In this weekās discussion, Iām returning to the subject of Internet Governance and how the Internet is starting to become a weapon in International games of control and manipulation.
Last week, I changed how I link to articles Iāve read to make them more obvious and provide a better link for you to read them. As a bonus, I think it looks better. I hope you do, too.
If youāve been reading my writing for a while, you know that I have become evermore involved in Internet Governance, and I have even put myself out there to be part of the process that, in a small way, provides the guidance, structure and tools to run the Internet as an open, transparent and fair tool for all to use. This isnāt perfect, and those who are involved in Internet Governance would likely acknowledge that, but it is, at least, the best option we have currently. I was on the election list for the ARIN Advisory Council, and the results were announced while I was away. Unfortunately, I didnāt get elected, but Iāll definitely put my name in the hat again in the next cycle. Honestly, I didnāt think Iād do as well as I did, so that was a pleasant surprise.
The importance of good Internet Governance has become more critical, just as the rise of tech and the almost total inclusion of tech in every sphere of life takes hold. The more it is involved in our lives, the more important it becomes as a tool and, hence, the more important it is for it to be governed well.
This has not escaped government scrutiny and interest from around the world, with seemingly open states starting to try to wrestle control over this public infrastructure to impose their own will, with both good and bad intentions. Weāve seen the United Nations finally getting involved after years of leaving it to the ITU to deal with through the Global Digital Compact. The ITU mandate was woefully inadequate for what the Internet has become, with it no longer being a telecommunications network over which ISPs and telcos route data packets for a fee. The Internet is a place in the world āalbeit virtualā where, without it, you can no longer adequately function in many societies in the world. Two-thirds of the world is connected to the Internet in one way or another, and although the growth rate seems to be slowing, it is projected that the rest of the world will be online at some point in the near future. It wonāt be 100%; that is impossible, as there will always be a section of the population that will reject the technology, arguably wisely. I doubt that Internet adoption will reach above 80% in total, and I think that it will take at least a decade to get there.
_Source: https://datareportal.com/reports/digital-2024-deep-dive-the-state-of-internet-adoption
I think weāre heading into a critical phase of governance and the overall battle for control of the Internet. Iām deeply worried about organisations like Meta (see below) building infrastructure that they will inevitably use for their own purposes (be damned with the consequences) and the risk that brings for the world as governments become more entrenched in authoritarian ways. Mark Zuckerbergās turn to the right and the sycophant-ing to the new Trump administration is the first sign of this. The Internet has too big of an influence on populations for governments and ultra-rich private firms with diminishing scruples to ignore. The āSplinternetā is already here, albeit limited in application. The worry is that states that elect authoritarians and increasingly extreme right-wing governments will default to control of the Internet, just as they controlled media in the past.
This is why we need to fight back, and fighting back is by seriously limiting your use and engagement on big tech platforms that donāt have your interests at heart. Building your own tools for publishing, discussion, and diversion on the Internet will be key to online freedom in the coming years. The recent case with Open AI, which was accused of stealing social media posts and discussions to train its models, shows how the creator and originator of the posts made on platforms like Twitter, Threads, and Instagram are owned by the platform and not the individual. Go out there and start a little blog. Spin up a small social web instance. Keep it small and manageable, and then federate so you can participate in other discussions. It is not even expensive or technically challenging anymore.
I was thinking about this after ICANN published a blog post entitled Who Runs the Internet? Misconceptions About ICANN. The post responded to an article on a Russian site that seemed to criticise ICANN, suggesting that it ran the Internet and, hence, that the Internet was under American control. The article clearly signalled renewed interest worldwide in wresting control of the infrastructure. This is not the only incident, and it wonāt be the last, ensuring Internet Governance will be at the forefront of stability, democracy, and freedom in the near future.
What the Russian article did, however, highlight is that many, if not most, people have no idea how the Internet actually works and how it is run. This ignorance of the systems we rely on daily contributes to the decline in their openness as those with the finances, political power and a nefarious mindset start to position themselves in the debate, taking advantage of the general apathy and ignorance of the public. This may even contribute to the collapse of the Internet as we know it today, although that is a little way off for the moment. And despite me sounding overly dramatic, it doesnāt take long or much.
āHow did you go bankrupt?ā Bill asked.
āTwo ways,ā Mike said. āGradually and then suddenly.ā
From The Sun Also Rises, Ernest Hemmingway
I would add that we in the Caribbean are particularly at risk of the consequences of digital colonialism driven by rogue nation-states imposing their will on small territories without the resources or the organisation to defend the interests of an open Internet. There are even cases where governments in the region are toying with the idea of implementing restrictions on the Internet and freedom of expression through legislation. Itās a tricky one, and I donāt pretend to be a lawyer, but the slippery slope effect is often the case in situations like this, where initial legislation is the entry point for a much broader implementation in the future. Thatās something we all need to look out for.
Upcoming topics and discussion
I havenāt forgotten about the topics I mentioned last week. Iām working on them, but I donāt have anything in a form that I can write about as yet. Soon come.
Iāve also been working on documenting and writing out the margin notes Iād made on two papers about tech and AI. These things take time, and I hope you can excuse me. If youāre interested, they are:
Hype, Sustainability, and the Price of the Bigger-is-Better Paradigm in AI
(I lead an exciting life š¤£)
Lastly, I still havenāt written my thoughts on Caribbean federated instances. Itās coming, I promise.
Reading
Meet the underpaid workers in Nairobi, Kenya, who power OpenAI
Iāve written about this here in the past, calling attention to the practice of exploitation that seems part and parcel of big tech these days. Now, the US investigative show 60 Minutes has done a program about the issue. Pivot to AI has a write-up about it.
Tether Has Become a Massive Money Laundering Tool for Mexican Drug Traffickers, Feds Say
This is another topic that I have been a long-term sceptic of. Rather than being a solution looking for a problem āwhich is exactly how I still feel about Blockchainā cryptocurrencies have found their problem and product-market fit. Crime. That and, er, destroying the planet.
Metaās $10 Billion Plan to Build the Worldās Largest Subsea Cable Network
I canāt think of another company that I would least like to build critical Internet infrastructure (Google?). They have shown us time and time again that they are not good Internet citizens and that their motivations are so misaligned to a peaceful world that we should take a serious look at whether or not we should allow them to do this. Poorly behaved citizens are generally excluded (generally temporarily) from society, so should Meta in the case of its flagrant poor behaviour. Should they be allowed to invest? Of course, but not allowed to own and control wholly.
OpenAI explores advertising as it steps up revenue drive (Paywalled)
ChatGPT is about to peddle shitty ads next to its statistically-generated falsehoods, misinterpretations, and the occasional decent paragraph if the FT is to be believed. What a time to be alive. š¤¦āāļø
Meet Emma: The German AI Travel Influencer Stirring Controversy
āHow can a fake person in a fake place āinspireā anyone to travel to a real place?ā - Precisely. Please, I beg you, Caribbean tourism decision-makers, steer away from this, or at least put your personal wealth and reputation on the line if you truly believe this will produce any good for your destination.
This is POSSE post, federated to Mastodon. Have a great week.
