Re: <nettime> Computational Culture issue ten. Special Issue: Situated Bayes

[Geoffrey Goodell via nettime-l <nettime-l@lists.nettime.org>]

On Sun, 03 Aug 2025 at 07:58:05PM +0200, Felix Stalder via nettime-l wrote:
> This reminds me of the discussion about online privacy and the control over
> personal data. Pragmatically, I favor privacy protection; it's one of the
> few tools we have to push for social values in tech. At the same time, the
> underlying idea of the sovereign individual who owns his or her data and has
> therefor a right to determine how it's being used (like with other items of
> property) is deeply problematic. Both for historical reasons (who counts as
> an individual capable of holding property?) and also for pragmatic reasons.
> Most data is a) transactional, i.e., not easily assigned to an individual
> owner, and b) necessary for the infrastructure to function, i.e.,
> withholding it means non-participation, a very unappealing concept of
> sovereignty.

"Once you eliminate the impossible, whatever remains, no matter how improbable,
must be the truth." -- Arthur Conan Doyle

Hi Felix,

You said it: It is not that there is no solution, it is merely that the
solution is unappealing.  I am not sure why you continued beyond this point,
assuming that there must be a way to distort reality so that overly comfortable
people can continue to numb themselves with social media, smartphones, payment
cards, and mortgages, none of which are necessary for happiness.

It is possible to enjoy sex and drugs responsibly, by which I mean without
creating pernicious relationships of power and accountability.

But in this case, the solution really is abstinence.  Loss of privacy from
exposure of personal data is about requiring accounts to engage in activities
that, under normal circumstances, should be possible without accounts.  We
cannot have accounts without accountability, and we cannot have accountability
without a power relationship.  But nowadays, people seem to think that accounts
are harmless.  They are not.

Do we really need the accounts associated with smartphones?  Do we really need
the accounts associated with social media?  And so on.  Seriously, try moving
away from these vehicles of domination.  It is not impossible, and it is not
unthinkable that we will benefit from undertaking some real effort.

Yes, we can.

Best wishes --

Geoff
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