Why “theft” is the wrong word for training AI
My personal, always evolving thoughts on text and data mining and how that relates to Open Source AI, the commons and other laws.
Category: Essay
Long-form articles
Free software: It’s time to define “user”
The FSF and Richard Stallman need to recover for a generation lost behind a world that doesn’t matter anymore. Free/libre software is at a crossroads: What are the four freedoms for these days? How do you apply freedom in the modern technological landscape?
The Privacy Shield Fell — Now What?
Personal data flows between countries as fast as dollars and euros. The current of personal data between US companies and European citizens was abruptly switched off after Europe’s top court killed a trans-Atlantic agreement that allows data to move between the European Union and the United States.
Internet Explorer is dead and we’re all the worse for it
The death of the 25-year-old browser shoves us one step closer to a monoculture, with two or three big corporations owning our digital life.
Why online conferences are failing to engage
The idea that the online conference needs to replicate the offline experience is insane. Stop trying.
Why master/slave terminology needs a massive rethink
What if resisting to change the master/slave terminology is due to a concentration of programmer/tech types using English as a second language?
Why the European Union wants a single market for data
Data would flow within the EU and across sectors by 2030, according to a recent proposal.
Why Richard Stallman doesn’t matter
Too many people have joined the chorus of cacophonous conversations online about booting Richard Stallman from the free software movement. They claim that his social behavior has prevented more people from joining. There are conspiracy theories claiming a hit job by an evil corp. The point that everybody misses is that Stallman’s views on software…
We Must Replace the Internet’s Ad-Based Business Model Before the Ads Drive Us All Insane
I want the last clickbait article I ever read to be titled: “The Internet found a smarter way to deliver and reward quality content. You won’t believe what happened next.”
Why the OpenStack community voting process fails and how to fix it
Open source communities offer a lot of democratic participation. The idea that you contribute to a project and have a say in its governance is a powerful one. When it doesn’t work, those same projects turn their backs on active contributors and discourage newcomers. The most recent OpenStack elections for Individual members to the Board…