TECH WE TRUST FOR A WORLD WE WANT

... then we can't trust ourselves, and if we can't trust ourselves then we can't trust each other. Tech We Trust is then at the heart of our cooperative endeavour.

We define Tech We Trust as those technologies that are equitable and accessible, putting our autonomy, privacy and dignity first. We use ‘tech’ broadly to include hardware and software, networks and devices, storing and retrieving and computing and sending data, sensing and interacting with the physical world.

Trustworthiness

Trusting entails a belief that a person or thing worthy of trust ‘looks out’ for our best interests. Although we have learned to pick up and process signals from people regarding where best to place our trust, the same is not true for tech firms or the tech itself.

More about trustworthiness on our wiki pages.

Equity

We believe everyone should be treated equally in terms of status, rights, and opportunities. As we define it, Tech We Trust is designed with due respect for equity, whereas Tech We Can’t Trust may well contribute to inequity.

More about equity on our wiki pages.

Privacy

Privacy encompasses more valued aspects of our lives than many people typically consider at first. One thing is certain however, those who design and sell technological products and services appear at best to have had too little regard for the privacy implications of their efforts, and at worst every intention to ride roughshod over them.

More about privacy on our wiki pages.

Decentralization

Decentralization allows us to converse and cooperate with other people more directly, keeping our interactions, choices and movements private. We will still use familiar technologies such as our smartphones, but our data will no longer all go through the same few giants. Interestingly, it might be that the value of decentralization is only realised when many people express a preference for such services, in which case why would the first few make the jump?

More about decentralization on our wiki pages.

Personal values connect who you are with how you behave. We have identified some values that we hold in common and that guide our collective action.

Trust requires integrity. We help get technology back on the right track — technology we can trust so that we may trust ourselves.

Equity requires fairness and inclusivity. As members working together, we will improve usability and accessibility, making sure everyone’s invited to our digital society.

Privacy requires respect. We help everyone get more agency over data about them, limiting others assembling detailed databases of our every digital action.

Decentralization requires all of the above. We will help (re)decentralize our technology, making it more resilient, adaptable, and more human.

The cooperative way requires openness. We will apply cooperative principles to make openness second nature and education and learning a core purpose. We will focus on learning to learn with curiosity.