We know that Big Tech is not the kind of technology we want or need. So how do we imagine something better? What should digital technology look like if it were designed to serve human needs rather than endless growth and profits?
This talk introduces degrowth as a useful lens for rethinking digital technology. Degrowth calls for a democratically planned reduction of production and consumption in wealthy countries, so that economic activity stays within planetary boundaries while meeting people’s needs. It proposes three fundamental rules to restructure the economy: respecting planetary boundaries, ensuring a fair and democratic allocation of resources, and meeting human needs. Taking these principles seriously implies a deep transformation of our economic system, and therefore of how digital technologies are owned, governed, financed, and built. The talk sketches key pathways for a degrowth-aligned digital tech space and points to existing alternatives and concrete examples that show these ideas are already being tested in practice.
This talk is proposed by Sebastian Uribe and Aureliane Froehlich. We are active members of the International Degrowth Network, with an interest in supporting alternative models for the digital economy.