F/LOSS
Why I love F/LOSS
It's back to basics with an essay about Free/Libre and Open Source Software, and why I think it matters – especially for people who don’t yet know it well. What is it, and why should you care about and for F/LOSS?
ginger coons
bookpile
Bookpile 3: Standards and their Stories
Bookpile is short posts on Fridays about what I’m reading now and what I’m liking about it. This week, it’s Standards and their Stories, a collection edited by Martha Lampland and Susan Leigh Star.
art
The Ubiquitous Monster Game
In 2018, I mentioned the Ubiquitous Monster Game in a project about 5G/Internet of Things for public good. Ubiquitous Monsters were the worst-case case. Here, I go into more depth on the Ubiquitous Monster Game itself, and what it can teach us.
coping
Coping 2: Braindumps
Coping is short posts on Fridays about coping methods for doing creative and focused things in an unfocused world. In Coping 2, braindumps.
ELSA
AI-cologies for everyone
What is an AI-cology, why does it matter, and what is it good for? AI-cologies are a way of thinking about, locating, and questioning the ecologies around and in a particular AI-involving system. This essay takes the example of one specific camera to explain how AI-cologies are constructed.
coping
Coping 1: Rage-making
Coping is short posts on intermittent Fridays about coping methods for doing creative and focused things in an unfocused world. They are often not at all novel, but I want to highlight them because, for me at least, they work well. In the first Coping, rage-making.
nature
Interview with the seagull
What does it mean to think about the planet’s inhabitants, beyond the humans? Is thinking about them enough, or do we need to find ways to consult them?
bookpile
"Book"pile 2: The Real World of Technology
Bookpile is short posts on Fridays about what I’m reading now and what I’m liking about it. In this week's Bookpile, Ursula M. Franklin's The Real World of Technology.
ELSA
What I mean when I write about ELSA
There’s a concept called “ELSA” that I talk about a lot. As you might guess, ELSA is an acronym. It stands for “Ethical, Legal, and Social Aspects.” Used in the study of emerging scientific and technological developments, it brings people with expertise in ELS aspects to the table.
bookpile
Bookpile 1: Enshittification
Bookpile is short posts on Fridays about what I’m reading now and what I’m liking about it. In the first Bookpile, Cory Doctorow’s Enshittification.
art
Digging the internet
In 2014, I made an installation about digital enclosure, bringing visitors into a world of subversive online activism. A group called the True Equalizers were agitating to build new networks, not overseen by the all-powerful internet overlords who controlled the flows of socialization and access.
meta
Check your spam
A quick note for those trying to create accounts and receive updates by email. Because not-so-obvious.net is a pretty new domain name, emails may be landing in your spam folder. If you're trying to sign up, look out for a confirmation email to complete your