Across the globe, tech companies are racing to capture public infrastructure, promising governments that their algorithms and technical systems will “modernize” public sector operations.

On this episode, hosts @alixdunn.com , Prathm Juneja, and Georgia Iacovou pick out the highlights of this year, play back some clips, and make some… interesting predictions.

@bencollins.bsky.social, sometimes affectionally dubbed “Tim Onion,” is the CEO of @theonion.com. He sat down with @alixdunn.com at Mozfest to tell us how they freed the satirist publication from the clutches of advertisers to make the best version of the paper they could.

@alixdunn.com sat down with @audreyt.org at #Mozfest to learn more about how we can train algorithms away from breeding outrage, how to make social media platform-agnostic, and how this could be possible with Audrey’s six-pack of care.

But as Luisa says, “everyone loves talking *about* the next generation, but I’m not sure they like talking *to* the next generation.”

Young people will inherit this world, which is why her organization EquiLabs engages youth to have a say in the technological decisions that inform their lives.

@alixdunn.com sat down with @abeba.bsky.social at Mozfest to hear how this all went down—and some of what Abeba wanted people at the UN to understand about how AI encodes and exacerbates existing societal injustices.

@mozilla.org is one of the most known and liked brands in public interest tech. This visibility—and the resources from its market share—position Mozilla Foundation to play an important role today.

But what should a foundation like Mozilla do in an era of uncritical hype around for-profit AI?

Can a chatbot therapist really replace a human one? The simple answer is, no of course not. But as always, it’s a little more complicated than that.

Access to (real, human-to-human) therapy is limited. You need money, and probably have to jump through a lot of hoops.

If you breathe in too much nitrogen oxide, you are at a higher risk for heart disease, lung damage, and more.

So why is Elon’s supercomputer allowed to use 33 gas turbines that are pouring nitrogen oxide into Memphis’ air, increasing their NOx levels by 79% in a single year?

Turns out, it’s not.

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How do you run a city when tech companies are selling "solutions" for problems they helped create?

There’s nothing sweet about Project Sucre.

Curious about this huge project with a euphemistic name? All you get is a fully redacted proposal from the parish. That’s what organizers like @kadeeja.blacksky.app are up against in Louisiana, a state with one of the most strained energy grids in the US.

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Why do all the platforms we love eventually become terrible?

There's a name for this all-too-predictable decline, coined by our guest this week, writer and activist Cory Doctorow (@pluralistic.net.web.brid.gy): enshittification.

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Thought we were at peak scam? Well, ScamGPT just entered the chat. This week, we're talking about how generative AI is supercharging the global fraud industry.

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Want to be your own boss? Work from home and achieve financial freedom?

This week, we're talking about the original "innovation" that perfected that pitch: the Multi-Level Marketing scheme.