by roman philip: https://pub.yctct.com/
https://pub.yctct.com/asymmetry.pdf
“Many of us benefit from what technological
providers have to offer.
We use technologies knowing that the applications or the software we rely upon will increase the
power, speed and scale at which we can operate.
As we adopt a technology, we entrust the
provider of that technology with some of our autonomy; in return, we expect that the power of
that technology will further empower us. However, sometimes things don’t work out as expected.
The heteronomy of providers — that is, the influence providers have over users — can give rise to
adverse consequences. Users can discover that they
have been locked out, or they may be dragged along
through unwanted changes, or lose access to their
assets.
A key factor behind such problems is that, very
often, asymmetries of power exist between users
and providers. These asymmetries are not always
obvious, and sometimes users hand their autonomy over to these heteronomous powers with little or no
awareness of them.
This does not imply that we should reject
the usage of digital technologies, or to say that
we should decrease our usage of them, or avoid
large technology companies. But it is to raise the
question:
what would it take for users to leverage the power
that technologies have to offer without finding
themselves subject to the adverse consequences
which result from such asymmetrical relationships
to providers?“
