Wikipedia cofounder Larry Sanger, who has split from the organization, has new and big ideas. Some of them involve a plan to take censorship power away from the few and the powerful. Read on. Let me know what you think by leaving your comment on this page.
Proposing a Declaration of Digital Independence
By Larry Sanger, cofounder of Wikipedia
THIS MESSAGE IS mainly for the leaders and enthusiasts of the broad-based movement toward decentralizing content, but especially social media. I’m not trying to start a new project or organization—after all, decentralization is what I am encouraging. I’m partly trying to start a conversation among individuals, to get them thinking and talking—but on a massive scale. But I’m also trying to inspire people to action, to come together and go the last mile to achieving robust and extremely widespread decentralization.
I’d be championing decentralization, and I’d be up in arms about where the social media giants have been taking us, especially in recent years, even if I weren’t CIO of Everipedia, which is decentralizing encyclopedia writing. Like many of us, I’m incensed at Big Tech for their increasingly bold and arrogant incursions into both our privacy (which puts our information security at risk) and our free speech. As power has come to be concentrated in the hands of Big Tech corporations, they have increasingly posed a threat to our rights. So I’m impatient to see decentralization happen; only with the same decentralization on which the Internet itself is built can we hope to secure our rights to privacy, information security, and free speech.
I recently wrote a proposal on how to decentralize social media, and it got quite a bit of traction and discussion. The response amply underscored two facts: First, there is a huge amount of support, latent or explicit, for the idea of decentralizing social media; second, there are plenty of very smart people already at work on various aspects of this vision. (Continued…)
Read the rest of the article in Wired by clicking the link below:
https://www.wired.com/story/larry-sanger-declaration-of-digital-independence/
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I like the rapport you are building with Larry. A lot to take in but everything begins with an idea.
Worthwhile idea. Thanks for sharing it. I hope it takes off.
I read the whole article on Wired, and it’s a doozy! The author makes very good points, but at this stage in the game, he is pissing into the wind. Or, rolling a bolder up a very long Hill. I’ve been following the tech & infosec communities for several years, so I have some understanding of the Authors aims, but, he’s got his work cut out for himself. There are many working on this, especially block chain, and if he can organize conferences, then he might eventually succeed.
Here is another notable internet giant, Tim Berners-Lee, the true inventer of the WWW. (Not Al Gore) He is working on a solution along the lines of owning your own data, and a personalized storage, all based on Block-Chain technology. See this article:
https://www.digitaltrends.com/web/ways-to-decentralize-the-web/
As mentioned above, there are many independent developers working in this field, so, hearding the cats is the real issue.
Dear Sharyl Attkisson,
As always, thank you for your outstanding courageous work.
I just received in the mailbox my first paper copy of Orange Street News, written by 12-year-old Hilde Kate Lysiak. It contains her message to the Reed School of Media class of 2019, and her take-no-prisoners approach reminded me so much of you, I thought you’d appreciate getting to know a kindred spirit. Here is nugget of advice #6:
“Remember YOUR [sic] Boss
After I was first to break the story of a murder in my hometown, I was told by another reporter that they had the story too, but the police told them not to report it. So they didn’t. I was only nine- but seriously, I think I almost threw up in my mouth when I heard that. I knew even at that age that a reporter doesn’t work for the police. A reporter works for the people. You are reporters. You don’t work for the police. You don’t work for the government. You work for the people. And if you recognize that, the people will work for you.”
Here she is:
https://orangestreetnews.com/2019/05/15/osn-editorial-to-the-class-of-2019/
All best,
Shannon
HI SHARYL, THE IDEA OF FUNNELING ALL INQUIRY INTO A DATA BASE CONTROLLED BY SOMEONE WITH AN AGENDA IS DANGEROUS. THEIR AGENDA DEFINES THE RULES AND THEREFOR THE OUT COME OF THE INFORMATION BEING PUT OUT BY THE AGENDA SOURCE.. TO BE THE CENTRAL SOURCE OF INFORMATION FOR A MAJORITY OF THE COUNTRY OR THE WORLD IS TO BE ABLE TO CONTROL THE WORLD. WE HAVE FALLEN VICTIM TO THE PEOPLE WHO SAW THE OPENING AND THEY HAVE A HUGE HEAD START. I AM THANKFUL FOR THE VOICES WHO ARE CALLING THEM OUT.
I think a Declaration of Digital Independence might consider States replacing their Congress persons with Artificial Intelligence (AI). One IT Department in each State to program the Needs and Wants of the State Government and Constituents, eliminating all the Drama, Partisan Politics, Deceit, Manipulation, Campaign Contributions, Lobbyists, etc., etc.
There certainly appears to be No Intelligence in the current Congress and the cost benefits make a good argument.
NO MORE:
$179,000++ Salaries
Office Space in DC
Meals & Incidental Allowances
Airfares to Home States every weekend
Aids & Interns Salaries and Expenses
Paid Holidays
Federal Benefits
Time Off for Campaigning
Campaign Contributions
The List goes on and on but the Biggest Impact would be Taking the Money out of Government which would Dry Up the Swamp.