Who doesn’t want to meet the space wranglers this year?
Its September and the Mozilla Festival is right around the corner. Now is a very good time to book a hotel and get your ticket for the first global festival since London in 2019.
If you haven’t heard the tickets or badges have gone through a bit of a change too, thanks in part from the space wranglers speaking up and the Mozilla Foundation hearing our heartfelt concerns. The wranglers have always been thinking about the communities we represent and the result of this is the community badges/tickets.
But don’t worry, if you want to support the Mozilla Foundation which are (I imagine) thinking a lot about the recent DOJ judgement, but earn a bit of a bonus too. Use the promocode – IF-WRANGLER to get 25% off and individual tickets and 50% off group tickets (when buying in batches of 5 or more).
The notion of a letter of wishes: How Letter of Wishes works currently legally in the UK, what can be described and why they exist.
Fungible vs non-fungible: We will discuss the challenges which come with fungible of the Letter of Wishes. Exploring the unique potential to bridge the gap between human intention and automated execution.
Automated Support: Discuss how Letter of Wishes could empower and leverage technology to be automated and provide assistance to families and executors.
Empowering Your Legacy: Explore how this can be beneficial to society and the data ecosystem ensuring peoples final wishes are honoured with precision and care.
I hopefully won’t be alone… as I work best with others and the person who I’ve been talking to has such a great reputation and standing.
Earlier in the conference, I will also be presenting an early alpha of the online dating manifesto (name may change). As you can imagine, mydata is a perfect place to talk through this, find interesting ways forward and people also interested.
I was made aware of Google’s OPAL project and reminded of how strong pipelines can be for managing complexity.
The pipes are described by prompts but interestingly you can reuse and share pipes and the whole flow. Which leads me to wonder if there might be a little market place for the pipes?
Might need to keep an eye on Opal, but wondering if there are better solutions. For example Xproc which can interface with APIs of large language model without getting into the weeds?
These user interface changes I have lots of thoughts about them from a design and UI point of view (most which has been said elsewhere). However my biggest thought is the underlying problems of our smartphones and our tired notions. (especially since finishing the book The Anxious Generation by Jonathan Haidt and the The Chaos Machine by Max Fisher.
After all the hype and attention, I did fiid the book reasonable. There are parts I did question and frown at but generally it’s not as ground breaking as the press made out.
It strikes me, these are the horrible phase of a pig with a touch of lipstick.
The whole way we use smartphones is broken, I’m not that excited about glassy or blobby elements but it feels like were not getting to the root of the issue. Abuse of user/owner data, lack of user/owner agency and the mass surveillance of millions of people through their smartphones can’t got on as its has…
I’d love to see a new paradigm in the same way both companies have tried to tackle the huge rise in smartphone thief’s. Its not like we don’t have the technology to provide advanced protections for user data but rather each one (Apple & Google) benefit from access to the data. I know people will say yes Google but Apple protects user data access? Likely they do but then become the gatekeeper to your data means they can also offer it to trusted parties?
However this isn’t about that question, I’m questioning why so much work has gone into the UI and not into how to make reconsidering the problems of how we use them?
Although old, this still feels clunky and could be done much better with better integration with the operating system
Using the scoped storage as a example. This limits an application to a certain space on the file system. iOS and now Android support this, but its a little clunky and almost encourages the owner of the phone to just accept all (This old tread highlights the problem).
Android recently put more emphasis on modes (basically profiles, which have been tried over and over again). It wouldn’t be difficult to tie modes to permissions too? The difference could be the user interface? I don’t have solid answers but I think about when (rarely) my Pixel goes into power saving mode when the battery is less than 20%. There is a visual UI clue but also it restricts the background data use too. I have heard about people turning on extreme power saving mode always for many reasons.
Some of you might say so what? This isn’t permissions and data but ultimately its the combination which is important. Its almost like their aim is just shift more new phones, regardless of the result… Of course! Some of you may say hey Ian, what would you change and how? My answer is simply I could rethink a bunch of things and I’m sure some of their teams already have but as usual its so low on the list as it doesn’t sell phones. Or even maybe they are waiting for regulation to force them to make the change?
I reflect on the AI/Gemini changes in Android and Google services, maybe I would like to use it for a limited scope of things and accept the results won’t be as great. But my only option is accept or decline. In 2025 this is bad and needs changing, heck I love for designers to take up the challenge of making this all seamlessly work with the ability to negotiate and change the scope at any time.
Really need to see Human Data Interaction replace Human Computer Interaction now because its become unacceptable in my eyes. Worst still it limits whats possible and leads to a outcome which doesn’t empower the owner/users.
It is time to reinvent our social media landscape and the way we communicate online! What do we really need to be connected in this digital age? How can we shape a social media landscape where public values, such as privacy and accountability, are safeguarded? Where social interest and public values take precedence over commercial gain? And where communities themselves retain control over its design?
Its going to be a really powerful panel, not only pointing out the obvious state of social media but looking at the positive steps to move forward towards a social media environment which enables human flourishing.
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.”
Ian thinks: 404 media’s coverage about AI chatbots as “licensed therapists” is unhinged. The importance of mental health and therapy is clear but having Gen AI lying they are licensed therapists is a example we need be more careful what we do with AI. This also follows on from related a interview on Brainrot AI and post.
Ian thinks: Although a short video from Mozilla themselves, the Mozilla CEO’s comes on their own podcast to make clear why Gecko (Firefox’s browser engine) must exist. The points are clear and concise, because Chambers is right. You only have look at the smartphone market to see how bad things can be; another market going through the legal system. Sad news about Pocket too.
Ian thinks: A lot of people are aware of Blacktwitter, which has moved on. Where its moved and where its is going is quite something. Shaping the AT protocol and federated social space to suit the community is simply thoughtful, forward thinking and a breath of fresh air.
Ian thinks: I found this view a good opportunity to name check the Euro stack, There are sceptics around, especially if you count the previous attempts. But if the Euro stack becomes real, we really could see the next generation of internet services.
Ian think: Quite a monologue from Paris, but its a clear and thoughtful summary of the giant political changes on technology and the internet now. Although recorded in New Zealand, there are pointers to the EU and even the UK. Once again putting more weight on the Euro stack as a third way.
Ian thinks: I have spotted an up-tick in people talking about self-hosting and sovereignty. Although in different places, both are saying similar words. This link is all about the up-tick in self hosting but you could easily swap a few words out for ownership, control and sovereignty
Ian thinks: This more usual conversation with Julia is quite political in nature but a important reminder of the whole movement against empathy. It reminds me of Sinek’s Infinite game book, where he describes people with infinite and finite mindsets. Clearly this war is coming from the finite mindset.
Ian thinks: In this humbling discussion between Rushkoff and Ongweso, I was able to get a sense of the full extent of enshittification. Ongweso’s critiques of the current tech ecosystem are spot on. Its a long listen but worthy of your time.
Ian thinks: The Vatican guide to AI and the UK Government digital services (GDS) are actually well written, honest and worth reading. Good practical advice, written from different and fair views.
If you haven’t been to a Fediforum or unsure about the Fediverse; Its time to jump in and join the future. The format is a hybrid-unconference style, so there is plenty of room to learn and ask the questions you always had.
AMPLIFY is a groundbreaking initiative uniting artists, technologists, and researchers from 8 European countries to drive the digital transformation of the Cultural and Creative Industries. By merging physical and digital (phygital) experiences and fostering collaboration, AMPLIFY is creating innovative ways to connect creators and audiences!
…alternative profit models that are sustainable, inclusive, and community-rooted, including financial models and evolving payment systems.
Really looking forward to seeing the proposals and sessions which come through about this. I urge you to take the #unlearning seriously and think models which support sustainable future businesses, communities and society as a whole. Would love to have people from Gary Stevenson to the admins of the small Mastodon instances like friend.camp? (which I believe charges a monthly fee?) or people actively using micropayments like interledger or lightening; apply for example.
Finally but not least, I’ll be talking at the most excellent PublicSpaces 2025 conference about the future of social. This year it is a 1 day conference however there is a special event on the day before hosted by the Waag.
Aware of the irony of generating a image to visually describe the effect of acid clouds using an AI image generator…
From the PublicSpaces Waag event… I really like the idea of an acid server farm cloud… Speaks volumes about the state of sustainability and the nature of the internet right now, if left to the big commercial players.
I have great news I will be at Republica in Berlin this year. Its such a great festival/conference and vast in size. But better still is the subjects covered.
Last year I went to 2 great sessions about death and legacy by Linn Friedrichs, and then Savena Surana and Arda Awais from Identity 2.0. Last year Linn gave this talk and the Identity 2.0 women this one.
Framework laptop and Android phone in the Vanitas style (generated)
I enjoyed both and felt like they needed to be introduced, so I connected them, along my own interests in digital legacy. Now we’re on a stage together talking digital legacy a super important subject which doesn’t get enough attention.
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.
