Can We Build Tech That Is Not Oppressive?

https://substack.com/home/post/p-155550585

An excellent article by Afsaneh Rigot (known for her work on Design from the Margins). Particularly relevant to the fediverse:

"The experience of the most criminalized in the US and globally shows how power really works. This knowledge, the workarounds, can also be translated into stealthy tech design, build, and engineering choices that help navigate systems....There are so many other outcomes possible than what we think is inevitable. When done right, protective systems can be built in ways that make it much harder (and more expensive) to undo work — and the tools become something so secure and robust in useability, safety, and privacy. This is a big ask, but with technical skills, building against oppression can be achievable – especially when it shows the overall benefits to the integrity and robustness of platforms....

These methods are also vitally important as we look at building and introducing accessible — and privacy-preserving — new platforms and technologies that break the monopolies of Big Tech. Newer platforms need to make sure they don’t repeat mistakes and leave the same gaps that make them inaccessible or unsafe to those that need them most. Only then can they truly challenge monopolies. There’s so much potential if the right methods are used for better futures in our tech ecosystem."

#DesignFromTheMargins #fediverse