So much going on this year and I have, as shared before, moved more to an offline way of recording my thoughts due to my dissatisfaction with the status quo of the tech industry. It has also been too hot this summer to spend much time tapping into my laptop, I have preferred to sit in the shade sipping cool drinks, greatful for not having to work. However I need to return here to capture my thoughts for a future contribution to the ONL26 course in October. So here we go!

Some really dreadful events have particularly motivated me to speak out again. Notably the suicide of Jason Arday. As ever the truth about the vendetta that lead to Jason feeling he had to die is only just coming out, all moves quite slowly in academia, not least reflecting the time it takes to process such dreadful news and to find out what really happened. This is one of the clearest exposés and I recommend reading it in full. It is chilling to know the details of the chief mischief maker in this story. A thoroughly unpleasant individual. And there’s a whole network of such people.

Another sad loss came recently with the passing of Dolly Parton after ” a brief battle with cancer”. A more generous performer and more genuine woman would be difficult to find. I admire her for how she used her insights into humanity in order to find her way through a professional career where misogyny and exploitation is rife and also “walked the talk” to ensure that her financial fortune helped young people and those less fortunate.

These may seem like 2 unconnected events but for me they intensified my focus on the origin of all that leaves me cold about the current state of our world. Jason and Dolly are great examples of the sort of people who should be celebrated as thought leaders. We can learn lots from them. In the opposite corner however are the greedy techbros and the current leaders of the “free world” who are happy to lie and trick their way through life to push their agenda which increases their wealth. This includes pedalling a vision of “meritocracy”. I maintain (as shared here before) that this is a dangerous doctrine which doesn’t bear critical thought. If you believe you have the life you deserve due solely to your own efforts and that others don’t deserve such a life then you need to stop and think about that. Humanity is now endangered by the greed of the few.

The recent catastrophic flood in Nepal is just the latest witness to the destruction we face as a result of man made climate change. And yet “leaders” still refuse to take serious steps to prevent the loss of habitat which will inevitably lead to human extinction. Where do we stand on the proliferation of data centres “needed” for the growth of A.I. ? I only see ignorance from most quarters, not resistance. Enshittification of the internet continues apace, the lies about fossil fuels continue to be accepted in the name of “growth”. Hence my choice of the shocking photo I shared at the start of this post. I adore our little cat, I love wildlife of all kinds but I have to face up to the fact that not all in life is rosy.

I’m glad that this jumped into my Bkuesky feed the other day. Camus rarely disappoints me. I have included screenshots from my Bluesky feed here rather than embedding the links (‘cos Enshittification) but you can find them under likes on my profile Please join me in choosing life!