Re: <nettime> Francesca Bria: Our data is valuable. Here's how we can take that value back

[Patrice Riemens <patrice@xs4all.nl>]

On 2018-04-06 15:03, Felix Stalder wrote:
> Our data is valuable. Here's how we can take that value back | 
> Francesca
> Bria | Opinion
>
> Francesca Bria
>
> https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2018/apr/05/data-valuable-citizens-silicon-valley-barcelona
>
>
> Tech firms are emerging as new feudal lords. They control essential
> digital infrastructures – in this case, data and artificial 
> intelligence
> – which are crucial for political and economic activity. But it doesn’t
> have to be that way.

It is difficult and probably unwelcome to criticize such pronouncements 
and the policies which are behind it, given the sterling progressive 
credentials of all people and organsiations involved. Yet I cannot 
refrain from feeling like the French minister of the interior who in 
1938 (yes, my account at the Goodwin Bank accepts remitances ...) 
blocked the project to give all French citizens a personal identifying 
number and file, to be kept in a central Paris repository: "Je ne le 
sens pas" he said - I don't 'dig' it.

The pb is that while the 'Barcelona alternative' counters the 
proprietary appropriation of advanced data gathering, it accept the 
technologies that support it as a given. Yet it has never be proven that 
more information automatically leads to improved services and 
well-being. And well-meant technologies can always be corruptes and 
deflected to evil purposes.

To me it's like energy: not innovation but conservation/limitation 
should be the primary approach.

Cheers, p+7D!

PS Oh yeah, and it makes use the blockchain, so it's tip-top!
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