Inspired by the Incarcerated Workers Organizing Committee's [Technology Policy](https://incarceratedworkers.org/resources/iwoc-technology-policy), I've been advocating for groups that I'm involved with to take stock of their technology choices and how they work in alignment with - or against - the groups' stated values. But it recently occurred to me that I could do the same thing, as a valuable personal exercise and a practice run for how groups can do the same.
My first step was to consider how well the principles used by the IWOC fit for my personal framework. For the most part I agree with their assessment and their value criteria. It's not so simple as applying their example point-for-point, though, for a number of reasons.
An organization in some ways has more latitude to take an aggressive, principled stance and make commitments to improve these conditions over time. I believe that the ends can't be made to justify the means, but rather, the means must reflect the desired ends. This becomes more important at greater scales of organization -- at the personal level we have to acknowledge our limitations in skills, resources (including time), etc. But larger organizations have more resources and therefore more responsibility to use them appropriately. I believe when it's possible, it's good to "vote with our dollars," but I also believe voting is just one small tool out of many in the fight for collective liberation. These problems are too large and complex to be solved by individually [opting out of things like Facebook](/posts/leaving-facebook) or Google Search. At the same time, when we learn something new, we can do it for others or teach them! So, for me, it seems worthwhile to pursue these goals up to a poorly-defined point, provided that I can share my findings or otherwise help others along the path.
My first step was to consider how well the principles used by the IWOC fit for my personal framework. For the most part I agree with their assessment and their value criteria. And I agree with them that it is important, where possible, to align your means with your desired ends. This becomes more important at greater scales of organization. At the personal level we have to acknowledge our limitations in skills, resources, etc and not let these shortcomings distract or discourage us from contributing to collective liberation in the ways that we can, but larger organizations have more resources and therefore more responsibility (and opportunity!) to use them appropriately. So, I approach this project with a reasonable dose of humility, but also the hope that talking about my experience here will be valuable for other people and groups.
I would like to do a more thorough post about personal ethics and politics, but since I haven't yet, here's a quick outline of my ethics in relation to technology:
- I value privacy, accessibility, and decentralization as matters of personal safety and autonomy.
