Jun 1Approach with caution: Crucial questions for the charity sector ChatGPT hypeWe need to talk about ChatGPT. I’m seeing a lot of posts on charity support sites or LinkedIn with titles like “5 ways to make ChatGPT part of your digital strategy” or even shaming charities for not “getting on board” yet. It’s easy to be dazzled by the promise of…ChatGPT7 min readChatGPT7 min read
Jul 8, 2022Pandemic Comforts for Hope and JoyFor the last two years I’ve felt like someone walking on the edge of a precipice. I’m still going, still moving forward — but a gentle shove would knock me right into the abyss at my side. Is it possible were emerging from that now? …Comforting Art5 min readComforting Art5 min read
Dec 14, 2019Paying to surveill: the new neighbourhood watchWhen tools like Alexa, Google Home, Siri etc, the helpful listening presence in your house, were introduced, one of my biggest concerns was that the record of your personal conversations would be passed along to the police and government. After all, if the database exists, authorities will ask for access…Surveillance8 min readSurveillance8 min read
Nov 15, 2019Thoughts on Reframing Disability summitI recently attended a thought-provoking event on Reframing Disability organised by the Media Trust. The focus of the event was about representation in news, film and advertising, and also hiring and employment practices in those sectors. I appreciate the organisers of the event for bringing a lot of people into…Disability4 min readDisability4 min read
Mar 23, 2019Member-onlySecurity Labour: The work of survivingThe web has always been a less safe space for women, trans and non-binary people, than for cisgender white men — although it may have taken a while for the rest of the world to wake up to this. …Infosec8 min readInfosec8 min read
Jun 12, 2018Pride Month: YouTube is demonetising LGBTQ+ videos and harming careers.In time for Pride month, YouTube’s homophobia and transphobia in its content policies has come back into public attention. Several successful creators on the platform have shown how the algorithms, which decides if a video can earn them income, are discriminating against LGBQ+ related work. This is the case with…LGBTQ4 min readLGBTQ4 min read
Mar 4, 2018#Time’sUp for charisma culture in the NGO sector.In the last few weeks there have been major stories about abuse in the charity sector. One at Oxfam. One at Save the Children. Sadly, I expect we will see more very soon. We should be furious about these stories. Just as furious as we have been about abuse in…Sexual Assault9 min readSexual Assault9 min read
Nov 6, 2017Online/Offline: Consent is everything.A Scottish CCTV company, marketing new cameras that can lip-read and record conversations, recently declared that businesses have a right to our opinions because, “voluntary customer service forms can be dishonest.” They expect their creepy product to be installed in your local mall so that shops can record and respond…Privacy6 min readPrivacy6 min read
Sep 25, 2017Trickle-Down Ethics: Why innovation won’t save us.Capitalism has entrenched itself in Western digital rights activism, in the adoption (conscious or not) of “start-up” ideology within our organizations. Tech businesses and the digital rights movement are so tightly tied together, sometimes it is hard to see where one ends at the other begins. Working alongside these businesses…Net Neutrality6 min readNet Neutrality6 min read
Sep 12, 2017Facebook has its claws in me and I want out.Facebook’s list of crimes is pretty extensive. Barely a week goes by when I don’t hear of some new action they have taken that causes outrage and seems devoid of principles. So the right thing to do should just be to quit right? Easy? A quick search on Medium gives…Facebook4 min readFacebook4 min read
