Mastodawn

I dont like the term “digital sovereignty” because of the pronounced nationalist and authoritarian connotations that it carries, regardless of what the actual intentions of its particular users are.

I propose that as hackers, we reframe the core concept (independence of US-centric cloud operators) as “digital autonomy”. I think this carries the same core idea while being less about who rules the digital realm, and more about the freedoms we all have within it.

@jaseg I've seen many folks denounce that term but this is the first post I saw with a replacement I liked much more. Cheers!

Jacqueline Jun 16

I would go farther and demand the democratic control of technology

Gadfly (-booq-)Jun 16

@burnoutqueen @jaseg I think I would argue back not just for democratic control over technology, but for technology that is architecturally built to democratize control over its running in practical usage--

* software that defers only to its user, for individual-use software (as opposed to cloud-based applications)
* software that values both ease-of-use in its intrrface and ease-of-modifying-the-interface
* software that is local-first, so accessible to those with more limited connections
* software that is easy-config (and low-resource) self-hostable, so that small groups co-using a software platform are not subordinated to the whims of a larger hosting platform
* software that, if it seeks to represent a view of a global network, is federated
(either network-transmission or moderation-tooling) so that communities can independently democratically associate among themselves
* software that seeks out not just democratic governance but does outreach for democratic development

Nias Worldz Jun 16

@jaseg I don't like the term "digital autonomy" cause as a german speaker, that sounds too car centric!
I would instead propose the term "zugnomy" or "trainomy"!

Enola Knezevic Jun 16

@littlerao @jaseg This is where I wish I had learned Ancient Greek. Sidero-what-nomy?

Graham Sutherland / Polynomial Jun 16

@jaseg digital sovereignty always made me think of sovcits, which probably says something about that particular terminology

ARGVMI~1.PIF Jun 16

I dunno, all of what's going on these days is starting to make me think those people were right all along.

@jaseg "autonomy" vs. "sovereignty" - interesting subtle difference in concept (besides one being greek and the other one latin) individual self-ruling vs. nothing-above-us.

morganist Jun 16

@jaseg also, "internet sovereignty"... that's just not internet

Zło To 🏴‍☠️Jun 16

@jaseg Oh, I suspect it's intentionally authoritarian - first round up everyone in services under EU jurisdiction, then require ID to use any of them

Jak2k 🏳️‍🌈Jun 16

@jaseg Not to say "digital autonomy" is bad, but I also like "digital agency" a lot.

⁡jaseg Jun 16

@jak2k that’s great too!

Claudius Jun 17

@jaseg @jak2k not bad, but "agency" will probably be captured by "agentic AI" dudebros very easily.

Jak2k 🏳️‍🌈Jun 17

@claudius @jaseg I don't think so. "agentic" and "agency" have very different meanings, even if the words start the same.

I don't believe there is a way "agentic AI" can be connected to agency because the LLMs used for that are proprietary and run in the cloud. And that's pretty much the opposite of having agency. Also, "agentic" is a too strong buzzword to move to a similar but slightly different term.

@jak2k @jaseg what about digital resilience? (Not a trained language nerd here, so interested in any missing or negative connotations of that choice.)

Jak2k 🏳️‍🌈Jun 16

@mainec @jaseg I'd connect "digital resilience" more with infrastructure. That the internet connection is stable, data is replicated and backed up, there is an emergency plan for incidents, errors from other digital things are handled gracefully, …

@jak2k @jaseg I see. Thank you!

trainguyrom Jun 16

@jaseg but but digital autonomy would imply autonomy from *platforms* and and if people aren't trapped in our walled gardens we might be forced to actually try and compete!

Come On Giant Asteroid!Jun 16

The people pushing it often seem like it's they who want Sovereignty over *your* Digital ...

Nik | Klampfradler 🎸🚲Jun 16

@jaseg Yep, "digital sovereignty" as a concept only exists on a national, geopolitical level. Individuals have digital autonomy or digital independence.

Let me also propose "digital (unrestricted) mobility" because that's really the basis it boils down to.

@jaseg @bert_hubert autonomy is what we need

Kerry Mitchell 🍁Jun 16

@jaseg I like “digital sovereignty better than “network state.” At least when there’s a nation state the citizens potentially have some rights that go beyond, “don’t like it, then leave.” It’s actually a problem with the Fediverse, in that it more closely resembles the idea of a network state (in prioritizing exit over voice) than it does a government, democracy or cooperative.

Cyril Brulebois Jun 16

@jaseg Yes, yes, yes, a thousand times yes!

arch-based nuclear warhead Jun 16

@jaseg hmmm ok. i notice that its probably not even the right word 2 use anyway

@jaseg At the very least, "digital independence" gets the point across and applies to individual tech choices as well.

poetaster 6d ago

@jaseg as has already been suggested, autonomy as with anarchy, dispenses with the sovereign, he who has no clothes.