There is no Digital Public Space
There is no digital public space. It simply does not currently exist. Not in any real sense of the word. Whenever I read that Twitter or Facebook want…
Tag: democracy
Tech at the Center
In recent conversations, we repeatedly touched on the point that in some of the biggest societal challenges — specifically ongoing threats to democracy — tech appears to be…
Emotional Algos
Recently, this graph made the round on Twitter. It shows how news headlines have been getting more emotionally intense over the years: They appear to be written specifically…
The age of the digital railroad tycoons (Connection Problem S09E03)
Note: This is cross-posted from my newsletter in an attempt to both to make it easier to read this via RSS feed and to have this in my…
Two threat models for algorithmic decision-making systems
There are two major threat models to consider when discussing algorithmic decision-making systems (ADM) — which I’ll get to in a moment. The other day, when I spoke to…
How to plan & govern a smart city?
Taking the publication of Sidewalk Labs’ Master Innovation and Development Plan plan for the smart city development at Toronto’s waterfront (“Toronto Tomorrow”) as an occasion to think out…
The frustrating state of affairs: Merkel’s government & blanket surveillance
Every day we learn more about the role the German government and intelligence services play in surveillance of very dubious legality in Germany. We’ve been learning that the…