2 min read

June14, 2021

June14, 2021

Testing 123, Testing

This the first protoype of a media source curation that has no pretension to authority. Its the culmination of a personal project that has, at the very least, the objective to  provide a demonstration of what is possible, how alternatives to dependence on algorithmic curation might still have some value and place, in an increasingly automated world. Systemic dependence and control relies on submission.

The underpinning technology is not significantly sophisticated. The software is open source and the hardware is second hand. (which means it could quite easily fail at any moment, so no guarantee of service is on offer. A later post will provide detail for those who might be interested.) The important point is that the creation and publication of internet media need not be relinquished to media monopolies.

The curation will take the form of email notification if you subscribe, but will be available publicly at https://gh3.100flowers.tech.

It is possible to have a linked Facebook page but its not quite ready for that.

Off Centre will be quite individual and idiosyncratic because it can be and because its not algorithmic.

It won't replace anything and consumption is voluntary.

European TU view on immigration to EU

The human crisis of economic refugees is not going away any time soon.

https://socialeurope.eu/eu-migration-and-asylum-pact-abandons-compassion-and-human-rights

The Colonial view of Latinos in Hollywood

https://www.latimes.com/projects/latino-gap-timeline-history-latinos-hollywood-movies-tv/

Life wars

The debate on the ethics and morality of artificial gestation is only just starting. Science is getting ahead of legislation, but freedom from reproduction, Shulamith Firestone's theoretical prerequisite for women's liberation is getting closer.

https://www.prospectmagazine.co.uk/magazine/replotting-the-human-the-thorny-ethics-of-growing-babies-outside-the-womb

Stay Calm and Liberal

A long time contributor to The Economist traces the history of liberal economics in the UK

https://www.prospectmagazine.co.uk/essays/condemned-to-be-liberal-why-britain-cant-easily-break-with-economic-laissez-faire

We are all just small screws of a big machine

"Workers are not being replaced by algorithms and artificial intelligence. Instead, the management is being sort of augmented by these technologies," said Nick Srnicek, a Lecturer in Digital Economy at the King's College of London. For example, with the development of digital technologies, management can monitor workers who are not in a centralized space, he said.

"Technologies are increasing the pace for people who work with machines instead of the other way around, just like what happened during the Industrial Revolution in the 18th Century," he said. "The same thing is happening today. Humans just have little autonomy over that."

Whilst this article unsurprisingly focuses on China, similar practices are evident in the US (most egregiously by Amazon).

https://asia.nikkei.com/Spotlight/The-Big-Story/China-s-tech-workers-pushed-to-limits-by-surveillance-software

Entertainment

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=06ht9MyJLT4