The Tech Capital’s Post

Tech monopolies are not special — just new. We can learn from other eras and sectors. When digital infrastructures are built, there's lots of ways to address the lack of democratic participation and public interest representation. But these changes won’t happen without proactive funding and bridge-building across movements, like competition policy and digital sustainability. Check out our latest report, commissioned by Stiftung Mercator, for recommendations to funders who want to tackle these issues in systemic and sustained ways.

Definitely worth a read. Grateful to have made a very small contribution to this report. It's definitely worth a read especially if you're working in philanthropy, environmental justice or digital rights. Some key takeaways from the report: 1. The goals of democratic societies are not the same as the goals of the wealthiest companies on earth.  2. Many digital infrastructures suffer from a democratic deficit. Impacted communities are alienated from the information and decision-making process about the costs and benefits of digital infrastructures. Nevertheless, they are made to bear the burden of their harms. 3. Democratic participation should help determine digital infrastructures' purpose and how resources are allocated to them.  4. Funding is vastly asymmetrical and current fiscal policies entrench these disparities. 

"Relational infrastructure is an emergent framework of trust, shared values, and common goals that allows individuals, groups, and organizations to work together effectively, pool their resources, and amplify their impact." https://lnkd.in/eHYJ-EdJ thanks for sharing Sam Rye Tijn Tjoelker

We’re proud to share our report Critical Dependencies: How power consolidation of digital infrastructures threatens democracies—and what we can do about it. It’s written to help funders who want to better understand how to strengthen the public’s interest in digital infrastructures at a systemic rather than symptomatic level. The report summarizes harms caused by unhealthy dependencies and recommends how to challenge power consolidation and foster meaningful alternatives. https://lnkd.in/eQhzzMjM Some of the wealthiest companies in the world spend billions in lobbying, sponsoring research, obscuring their emissions and building out parallel energy and digital infrastructures to further secure their market positions. Meanwhile, deliberative democratic processes take time and resources. The public and, at times, democratically elected officials lack access to the data and decision-making about our digital futures. Furthermore, the technical expertise to evaluate these tradeoffs from a public interest perspective is structurally under-resourced. This report seeks to call out these maneuvers and recommend pathways for funding in the public’s interest with a focus on the energy and climate impacts of digital infrastructures and harms caused by current ownership models. We call for actions that are ambitious, collaborative and intersectional to help redistribute more power to the public interest and to just and sustainable digital futures. Thank you to Stiftung Mercator for commissioning this work and many fantastic organizations for your research and input. Carla Hustedt Elisabeth Noefer Lea Wulf Nikita Kekana Max Schulze Dr. Becky Kazansky Fieke Jansen Sarah Myers West Andreea Belu Raegan MacDonald If you’d like to learn more or explore how to apply these recommendations to your context, please get in touch! #digitalsustainability #digitalinfrastructure #publicinterest

Words of wisdom from the Sovereign Tech Fund on xz: “Just as physical infrastructure like roads, railways, and water systems are constantly being maintained, these digital components also need to be serviced and updated in order to serve as the foundation for digital sovereignty, a successful economy, and a resilient democratic society.” https://lnkd.in/dRZUsbpY

Digital Public Infrastructure has the potential to reshape economies and make societies more equitable!!

We're excited to share a special message from our leaders, Brian Moon, CEO of Pacific Telecommunications Council (PTC), and William Barney, Board Chairman of Pacific Telecommunications Council (PTC): On behalf of the Pacific Telecommunications Council (PTC), we’d like to invite you to our first-ever conference in Washington, D.C. Our objective is to create a platform for governments and members of the digital infrastructure ecosystem to engage in frank and open dialogue on key issues impacting the digital economy in the Pacific region and globally. For our first conference, we will have one of the U.S. government’s top thinkers and drivers, Ambassador Nathaniel Fick, Bureau of Cyberspace and Digital Policy, U.S. Department of State. Ambassador Fick has focused heavily on the Pacific region in the last two years and has been instrumental in bringing a number of joint projects to closure. He was a leader in the digital infrastructure space prior to moving to the public sector and brings a fresh and balanced view of the issues we are all facing in the new and quickly evolving global digital infrastructure system. Setting the stage for the conference will be Marc Ganzi, CEO, DigitalBridge, an industry leader whose investments in data centers, fiber operators, and towers have been one of the leading success stories of the last decade. His views on the region, including the new demand drivers such as AI and cloud, and his frank and open style of engagement will set the stage for some constructive dialogue on how to move forward as an ecosystem. Alongside these two icons will be one of the great scholars of the industry, vint cerf, Vice President and Chief Internet Evangelist, Google, who will be giving us his views of the next decade as AI and ML begin to shape how the internet is used. PTC’DC will also feature key industry CEOs, investors, government officials, and educators, including Randy Brouckman, CEO, EdgeConneX, one of the world’s fastest-growing data center companies; Gautam Bhandari, Co-founder, Global Chief Investment Officer, and Managing Partner, I Squared Capital, one of the world’s largest digital infrastructure funds; Dr. Takuo Imagawa, Vice-Minister for International Affairs, Japanese Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications (MIC), who leads its international policy operation; and Professor Eli Noam, whose work at Columbia University on AI policy is shaping the framework for how the EU and the U.S. government think about AI. Come join us at PTC’DC, on 5-6 September 2024, for thought-provoking discussions and much more! Register Now! https://lnkd.in/eqjjkuvj

Ready to rethink infrastructure for the future? Join Michael Flynn and Kelly Marchese from Deloitte in a discussion on integrating societal and environmental factors into infrastructure planning. Let's shape a better tomorrow together. #InfrastructurePlanning #SustainabilityGoals #FutureForward https://lnkd.in/dARVXgh5

Access to fast and reliable internet is at the heart of building successful futures for all Americans. This Government Technology Insider article shares the work that Lumen has been doing to solve the middle-mile challenge for California and Oregon. These public-private partnerships kept costs down and ensured that internet got to the places it needed to, quickly. #middlemilechallenge #digitaldivide #digitalinclusion

Access to fast and reliable internet is at the heart of building successful futures for all Americans. This Government Technology Insider article shares the work that Lumen has been doing to solve the middle-mile challenge for California and Oregon. These public-private partnerships kept costs down and ensured that internet got to the places it needed to, quickly. #middlemilechallenge #digitaldivide #digitalinclusion