It has always been clear to me that #bitcoin is not just environmentally but also socially destructive. 1/6 As a deflationary (by design and intent) currency, it promotes hoarding (hodling, if you will), favoring the rich who can afford to sit on their assets and live off their appreciation. 2/6

I have long wondered why "big data" and AI are bringing back the worst kind of science from the late 19th and early 20th century, namely eugenics (assuming "intelligence" is bred, rather than acquired), physiognomy (linking measurements of the body to mental/social… …characteristics) and behaviorism (postulating that external observation, rather than introspection is key to understanding human beings). Slowly, I think I start to understand. What connects these approaches is that they all side-step questions of consciousness.

1/ This paper by @salome_viljoen_ is one of the best, and most substantial, pieces I know of on how to think of data politically.
papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cf… 2/ By now, many people are aware that the current model of nearly unchecked data extraction by large companies is terrible, for many reasons, not the least in terms of concentration of power and wealth. But what do about it?

Australia's proposed "media code" bill is a terrible solution to a very real problem and offers no template for Europe. In a nutshell. It proposes that media platforms, such as Google and FB, pay news orgs whose content is acessed through their platform. 1/ Sounds good? There are real problems. First, there is a very narrow definition of what media orgs are. Mainly concentrated corporate media (and the Guardian). Likely main beneficiary. Sky/Fox. Likely losers, small, local, and innovative media companies. 2/

1/ So, I read @adriandaub “What Tech Calls Thinking”, a book I was predisposed to like, not just because I’m interesting in the topic (a cultural critique of tech), but also it caters directly to people like me who believe in the value of higher eduction and critical thinking @adriandaub 2/ And how does tech, that is Silicon Valley, think? Basically, like bumbling undergrads who grab trivialized versions of serious concepts, which they misinterpret to provide their privileged and parochial experiences with faux drama (dropping out! disruption!) and universalism.

1/ So, I read “Blockchain Chicken Farm" by @xrw . It’s one of the best books I read this year, not just because its starting point (the countryside) is counter-intuitive for a “metronormative” person like me, but also because it’s much more than simply a book about tech. @xrw 2/ It’s a reflection on the transformation of social and natural life under digital capitalism, full of off-hand remarks such as: The “right to privacy is not an individualistic one of secrets and stories, but a social one that requires us to lead with trust in our daily lives.”

So, ich habe das neue Buch von @Viktor_MS gelesen. In a nutshell: Nicht Rechenleistung, nicht Algorithmen, nicht Data Scientists, nicht Risikokapital sind knapp, sondern der Zugang zu Daten. Die grossen Firmen (in USA und China) haben alle Modelle entwickelt, (1/5) @Viktor_MS durch die sie immer mehr Daten sammeln, so dass ihr Konkurrenzvorteil immer grösser wird und sie de-facto Monopolstatus erreichen. Europa kommt dabei immer mehr ins Hintertreffen, Innovation wird abgewürgt, eine neue Form des Kolonialmus entsteht. (2/5)

While we continue to talk about #Tracing apps, we are missing out in what happens on the level of infrastructure.

I see three things:

1) Amazon and other "just-in.time" services are becoming essential infrastructure. Thus consolidating their (near monopoly) power. 2) Social media companies are consolidating their central role shaping public discourse. How? Content moderation is expanded, and, as the lock-down keeps workers at home, and the rest is focused on Covid-19 stuff, more & more is being automated, further reducing accountability.