Category: culture-and-politics

Public Service Internet monthly newsletter (Sept 2025)

Web browser with a Age gated website shown

We live in incredible times with such possibilities that is clear. Although its easily dismissed seeing how we are being watched, wishing people will stop sharing pictures with ChatGPT and people in the UK told to delete emails In order to save water?

To quote Buckminster Fuller “You never change things by fighting the existing reality. To change something, build a new model that makes the existing model obsolete.”

You are seeing aspects of this with lessons for the AI future in Supremacy, the real need for deniable encryption and how strong 3D printing has got.

You know its bad, when RSS is all you look forward to?

Ian thinks: This discussion between Molly White and Ed Zitron, RSS is mentioned as a really good example of a technology which is reader/person friendly and is a great example of how its simplicity and ecosystem is a example of what we could all learn from.

Has the Roman Church’s view on AI changed?

Ian thinks: In this podcast Paolo Benanti, digs deep into the human and shared society values of many of us, in face of the silicon valleys dreams of AI solving all. I especially like how putting aside differences to work on the bigger problem, is actually working.

The office wars are back?

Ian thinks: As someone who wrote XML stylesheets to convert Microsoft Office XML in 2003 to xHTML and PDF. I can completely understand Libreoffices deep concerns and how the old Microsoft mentality of embrace and extend, lives long

What can we say to grads entering the difficult job market

Ian thinks: There has been much said about AI taking jobs, well its happening but in ways not expected. Of course its not just AI, but there is a whole wave of different concerns causing the real difficult discussion with fresh new grads

Windows 12 sounds like a true nightmare?

Ian thinks: If this is the future of Windows is voice first and AI everywhere you turn. Its clear Microsoft vision of Windows is a privacy nightmare. More so than any other operating system currently used. Will it encourage people to jump? Unlikely, sadly.

A glimpse of the web we don’t want?

Ian thinks: Talking of nightmares, many of us have used the wayback machine at some point. However this is the way-forward machine, giving a spicy glimpse of where we are heading with the web if things move in the same direction. A warning from the future if you haven’t been paying attention…

Leaking data and how AI could social engineers us?

Ian thinks: This intriguing long conversation starts with social engineering and how social engineering with the data we share and trust in others. Then turns towards AI and the threat of engineering from AI systems.

Do countries have true commitment to sovereignty?

Ian thinks: Cecilia Rikap’s open remarks about government and the public interest in regards to the UK speaks volumes. Then turning to Europe using parallels of South America and data colonising is spot on. Are countries willing take sovereignty for real or are the cracks growing.

Why is piracy on the rise again?

Ian thinks: I tried to find a good summary of the wider scope of whats happening (as many are focused on costs alone) but the best I can find is this video from moon. Private equity flatters everything and is something driving more enshittification.
Of course no one is condoning piracy but the times are changing?

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What happened to hobbies?

I noticed this trend around hobbies, in which I mean things you do and enjoy for the sake of enjoyment.

For example I enjoy Diaboloing and have done since a early age. It’s very common for me to bring my Diabolo on work trips and holidays. I am actually writing this on the train to the European juggling convention in the Netherlands.

However when people are me doing it, they assume I am doing it for a purpose of making money. Not necessarily right at that moment but for Instagram or tiktok or some captured social media nonsense. To be fair I do film myself but mainly for better understanding of where I am going wrong or capturing happy mistakes. There is a level of confusion when I say, I am sometimes posting to Pixelfed of course.

The video above and other things I have read, point to the mindset of productivity, hustle culture and capitalism ruins everything mentality. Not even your hobbies are safe from the latter. On the other hand, on the productivity side, it also points to a time poor society where people can’t afford the time to indulge in a personal hobby. Funny enough we talked about the first aspect a little in Techgrumps 3.28.

There is something about context collapse, which is key too. If all your hobbies centre around the smartphone for example, that is prime space for all those notifications and social media strings to pull on your attention, time and mind space. Hence you have more phones including a mode to limit the likes of Tiktok, Facebook, etc. I enjoy my phone but if everyone of my hobbies were on it, even I might struggle to manage the context collapse too.

You are seeing the smartphone in places it never was or should be?

For example I enjoy going to the spa/gym but I have noticed a trend of men in changing rooms, stand in front of the mirror flex and take a picture. Ok what really annoys me is the reflection may include me changing which is a straight up privacy problem. The gym does have some really crappy wi-fi (likely optimised for access to social networks) but almost zero 5G due to the sub-basement location. However I have seen men post their pictures and even a video to Instagram and WhatsApp stories. Its annoying but related to this blog is the need to share and the lack of personal achievement.

Hobbies were things you do for personal enjoyment, experience and mastery. They can be exciting, geeky and I would certainly add make you much more interesting as a person, due to the confidence they bring.. Which is certainly easy to link to the loneliness epidemic.

By the way, now back from the European juggling convention, which I did  enjoy once I found other diabolists. It was clear the people (mainly men) who cut themselves off into little cliques because they were potentially professionals and maybe doing it for a purpose of something more than enjoyment (there was a lot of filming, likely for instagram, etc). The session I ran attracted a range of people and none of the professionals attended, which was fine as we had a much better time without them.

Public Service Internet monthly newsletter (Aug 2025)

2 people sat in chairs looking at the camera across a table with a cup on it
Black Mirror 7×1 Common People (2025)

We live in incredible times with such possibilities that is clear. Although its easily dismissed seeing browsers extensions turned into scraper bots, bodies used to fingerprint you with wifi and Mozilla under more pressure.

To quote Buckminster Fuller “You never change things by fighting the existing reality. To change something, build a new model that makes the existing model obsolete.”

You are seeing aspects of this with Duck duck go hiding most AI generated images in searches, looking at Proton’s Lumo privacy first AI and some children naturally reducing their phone to manage their mental health

Imagine if all phones were built this way?

Ian thinks: The fairphone has been around for years but version 6 of the smartphone, seems to have got everything right. This tear down by iFixit, shows exactly how easy it is to repair, replace and even upgrade parts in the future. One day all phones will be built this way?

Welcome to the age gated internet?

Ian thinks: Age verification has hit the UK and there is a lot to say. The VPN usage increase the UK in the UK speaks volumes. The UK isn’t the only one but the impact is being felt by everyone. If the recent Tea app and so many other data breaches has taught us, sharing personal data is not going to go well. I’m hardly hearing ZKP (Zero-knowledge proof) mentioned, which is good practice for this.

Degrowth is growing?

Ian thinks: There are many mentions of de-growth dotted across these notes over the last few years. This BBC News video gives a reasonable view of the movement, some of the challenges and best of all calling out some of the presumptions which plague the movement.

Cloudflare may have cut off 99% of AI crawlers?

Ian thinks: Its been well talked about and if you own a site, you may have noticed the huge amount of traffic caused by bots. Cloudflare have had enough and wrote a open solution called Anubis which is too expensive for AI bots to get around.

Not the last word on AI Slop

Ian thinks: You know its really bad when John Oliver spends most of his weekly show talking about the problem and how its affecting everyone. Leaning on the work of 404 media, Oliver uses comedy to great effect pointing out the insanity of were we are now.

Cory and Maria in conversation

Ian thinks: As part of the Open Rights Group’s celebration of 20 years since its inception on that day in London during the Open Tech conference. The conversation doesn’t sit in the space of nostalgia too long, but rather looks at what was learned and how it can be applied in current time.

The big questions around human brain interfaces

Ian thinks: There has been an uptick in Human brain interfaces news and discussion. However few are asking the really big questions we all have about the technology. Thankfully Coldfusion is asks theose questions about privacy, enshittification, agency etc. Dare I mention Black Mirror’s common people?

Decomputing AI for a better future?

Ian thinks: The critique of AI is well thought-out by McQuillan, and the relation to the context collapse, neo-liberalism and empire building is spot on. The ability of the AI empires to fill in the narrative when there isn’t one is also a key point. Well worth reading Empire of AI too for related impact, which I just finished.

Did you recently die or was that obituary fake?

Ian thinks: Is there no line AI slop won’t cross for the clicks? Fake obituaries are appearing across the internet and its another example of the slop and it is pretty bad news for its target/victims, the friends and family members. The video is also worth watching too.

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Public Service Internet monthly newsletter (July 2025)

A couple look at a TV while the camera looks over their shoulders

We live in incredible times with such possibilities that is clear. Although its easily dismissed seeing how how much time we are spending on our smartphones. whats happening with GDPR and the low-background steel problem of the AI contaminated internet?

To quote Buckminster Fuller “You never change things by fighting the existing reality. To change something, build a new model that makes the existing model obsolete.”

You are seeing aspects of this with scientists proving ethical sourced AI is possible, plastic which dissolves in water and opensource coming to rescue owners of the humane pin.

Where is the future of social web going?

Ian thinks: Its finally available, the report myself and BBC R&D colleagues wrote on the emerging crisis for the social platforms. Exploring the toxic and polarised online environments but also the enormous potential to transform the world in positive ways, if built with the right values.

Theranos is back?

Ian thinks: Remember the whole testing a drop of blood to diagnose critical diseases? Well believe it or not Holmes is back in the form of Haemanthus who’s CEO happens to be Holmes partner.

Oversharenting has its own murky marketplace

Ian thinks: I did see the Ella campaign a while ago, if you haven’t see it go watch it. The video from NBTV, goes much further looking into sharing data without understanding or concern of how others will abuse it.

Ian thinks: Automatic Content Recognition, is actually old news (as the UCL study shows)  but recently become a long clearer recently as more researchers and journalists take a look at the privacy policies of smart TVs.

Building the EuroStack

Ian thinks: There has been a lot of discussion recently about Europe as the 3rd way (between commercial and government). Digital sovereignty is pinned to the stack along with the move to strategic autonomy and being Europe its a  of the EU but isn’t exclusive to Europe. Providing

This is the year of Open source in Europe, doubtful?

Ian thinks: Great to see more European countries using open source but there is a big question… What went wrong last time? We assume technology would save us and didn’t. We need to trace back the power and money.

Love with AI, all dopamine and no rejection?

Ian thinks: Cathy Hackl, took the plunge into the AI as a partner, and the results are what you imagine but the gentle responses do connect on some level. Hackl does point to this being a good simulator, which I’m less sure of because we all know the business model behind them?

Could chatbots have a public service remit?

Ian thinks: Following the endless amount of chatbot news and last months in joke about the sentient machine therapist. Tiku and Marx, discuss the real harms of chatbots generally. Which leads me to think could a LLM based chatbot be trained and given the metric of public service. Dare I say the loneliness epidemic is one good reason.

Bounce your followers around?

Ian thinks: As seen at the Fediforum last month, Bounce brings the ability to move around federated social networks but keep the followers. This is something which makes the fediverse unique.

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re:publica 25: Six Feet Under a Data Centre: Let’s talk about Death and Legacy online!

Things are moving quickly right now, with a 5th trip to Europe over the last 2 months booked. Republica was fantastic again and for the first time, I spent time with new and old friends from the Netherlands and Germany.

One of the highlights from Republica is finally getting on stage after 4 different visits and myself and Leanne being selected in 2020 but not being able speak due to the Covid pandemic.

Last year I really found the talks from Linn and Identity 2.0 great and my natural ability to bring them together resulted in Six feet under the data centre. We did submit it to SxSW London but refined it for Republica 2025.

How do we die online? Innovation, hypes, and glitches – the shifting tech landscape chips away at the taboos surrounding death and reshapes how we address loss and legacy. Join a candid conversation about digital death care, forever-promises, AI ‘seances’ and a new dimension of digital rights.

The whole session was filmed and is now online.

At the very end I mentioned the notion of a machine readable letter of wishes. Its something which I’m looking to pursue this further. If you are interested in hear more, so get in touch. Honestly, if you are interested in Digital legacy, get touch.

 

Public Service Internet monthly newsletter (May 2025)

Man looks around a scene from his past using a new technology which allows him to step into a picture

We live in incredible times with such possibilities that is clear. Although its easily dismissed reading how social media is impacting young people, how everyone can be scammed even Troy Hunt was phished.

To quote Buckminster Fuller “You never change things by fighting the existing reality. To change something, build a new model that makes the existing model obsolete.”

You are seeing aspects of this with Hull Uni’s research into loneliness, a short prologue to the future of social and of course the FTC taking Meta to court.

Mozilla Festival 2025 global call for participation

Ian thinks: The Mozilla global festival 2025 call for participation is live. The theme this year is unlearning and includes unlearning design, security, harmful tech systems, traditional profit models, tech governance and tech Immateriality. A lot of unlearning! Get your proposals in before the 21st May deadline

The importance of the digital legacy across the world

Ian thinks: Not only do I think Digital legacy is important (even playing a part in Black Mirror’s Eulogy), if you attend Republica 2025, do look out for our conversation titled six feet under the data centre. One part of the conversation is how different nations/cultures face digital legacy and what could be learned for the future. This rest of world article is just the start.

Ian thinks: Unreported world is great at highlighting these stories and this one reminds me of the same problems of surveillance, and parents and young people are facing all over the world

Equality breeds conflict and vulnerability for us all

Ian thinks 3 white men (Zuckerberg, Bezos and Musk) are on track to become trillionares a level wealth that is unimaginable. This video is a good summary of where we are and huge problem. The Buy, Borrow and Die loop hole is so prolific even I have heard about it. Gary Stevenson has plenty to say about this all and is included in the video

How surveillance works in protests

Ian thinks: With the up-tick in surveillance, is it possible to protest without being tired to a protest? Short answer not really but there are some practical tips to consider when near or in a protest. I wonder how many of us knew about the London tube trial?

The digital coup and surveillance fascism?

Ian thinks: Carole Cadwalladr’s nervous but ever-so important talk, is right on the nose and strongly worded. Well shared and delivered right at the moment but if you find it short on substance; I recommend the follow up spicy interview with Cadwalladr and Anderson.

ReWild and ReWeirding the internet?

Ian thinks: Watching Rushkoff’s talk from SXSW 2025, with his thoughts from being an agent of change to an agent of care. Its clear to me there is so many connections with Maria Farrell’s ReWild the internet. If only they could come together in some way?

Growing with scale is so 2015

Ian thinks: This short which is a clip from the larger session about building communities across the social web. The whole session is worth a watch from SXSW’s social web space, covering the Fediverse (ActivityPub & ATproto) with a interesting panel from across the Fediverse. Also keep some time for Cory Doctorow in the same space.

The decline of ownership we all experience now

Ian thinks: Rossmann, is a loud critic of the right to repair and ownership battle. Although he’s style is pretty in your face, he raises good points and many examples demostrating how enshittification and DRM go hand in hand with dense EULAs. Synology’s change and Black Mirror’s common people are examples.

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Public Service Internet monthly newsletter (April 2025)

Young white boy and older white woman sit opposite each other in a young protections unit
https://www.themoviedb.org/tv/249042-adolescence/images/backdrops

 

We live in incredible times with such possibilities that is clear. Although its easily dismissed reading how DVDs are rotting away, the UK’s first permanent facial recognition camera installed and Meta has never heard of the Streisand effect?

To quote Buckminster Fuller “You never change things by fighting the existing reality. To change something, build a new model that makes the existing model obsolete.”

You are seeing aspects of this watching Whittaker’s talk about privacy at SXSW 2025, Apple’s fighting for encryption and the notion of a eurostack is back.

Mozilla Festival global is back for 2025

Ian thinks: Mozfest has been a great festival and the house events have been good but the big global one is back. I have to also say I am involved again as a space wrangler and the theme of unlearning is perfectly timed.

Cybertrucks build for a planned future?

Ian thinks: You may have noticed the backlash against Tesla recently. 404’s podcast got me thinking. The Cybertruck is made for a future which is too dangerous to drive through, its almost like its planned for this future? Not great to think about.

ODI take over SOLID

Ian thinks: During Solid World in February, the ODI took over the Solid project. This video outlines reasons and whats planned for the future. If you want the text summary its also available here.

AMD’s Instella AI, sets a open benchmark?

Ian thinks: I am usually not interested in this type of thing but AMD seem to be releasing their AI LLM model with everything including the training material and its all under a pretty fair licence. Although mainly for research, could this be a benchmark for future open AI models?

The hard truth behind Adolescence

Ian thinks: Lets be honest, if you haven’t seen Adolescence by now, find some time to watch it. For many its cinematography and use of no cuts is great. But deeper down its a clear wake up call for parents, educators and all of us how young people are being manipulated to potentially society harming and lethal scales.

Are you also trimming your online profile?

Ian thinks: This is a on going trend, as people learn more about what personal data means in terms which directly effect them. This is a good thing and certainly highlights all the efforts by activists and organisations shouting about the importance of personal data for decades now.

Tech report SXSW 2025

Ian thinks: Amy Webb’s new insight company FTSG, follows on from Future Today Institute reports of previous years. This years report is a huge 1000 pages and covers so much of the emerging technology bounded around the tech industry. The exec summary is a good place to start a long weekend through this all.

Don’t believe the hype silly rabbit

Ian thinks: This interview of Professor Wajcman, is short but filled with so many good points about the endless lines being fed to us from mainly Silicon Valley. I challenge you to not shake your head in support of at least one point she makes.

The power of hashtags and unique ID’S

Ian thinks: In this interview with Chris Messina, the inventor of the hashtag. We are reminded of the hashtag for connecting communities and how they are still relevant in the next generation of federated social platforms.

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Public Service Internet monthly newsletter (Mar 2025)

Female newsreader faces a camera with green screen behind her

To quote Buckminster Fuller “You never change things by fighting the existing reality. To change something, build a new model that makes the existing model obsolete.”

You are seeing aspects of this with over 200 UK companies committing to the 4 day work week, Pebble smart watch is opensource and the social web foundation and W3C get closer.

Enshittification hit list

Ian thinks: This list of the worst offenders of enshittification, is interesting but I am very surprised to not see cars and dating apps on this list. Something which is regullaryly on Mozilla’s privacy not included lists.

What is mate crime, and is it symptom of our social networking?

Ian thinks: Mate crime is a short term for exploitation by people who are close. It’s increasing and there is a lot of pointers to the less that ideal anti-social spaces we live in now. Isolation is a killer and starved of social contact, we can become easy prey for toxic friendships.

Building AI news anchor with Channel 4

Ian thinks: This is a good short piece about making a AI news anchor. The process is understandable but what got me was the wider impact of this has on general trust of news. Ultimately this all adds up to a lack of trust all around.

Undersea cable wars

Ian thinks: We already know how important undersea cables are but few are fully aware of the ongoing war happening not only in Europe but also across the world including the east China sea. As you can imagine with Taiwan and China.

Spotify’s affect on the music industry and society?

Ian thinks: Back in 2015, I headed up a project which needed 25+ types of music. I worked with students to identify the music; but there was a unreal moment when I needed to explain Spotify does not contain all the music in the world and they should look elsewhere. This interview is a clear reminder of the impact of Spotify and what the alternatives are.

Town squares are not global

Ian thinks: Eli parser’s speech at Vatican is a real detailed one, raising up a lot of the underlying fodder we seem to have forgotten. The line lets have faith, is just perfect

How loneliness is affected by culture and place

Ian thinks: This conversation is full of interesting points from the question of the 3rd place, mental health, etc. But what I found most interesting is the difference in cultures. Its why BBC R&Ds future of social report will go a step deeper. However the notion of online connection as the junk food of connection is quite interesting.

Making better use of doom scrolling time

Ian thinks: I think this is great. Similar to how many others are starting to use the user interface mechanics used to trap and keep people hooked. How many times in the past have you spent time clicking through Wikipedia, learning more as you read more.

Where does the UK stand on AI?

Ian thinks: This is a important question which Rachel Coldicutt uncovers. Our European neighbours have taken a clear stance of safety, while the American oligarchy find this bizarre, and can’t resist telling them during the AI summit. As the UK like the USA refuses to sign a international AI declaration. Is this a clear sign?

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Public Service Internet monthly newsletter (Feb 2025)

Woman looks to the viewer while a bot looks over her shoulder

 

We live in incredible times with such possibilities that is clear. Although its easily dismissed reading how Zuckerberg wants to dodge EU fines, the AI Brad Pitt scam and when will the car data grab stop?

To quote Buckminster Fuller “You never change things by fighting the existing reality. To change something, build a new model that makes the existing model obsolete.”

You are seeing aspects of this with Meta running scared of Fediverse links, large scale eink displays and the EU are on Musks case.

Cover your tracks?

Ian thinks: The EFF highlights how fingerprinting works using your own browser data. It seems so harmless but the site runs you through the identifying information and how unique you are to advertisers. Its eye opening and worth 5 minutes of your time.

Is Biden right in his warning of ‘tech-industrial complex’ and oligarchy undercutting US democracy?

Ian thinks: There has been a lot said about Biden’s last words before handing over to the trump presidency. I found the German broadcasters summary pretty good in explaining what a tech oligarchy means for us all. Also worth listening to Tech won’t save us deeper discussion on the same point.

Kurt Vonnegut’s letter to the future

Ian thinks: This letter beautifully written and read for us in the future, has a lot to think about right now. Quoting @andtobin’s comment for the video… “Kurt Vonnegut, always having the right of it. Benedict Cumberbatch, always reiterating the message perfectly.”

Luddites with mechanical eyes?

Ian thinks: Although Marx has talked about the Luddites term in the past, this updated insight is worth hearing, as written in his Futurism post. Looking and understanding of systems and technology like a mechanic is key to the decisions of these so called Luddites. I would describe it similarly to how hackers see the world.

Swiping to see if your home still exists

Ian thinks: A conversation between Sinek and Mills is emotional but digs deep into the problems of competition and true metrics. Although an American focus, there is a lot learn from this interview, especially around the importance of public services. We all need more of this.

Charlie LLM meets your Solid pod?

Ian thinks: This update from Tim Berners-Lee is a positive sign towards an AI agent using only your controllable data. I would still like to see Solid, use the human data interaction guidelines, as this would bring a level of autonomy to everything. However, one step at a time?

Nations fall without women rights

Ian thinks: The more sexist a nation the more fragile the nation is the core message in this economist short documentary. Its pretty self evident but this pulls together a lot of research from across the world. This is a message which isn’t getting through, especially with the recent call for more masculine energy. Its time this changed!

How we fell in love with plastic?

Ian thinks: This podcast, although obvious in nature doesn’t just chart how we got so in love with plastics but also delves deep into what we should do. Focusing on making the polluters pay, it pulls together a number of high profiles legal cases and points the way to change our love for plastics.

The second renaissance: A matrix fan fiction

Ian thinks: The matrix is already well established and a clear warning when looking at the current AI resolution. This fan fiction is striking and right on point as another warning of where we are and where we may end up if things are left to fear and ego.

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Tech needs more masculine energy? Really?!

Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg says companies need more 'masculine energy ...

This is such nonsense, more masculine energy? A sector which has struggled to be more inclusive and full of sexism? I put it to Mark and all the others with this warped sense of what it means to be a man; you haven’t got a clue.

Men dominate most high-paying and high-status fields. A large majority of high-level corporate executives, from vice presidents and senior vice presidents to C.E.O.s and C.F.O.s, are men. In the world of Silicon Valley — that is to say, Zuckerberg’s world — women remain a minority. About 25 percent of tech jobs are held by women, and according to a 2021 report, a scant 4.7 percent of companies in the Silicon Valley 150 have a woman as chief executive, compared with the roughly 6 percent of companies in the S&P 500 that can say the same.

– Jamelle Bouie

Its pretty disgusting to see the tech elite dripping over the change in American administration. They are demonstrating what I class as (although I do take the point of Richard Reeves) Toxic masculinity. Where is their backbone, where is their values? Pandering to this new administration because you are lining your already endless pockets of money says much more about these billionaires than anything. If this is masculine energy, then I’m not interested. I call total bollox on the whole thing!

When trump signed the executive order to leave the Paris agreement (complete with a drill baby drill comment) and join Iran, Yeman and Libya (you got to look at who you are joining!) I almost threw up in my mouth.