As part of NGI Move and DataWatchers, Jennifer Veldman and I hosted a Millennials workshop at the Web Summit 2018 in Lisbon.
Motivations, hopes, achievements: digging into solutions for major societal challenges, this salon aimed at rebuilding a Millennials narrative that focuses not on how the internet has gone wrong, but how we believe it could be improved and contribute to a better society, thriving in a rich natural ecosystem. It engaged with Millennials from the Web Summit Social Innovation Village and local social innovation networks who bear with them that positive and emancipatory outlook on technology that Millennials should be remembered for.
The workshop resulted in proposals for future web applications. For instance, for what concerns communication between individuals, participants highlighted two objectives for future software:
- No hidden agenda by corporations (especially in wanting to keep us addicted)
- Building authentic human interactions/relationships
There should be open source and publicly-funded messaging apps or social networks: they would be built to allow P2P exchanges and adapt to users needs over time. Data is ephemeral, never stored permanently. It should be solely for communicating, not for competing (no paying for ‘likes’). Thus it wouldn’t host advertising: no brands, no lobbying, no state, no newspapers. In terms of governance, there would be rotating teams.