Wouter Tebbens ⁂1d ago

In the context of the @DigitalCoup and #AuthoritarianTech, can we find an answer in #DemocraticTech? Something that goes beyond mere free/libre open source software, and combines #cooperativism and #commoning. Communities who govern their shared resources, and commit to shared responsibility.

I wrote an article about it, tracing the intellectual origins of the term "democratic technology", connecting to various intersectional critiques of the currently dominant model of surveillance capitalism from feminist, ecosocial perspectives.

Here's the article: https://freeknowledge.eu/democratic-technology-building-alternatives-to-techno-auhtoritarianism

Show threadWouter Tebbens ⁂1d ago

We can appreciate 3 interpretations of #DemocraticTechnology
1) democratisation of access to tech
2) democratic governance of tech
3) e-democracy and civic tech

at the @fkinstitute we take the position of 2) - the democratic governance over shared resources, which involve technology, but first and foremost are about commoning: people sharing responsibility, knowledge and productive work, over a shared resource system.

Show threadAlex Rodríguez
@Wtebbens @fkinstitute the answer isn't just having the right idea, though. That has been clear for at least a few years (thanks in large part to your efforts, which are deeply appreciated!) I see so many people who get it and are ready to build (or already building) what you call for but very little higher-order support—training, consultation, incubation, etc. Whose resources will help make the space for these ideas to go from experiments to sustainable initiatives? We can't just bootstrap it.
Mar 16 at 10:58amWeb
Show threadWouter Tebbens ⁂1d ago

Hi @arod, thanks for the compliment! And I very much agree with you. We need to unite forces between grassroots commoners and cooperativists with institutional support, such as public and private funders.

That is precisely what we're working towards with the setting up of the Democratic Tech Fund. We think this logic - and our shared values - should be anchored in its foundations, before we can accept such funds to multiply our seed funding. We cannot "just" bootstrap it - there lies the challenge. Any help to connect the dots, also with the institutions willing to multiply our collective effort, is much appreciated. Let us say that we need to go beyond the neoliberal public-private partnerships: we need civic-public-private partnerships, on our terms.
#DTF #DemocraticTechFund

Show threadWouter Tebbens ⁂1d ago
https://social.coop/@fkinstitute/116136763656834969