“When I say that a public algorithm is “accountable” I mean that the output produced by a particular execution of the algorithm can be verified as correct after the fact by a skeptical member of the public”. Excerpted from Ed Felten, who also gives an example here: “Public processes often involve algorithms, and the public… Continue reading
Book of the Day: Open Utopia
“Open Utopia is the first complete English language edition of Thomas More’s Utopia that honors the primary precept of Utopia itself: that all property is common property. Open Utopia, licensed under Creative Commons, is free to copy, to share, to use. But Utopia is more than the story of a far-off land with no private… Continue reading
Tom Atlee on Societal Collective Intelligence Feedback Loops
Excerpted from Tom Atlee: “Intelligence is a cognitive feedback system that allows us to adjust appropriately to changing conditions. Here’s how it works – at least ideally: Using our intelligence, we observe and organize what’s going on in and around us. We learn – by reflecting on what we observe, calling up memories, and creating… Continue reading
George Monbiot: Why we need a land value tax
Excerpted from George Monbiot: “The most expensive flat in that favourite central London haunt of the international super-rich, One Hyde Park, cost £135m. The owner pays £1,369 in council tax, or 0.001% of its value. Last year the Independent revealed that the Sultan of Brunei pays only £32 a month more for his pleasure dome… Continue reading
Book of the Day: Coding as Aesthetic and Political Expression.
* Book: Speaking Code. Coding as Aesthetic and Political Expression. By Geoff Cox and Alex McLean. Foreword by Franco “Bifo” Berardi. MIT Press, 2012 Here is an overview the theme: “Speaking Code begins by invoking the “Hello World” convention used by programmers when learning a new language, helping to establish the interplay of text and… Continue reading
Who built the internet? Rugged individuals or the collaborative citizen?
Dale Carrico alerted me to this important essay: “Adam Fish helpfully summarizes libertechian, technoprogressive, Great Man, and peer-to-peer narratives of the creation of the internet.” Adam Fish indeed discusses the issue and an ongoing debate in the U.S. about ‘who’ created the internet. The different theories reflect different political ideologies he concludes. In this installment,… Continue reading
Ronald Wright: From the ‘myth of progress’, to the near-certainty of collapse
Complex civilizations have a bad habit of destroying themselves. Anthropologists including Joseph Tainter in “The Collapse of Complex Societies,” Charles L. Redman in “Human Impact on Ancient Environments” and Ronald Wright in “A Short History of Progress” have laid out the familiar patterns that lead to systems breakdown. The difference this time is that when… Continue reading
Historical examples of debt forgiveness practices
The excerpts below from an article of Eric Toussaint, which “is mainly based on the historical synthesis presented by Michael Hudson, doctor in economics, in several fascinating articles and books including: “The Lost Tradition of Biblical Debt Cancellations”, 1993, 87 pages; “The Archeology of Money”, 2004. Eric Toussaint introduces the topic: “In the present day,… Continue reading
Trend of the Day: Hacker Hostels
Excerpted from BRIAN X. CHEN: “This is not some kind of dorm, but a “hacker hostel.” It’s one of several in the Bay Area that offer short- or long-term stays for aspiring tech entrepreneurs on the bottom rung of the Silicon Valley ladder, those who haven’t yet achieved Facebook-level riches. These establishments put a twist… Continue reading
Book of the Day: The End of the Market
“The End of the Market argues that the credit crunch crisis of 2008 is not a bump in the road of the liberal era, but its end. But out of the ashes of rational individualism, a new vision is emerging where the community is the defining organisation and obligations, freely accepted and willingly discharged, become… Continue reading