Mar 21 2025
I recently posted about how I want to build a better world through technology and how we can build technology that promotes opportunity, agency, and public benefit.
I’ve been thinking a lot about how we need to shape our collective understanding of the ethos of open source, and how to use business as a tool to promote mission-based work.
Here are a few areas where ideas are percolating and I expect to write more soon:
What does the evolution of open source from “radical” niche developers into the consumer mainstream teach us?
It’s clear that “open must win” in the AI realm so that public benefit is magnified. This is a huge topic, from definitions to community building to integrating open projects into robust products.
How does one use business as a tool to promote a mission, or to support a mission based organization?
This is a space I’ve been living in for 25 years and is more important than ever. I’ve lived through the changes different styles of leadership and different priorities can make. I’ve experienced how the logic of business is very strong, while unconventional thinking is — well — unconventional, and harder to institutionalize. I’ve experienced, and in some cases led, some big wins here and some big misses as well. I have a lot of ideas about how to do this in the current environment. I’m not alone in this, there’s a growing community of people thinking about these areas with whom I’m eager to connect.
Time of Disruption
So much is changing now. It’s a time of disruption at the individual, national and global levels. This means new ways of creating and organizing activities and developing new institutions is necessary. We need the positive forces of building and doing to be a part of the coming new order.
These topics are just a starting point. I want to get involved with people doing related activities, building, supporting, funding new technology and new systems. If you are deep in one of these areas, please do ping me.