzung Faschismus brennt lichterloh. Das erst mal verdauen. Die Kampagne @npub16nz…pw42, das Entnormalisieren der AfD in demokratischen Gremien (und #Antwortfreiheit), so vieles fühlt sich sinnlos an, wenn der Rechtsruck durch alle Parteien geht.
Doch jedes Organisieren schafft Strukturen, die wir umso dringender brauchen. Jetzt, wenn es rauer wird. Lasst uns dagegen halten, Widerstand zeigen, die Schwächsten stärken. Jetzt erst recht.

2025-01-16 14:32:17 UTC

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Continued: "Decomputing argues that, wherever AI is proposed as "the answer", there is a gap for the self-organisation of people who already know better what needs to be done, whether it's teachers and students resisting generative AI in the classroom or healthcare workers and patients challenging the algorithmic optimisation of workloads that eliminates even minimal chances to relate as human beings."
Relating as human beings should be at the core. For that, we need a material basis. (2/2)

2025-01-16 14:30:40 UTC

@npub16wc…ehf0 beautifully deconstructs the UK AI Action Plan in the @npub1ser…ykq9
And I love his answer to the widespread "but what do we do if we don't do AI???? what is there to do at all in this world??":
"What we urgently need, instead of a political leadership in thrall to AI's aura of total power, is a reassertion of context and agency by returning control to more local and directly democratic structures."
https://www.computerweekly.com/opinion/Labours-AI-Action-Plan-a-gift-to-the-far-right (1/2)

2024-12-30 20:48:53 UTC

Closing the #38c3 : The @npub15qj…3kl0 community has a strong sense of self-efficacy which also the young ones soon pick up. It has a lot of power because we combine valuable technical knowledge (in so many domains!) and strong anti-fascist values - values we will need to defend and strengthen in the political environment in 2025. I am so grateful for having met many new faces in the last four days, allies with whom to pursue this side by side! ✊
Photo by @npub1ecx…dntp 🙏
https://cdn.masto.host/indiewebsocial/media_attachments/files/113/743/737/593/298/895/original/dabd6828e0f5c7ae.png

2024-12-11 12:06:01 UTC

Gemeinsam für die #Antwortfreiheit von Sachverständigen!
27 weitere Menschen haben mit mir ihre Bedenken über eine neue Klausel in Einladungsschreiben an Sachverständige für den Bundestag in einem offenen Brief zum Ausdruck gebracht. Es freut mich unheimlich, Teil dieser Gruppe zu sein! @npub1pcx…kn0j @npub1xqv…uyyg @npub1j8v…ld5q [@z_edian](https://infosec.exchange/@z_edian ) @npub1rht…ltvn @npub1j6s…hxfy @npub1pfa…mfpu [@Frederick_Richter](https://mastodon.social/@Frederick_Richter ) @npub18xr…vqz3 @npub1k4c…avp3 und andere, die sicher noch herkommen :)
[@netzpolitik_feed](https://chaos.social/@netzpolitik_feed ) ordnet ein: https://netzpolitik.org/2024/offener-brief-bundestagssachverstaendige-wehren-sich-gegen-afd-antwortzwang/
https://cdn.masto.host/indiewebsocial/media_attachments/files/113/634/037/278/103/925/original/f8f89423c2c7ac46.png
https://cdn.masto.host/indiewebsocial/media_attachments/files/113/634/037/281/604/899/original/bf3d0f7c2ac60341.png
https://cdn.masto.host/indiewebsocial/media_attachments/files/113/634/037/260/385/731/original/30012ea7101dafbc.png

2024-11-16 09:45:19 UTC

Das liberale Drehbuch für den Regierungssturz, hier mit Geschenklink dank Ann Cathrin Riedel: https://www.zeit.de/politik/deutschland/2024-11/christian-lindner-ampel-aus-fdp-bundesregierung?freebie=b76155c1
No more words.

2024-11-09 09:17:02 UTC

Open Source is not enough, “benevolent dictators for life” are problematic just as wealthy tech barons like Zuck or Musk. Making digital infrastructures participatory and representative will make them more useful and serve the public interest better (democracy anyone? 🙋).
Nice to listen to @npub1j8v…ld5q with @npub157r…8pny on tech won’t save us talking about how also non-commercial projects like Wordpress can go astray if not governed properly: https://open.spotify.com/episode/2RUadUmZmTVMZuMc3rhbBW

2024-09-30 12:13:43 UTC

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In some more detail:
3 steps to reduce the exorbitant power of Big Tech:
✂️ #Break up dominant tech firms
🕸️ Require (more) #interoperability
💶 #Tax dominant tech firms
3 steps to foster public-interest alternatives:
🏗️ Build up public digital #infrastructure including #commons and #FOSS
📌 Use public #procurement as a lever for alternatives
🦺 Enforce strong human rights #safeguards
I recommend reading the whitepaper which I find a thoughtful inspiration for further action: https://www.lobbycontrol.de/wp-content/uploads/Beyond-Big-Tech-White-Paper.pdf

2024-09-30 12:10:52 UTC

The "Beyond Big Tech" #manifesto signed by 70+ organisations from around the globe (including @npub1fjw…k7cv) guides the way to a more #democratic digital future:
https://peoplevsbig.tech/beyond-big-tech-a-manifesto-for-a-new-digital-economy/
We need to take much more ambitious action if we really want to address the issues posed by dominant tech firms (from disinformation to exploitative labour):
✅ Break open Big Tech
✅ Foster an open, diverse digital ecosystem
✅ Give people real freedom and choice