did you meet that interesting person on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, or Shapr?
· did you remember to repost on Tumblr that awesome thought you had this morning?
· did you copy your resume on iCloud Drive to Google Drive?
· when is your next dental appointment?
to answer these questions you need to launch different apps from different service providers to get access to different repositories of your personal_data)
· that is inefficient, cumbersome, annoying, and error·prone
you should be able to access any of your personal data on any device, at any time, thru an efficient, responsive, and helpful interface
· you should also be in total control over your perosnal_data, specifying who can view it, who can change it, and how it must be disposed of
· you deserve one interface, one place to control all your data
in addition, the companies that constantly misappropriate and misuse your personal data must be encouraged to stop doing that by removing their superpower, your data
· you do that by placing your personal data on secure repositories that make it easy for businesses to behave responsibly, honestly, and lawfully with your data
· they would suffer real consequences if they do otherwise, including losing access to all such data by being banned from the network (after all, when criminals get caught breaking the law, stealing from people, or putting their lives in danger, they go to prison)
· only an environment that is not controlled by for·profit organizations—who do not have your benefit as their North Star, and who have shown time and time again that keeping your data safe will never their top priority—can help develop and nurture these platforms
instead of legislating our way out of our data·privacy and data·security problems, we must engineer our way out of them, developing robust, tamper·free, effective, permanent, and humane solutions
· the legislative approach is a good one, and it should be pursued
· but the engineering approach, the creation of infrastructure that implements the data_access, data_processing, and data_disposal policies that you specify, is better because it is actionable, testable, and improves
over time
· this is better than the fungible laws and regulations that the internet behemoths ignore with impunity, or whose costs are managed as the cost of doing business by these entities
a people·centric and people·driven ecosystem where human and nonhuman entities operate privately, securely, and safely is the best alternative to the dominance and criminality of the internet behemoths
· the human_internet is the network, infrastructure, and ecosystem that gives you total control over your personal data and the personal information entities create from your data and your online and offline activities
· the ecosystem, comprising many open and public computing platforms, provides effective alternatives to Amazon, Apple, Facebook, Google, Microsoft, Twitter, Uber, and many powerful yet unaccountable internet entities that give the pursuit of profit higher priority than safeguarding human safety and protecting human rights
the human internet also protects personal data from abandonment by entities focused on growth, profit, pivots, and exits
· by offering a common data_language, the human internet allows many data_specialists to speak the same language when it comes to accessing and manipulating both personal data
and business_data
· by using a distributed and federated computing model, the human internet provides people, businesses, and other entities, many options for housing data, which no longer needs to be hosted by entities who trade on that data and amass it to become go·to places for advertisers to target people with ads and to perform other—often nefarious—activities, including vote suppression and psychological manipulation
· companies like Facebook use deceptive and illegal practices to obtain as much personal data as possible, to allow the surgical targeting of ads to people who use these “free” platforms to conduct their digital lives
ecommerce companies like Amazon use their dominance to identify, target, and marginalize smaller businesses
· by implementing a platform for ecommerce and also being a participant in the platform, Amazon bullies its way to positions of dominance in many successful business areas, while making it hard or impossible for the originators of those successful products to reap the benefits of their innovations
· the creation and nurturing of open ecommerce platforms that compete with Amazon’s platforms is how humanity neutralizes Amazon, regardless of any other legal approaches governments take to curb Amazon’s cancerous influence in business and peoples digital lives
instead of promoting the creation of unicorns, the human internet supports the founding and nourishment of specialized businesses that focus their expertise and resources on one or a few sectors of an industry
· these entities do not pursue sky·high revenue and billions of users, at least not at the expense of the privacy, security, and safety of the people and organizations who use their services
· these humane entities provide the software and hardware components that work seamlessly with each other thru common languages, and that people use to tailor their digital life to their own liking, something that the internet behemoths—with their gaze glued to their bottom lines—are incapable of doing
to wield the same power the behemoths exploit, this new breed of smaller and more focused businesses leverages the public and open infrastructure of the human internet, which provides private and secure access to personal and business data
· companies cooperate to develop the data and interaction models that form the common language they use to
work with specific types of data
· they are able to leverage entity_data in standard and predictable ways
· this allows these companies to focus their expertise on the features and capabilities that differentiate their services from their peers
with many options for performing essential digital·life functions, such as making connections and communicating with friends and colleagues, people can design their own, personalized digital_experiences
· they do not have to settle on one behemoth’s way of facilitating personal_connections
this document discusses the values, principles, and policies of the human internet, how they provide a humane, secure, and safe alternative to the costly services the behemoths offer, and how businesses benefit from participating on an open, egalitarian, and humanistic ecosystem, where people and humanity are its principal beneficiaries
· the document describes solutions to the internet’s identity, privacy, and security problems, and problems with the credibility of content on the internet
sections:
- INTRODUCTION
- THE FUTURE
- BUILDING THE FUTURE
- THE HUMAN_INTERNET
- VISION, PRINCIPLES, VALUES
- CUSTOMERS AND BAIT
- IDENTITY, ENCRYPTION
- POWER TO YOU
- POWER TO THE PEOPLE
- A HUMANE DIGITAL ECOSYSTEM
to ensure our continued existence, humanity must dedicate itself to populating other parts of the solar system in the next 100 years and other star systems within the next 1000 years
· this makes technological advancement our highest priority
· this makes profit for profit’s sake irrelevant
· this makes war a thing of the past
· this makes care for our environment, efficient use of resources, and the advancement of humanity our only worthy goals
· dedicating ourselves to these goals will give each of us fulfilling occupations and new sources of food, and will ensure a bright and safe future for our descendants
· working together on these goals will help us to cherish and respect one another for the contributions each of us makes to humanitys progress
the internet community includes cisgender and transgender people, scientists, politicians, strangers, friends, and criminals
· the technological foundation that allows this community to exist is the internet protocol suite, which—while facilitating reliable and resilient communication—does not ensure verifiable identity, reliable privacy, and strong security in our increasingly digitized lives
· this is why people cannot trust the internet
many of the companies that operate on the internet, such as Facebook and Google, who publicly promise to be agents of good, have behaved dishonorably at best and criminally at worst
· this is why people cannot trust the companies that operate on the internet
Amazon, Apple, Facebook, and Google are good examples of entities who have improved lives and disrupted businesses and industries, but they have also behaved irresponsibly
· they have gained power and influence, and reaped huge profits as a result of their innovations
· however, most of these companies have not behaved humanely, and have used their power irresponsibly or criminally
· also, in many cases and at many levels, these companies treat their customers as testers of their products and initiatives, putting customer data at risk and costing their customers significantly in wasted investment and unrealized benefits
· some of these companies, like Facebook, have behaved criminally
· and, even after many perfunctory apologies, they continue to misbehave
humanity needs a better internet, one that guarantees verifiable identity, strong privacy, and reliable security, so that the companies who operate in it but still fail to protect peoples identity and data—due to negligence, incompetence, or criminality—can be immediately admonished or punished
· new, powerful and influential entities are being formed all the time, including travel and lodging specialists, entertainment powerhouses, and media conglomerates
· but the people whose data these new businesses manage are seldom informed of their data’s new managers, who may not offer the same level of data_protection that the original entities provided
in addition to the assets, expertise, and reach companies acquire to improve their business prospects, they obtain control over the personal_data of large numbers of individuals who rely on them to carry out their digital lives, and the business_data of business_entities who rely on them to carry out their missions
· Airbnb, with its purchase of HotelTonight, gains access to the locations and travel plans of HotelTonight’s human customers, which helps Airbnb but may be detrimental to the privacy and security of HotelTonight’s customers
· control over more personal information may help Airbnb grow its business and make it more attractive to investors
· however, while HotelTonight appears to respect its human customer’s data, Airbnb’s track record in that respect is not great, which makes the new entity’s effectiveness at keeping personal information secure an unknown quantity
· therefore, after the merger, the security of the personal data under HotelTonight’s control may be diminished in the newly formed entity
· this situation does not instill confidence in the security and safety of the expanded collection of personal data under the control of the new entity
HotelTonight’s human customers were not consulted about the new entity’s use of their personal information, which includes payment information
· but it did not need to do so because those customers agreed that HotelTonight could share their personal data with potential buyers and investors on its privacy_policy:
With whom do we share your personal information?
...
Potential buyers or investors - In the unlikely event that we wished to sell our business, we may need to share your personal information with a potential buyer or an investor.
in addition to a strong foundation, to satisfy the needs of its diverse population, the internet needs a similar diversity of business_models and experiences, closely tailored to the culture, tastes, and sensibilities of the people who are the source of most of the value the internet provides
· just a few corporations dominating every aspect of your digital_life is neither fair nor sustainable
· it has been proven many times and in many areas that diversity facilitates the creation of environments where fresh ideas are explored, nurtured, and allowed to grow, where different points of view and cultures are part of acclaimed
products and services
· a monolithic company, whose success is based only on the network_effects its users generate, is incapable of satisfying the nuanced needs of all its users
· what it does very well is attract users through its size and influence but not its features, some of which may not be what people need or want but are pushed onto people to fulfill the company’s business goals
· such a company is not motivated to make its services better than the competition
· its focus is on eliminating competition (using tactics such as acquisitions and mergers), or seeking user growth by applying its business_model to different markets
· this makes sense, from a business·growth perspective
· but, from a humanistic perspective, a person staying in a service only because eir friends, family, and acquaintances are also in the service—even as the service exhibits fundamental problems—says very little about the quality of the service itself
· people stay on it because they do not have a real alternative for staying connected to their family, friends, and acquaintances
· people need alternatives that are compatible with their sensibilities and tastes, and thru which they can interact effectively with the only family, friends, and acquaintances they have
if the product or service is free, then you are the product being sold to others, especially advertisers
personal information is a valuable resource that must be respected and protected, not treated like an expendable commodity (a lure) to facilitate the targeting of people with ads by advertisers, or to allow nefarious entities to manipulate peoples thoughts and opinions at a large scale
· companies collect vast amounts of personal data from you, your devices, the businesses you visit, and from entities dedicated to the trafficking of your personal information, such as eXelate and BlueKai (now part of Oracle)
· instead of using that information to help you or humanity, those companies use it to target you with ads, to sell you stuff, to feed their artificial·intelligence models, to shape your thinking, to make you act against other individuals based on their gender, race, culture, ancestry, or way of thinking
with their actions, these companies have earned their own disruption
· you must wrestle from them the resource that makes them so powerful
· that resource is your data, and you have the right and the responsibility to take it from them, to ensure a better future for humanity
it has become fashionable for companies like Facebook to call for regulation
· that is because, thru lobbying and other practices, they aim to get friendly regulation, like the California Consumer Privacy Act, which was made substantially weaker from its original vision by companies like Facebook, Microsoft, and Google
· while regulation, and even breaking up big corporations like Facebook and Amazon, would be beneficial to humanity, a better approach to addressing the societal problems these companies cause is to fundamentally change the relationship between companies and customer data (both personal data and business_data) into one in which they are data_managers who are given access to data by data_owners
· in other words, data_owners contract-out the management of their data to data_managers
· the owner can then end the relationship at any time, and for any reason, without losing any of eir data, and without having to then transfer eir data to the new service provider
· all the owner does is grant the new provider access to eir data
what people need to combat the data misuse and abuse designs of the behemoths is centralized and federated personal data management
· from the point of view of the data_owner, data management is federated among data_specialists, who, with the owner’s authorization, access and process eir data
· from the point of view of a data_specialist (a data_manager, data_processor, or data_architect), data management is centralized on one entity: the data_owner
· by procuring the services of data_specialists, the data_owner grants access to eir data to entities that specialize in the processing or maintenance of particular types of data such as social_data, communication_data, inventory_data, and logistics_data
· this way, the specialists provide services to the owner (such as social services, communication services, inventory services, and logistics services), synchronizing their efforts by using a single data repository under the owner’s control
· to facilitate data_owners and data_managers adherence to the laws of the different jurisdictions on which they operate, the owner can distribute eir data among several datapods, with each datapod_host adhering to local rules for data_acquisition, data_processing, data_storage, and data_disposition
the Peoples Own Data (POD) architecture implements data ownership rights, rules, and policies that give people and other entities absolute control over data that they own (owned_data), and data that identifies them
· regardless of how that data is captured, acquired, or produced, the data_subjects have rights over it, which allow them to specify how that data is to be accessed, shared, and disposed of
· data_specialists are not allowed to share personal data with other entities, including parent companies, sibling entities, and business partners
· entities who want or need to use any owned_data, must obtain authorization directly from the data_owner
data_specialists operate on top of this flexible infrastructure
· they include entities of any kind who need to access or operate on personal data as part of the services they provide to people and other entities
· among these entities is The Peoples Benefit Corporation, a humanistic and humane entity dedicated to individual and public good through open source, open standards, privacy, security, transparency, honor, responsibility, and accountability
· there is not a single entity operating in the internet today who can claim to posses all those attributes
· one of Peoples main goals is to promote the development and adoption of the next·generation internet
there are other initiatives and entities, similar to Peoples, that aim to give people more power over their personal data
· one of them is MesInfos (MyData)
· other companies, platforms, and organizations with the capability of giving the behemoths real competition are System76, UBPorts, and RISC-V Foundation
· however, they operate separately, without a single overarching vision informing their activities
· the behemoths have the luxury of exercising their power under a single vision
· to inspire and point toward a single goal the experienced engineers, scientists, technologists, anthropologists, psychologists, doctors, and advocates needed to give humanity a real alternative to the behemoths, these up·and·coming platforms must operate under a strong common vision, and shared principles and values, that ensure that the next evolution of humanity’s digital life is geared for, accountable to, and in the best interest of people
no one company shall have exclusive control over the infrastructure used to manipulate personal data
· the data_models and algorithms used to store and process personal data must be open and usable by any
data_specialist
· in fact, this is how the next·generation internet ensures the security and safety of personal information
· data loss and data corruption are drastically reduced or eliminated by making the formats of the data and the methods that manipulate it open to the public
· anybody should be able to view the specifications and analyze the source_code that implements them to ensure that they work correctly (do not damage data), operate securely (protect data from unauthorized access), and ensure the safety of the data they manipulate
organizations like The Peoples Benefit Corporation will use the open·source software that defines the next·generation internet to manipulate all personal information
· this means that any company can manage your personal data
· you can change social services (like Facebook, Mastodon, and others) as easily as you change clothes: while the clothes are different, it is the same you underneath
· you will not need to transfer any data from one service to another
· all you have to do is deauthorize one service and authorize the other to access your one set of personal data
· or you can authorize several service providers to access your social_data to create a customized social experience
to move humanity forward, people must reshape the business model of the personal information oligarchs, who collect, mine, process, package, and share your life for profit, while putting your identity, privacy, security, and safety at risk
the future is not intelligent computing available only to big corporations
· the future is you having the power of today’s desktop workstations on your wrists, today’s high performance computing available in your hands, and exascale computing power available on your lap
the future is not your information spread over data silos everywhere, controlled by profit·blinded, unscrupulous, and criminal organizations
· the future is the datapod (a managed collection of data and content controlled by you) with your data, accessed by trusted, responsible, and principled entities, who process your information on your behalf not theirs
the future is not one monumentally flawed interpretation of social computing
· the future is many interpretations of social computing that are culturally sensitive, catered for entertainers, politicians, intellectuals, teenagers, seniors, rocket scientists, astronomers, biologists, swimmers, skydivers, race·car drivers, bicyclists, runners, dentists, surgeons, teachers, tailors, architects, runway models, firefighters, police officers, lawyers, each with their own practices, norms, acceptable content, and so forth, which are not specified by companies with their eyes glued to the bottom lines of their balance sheets
the future is hyperdata
· by leveraging more capable and flexible digital devices, data no longer has to be a one·dimensional collection of facts and content
· hyperdata uses your devices (and other devices available to it) to provide you the information you need when you need it, unbiased
· backed by public knowledge and interactions with appropriate entities, hyperdata works for you, providing you information that is always useful to you because hyperdata knows you, what you need at a specific moment, and what you like the most
· Waze showing you an ad for Burger King as you as you stop at a stoplight is not hyperdata; that is just Google making money
· your TV suggesting Braveheart Sunday afternoon after you did some research last Monday for your upcoming visit to Europe, and booked that paintball event for your nephew on Thursday is hyperdata (plus, it has been a little more than a year since you last saw the movie)
the future is the hyperweb, a dynamic network of hyperdata, cooperating to improve the lives of their owners behind the scenes but never behind their backs
and this amazing power will be owned and controlled by people
· this technology will be open to everyone
· it will not be controlled by entities bent on making profits at any cost
· in the future, when it comes to personal information, people will have the first and last word because on Mars, on Europa, and on Proxima b there is no Facebook (Facebook is not an instrument of human exploration, of human advancement, it is an instrument of naked profit, for few)
· people will take their data and their own humane internet with them when populating other planets and moons, and when traveling our galaxy, no Facebook needed or wanted
the internet has gotten the way it is—dominated by entities who use personal information to make money, and the home of criminals who steal information from its rightful owners—because it was developed without human
values or principles
· its creators could not have imagined the wonderful innovation it would facilitate
· they also could not have foreseen the abuse, disrespect, and contempt for the digital life of individuals that its major users would bring to humanity
we must take the initiative in the digitization of our lives
· most companies have demonstrated that their motives are always skewed toward profit,
if not pure greed
· while making a profit is good in general, something is lost when every aspect of humanity is viewed through the lens of profitability
· Boeing had this view when it decided to offer for sale a flawed, unsafe plane, to try to compete against better·designed planes from Airbus, and put in peril the lives of the millions of people who fly every day
· Eli Lilly and other drug manufacturers make large profits out of the lives of people with diabetes because they can; people generally pay anything to stay alive
· and Facebook uses data we provide willingly about ourselves—although enriched with an incredible amount of data about us, our family, our friends, our colleagues, and anybody who grazes our orbit in any way—to generate large amounts of revenue and profit without regard to the risks to our privacy and safety, despite any public pronunciations of its executive officers, as former employees and internal communications demonstrate
no, we The People must take charge of our own digital life to make sure that it is free of entities who work against our best interests, and that it is guided by human·centric principles of honesty, responsibility, and accountability
· the behemoths can join us under our terms or stay behind
our digital life has been co-opted
· to ensure our privacy, security, and safety, we need to create a version of digital life that is fundamentally different from the one the internet oligarchs dream of
· we need to develop an open and secure digital infrastructure that enforces privacy, security, and safety
· we cannot leave those characteristics of a digital life that benefits its human participants in the hands of the perpetrators of transgressions with personal_data and our private lives
we must use the lessons we have learned from the acts of unscrupulous entities, who are bent on making profit regardless of the risks placed on human beings
· we must develop a humane internet
· the company that will help bring about that new ecosystem is The Peoples Benefit Corporation
a benefit_corporation is a business entity whose priority is not solely making profit
· instead, it dedicates itself to bigger, more impactful goals, and makes itself accountable for accomplishing those goals on behalf of its stakeholders (customers, employees, and communities) before generating riches for its shareholders
· benefit corporations also commit themselves to the protection of the environment
· notable benefit corporations include Patagonia, which is a highly successful manufacturer of active apparel and accessories
· its customers value its products not only because of their high quality, but for its dedication to protecting the environment from the damage the manufacturing process can cause
· Patagonia dedicates itself to making durable, repairable, and recyclable products, minimizing the ecological impact of its business on the environment
The Peoples Benefit Corporation commits itself to protecting the data of the citizens of the human_internet, which include people, organizations, and other types of entities
· as the founder of the human internet, the activities of Peoples are geared towards ensuring that people and other entities have complete control of their personal_data and entity_data
· Peoples will help develop the open and public platforms on which people and businesses operate
· these platforms will ensure the privacy, security, and safety of data and its owners
another benefit of benefit corporations is the publicity that their dedication to benefiting society and the environment provides
· this helps them attract talent that shares the organizations principles and goals
· it also makes the corporation attractive to investors vested in the public good and the environment
the commitments of The Peoples Benefit Corporation include:
- contribute to the formation, nurture, and expansion of the human internet to ensure that people and entities have an effective option for managing their personal and business data
- introduce and help develop the digital_organisms that help people and entities manage their data and interact with other entities privately, securely, and safely
- help develop the open and public platforms on which data and digital organisms operate securely and safely
- help people and organizations participate responsibly and honestly in the human internet
- use technology and markets to inspire, design, and engineer solutions to the personal·data crises fostered by powerful internet companies who deceive their users with misleading messaging, and abuse their access to sensitive personal data
before Peoples can develop truly robust and reliable digital_organisms that manage entity_data, it must design and implement the foundation on which those components run
· app crashes, system reboots, and data backup, among other annoying, tedious, and time·consuming activities, are things people do not want to deal with most of the time
· secure, capable, reliable, and robust software must be based on the most secure, capable, reliable, and robust technologies available
OpenBSD is the most secure, reliable, and robust foundation on which to base the first incarnation of the human internet
· its openness, community, coding practices, encryption support, and dedication to correctness, make it an obvious choice as the starting point of the peoples operating system
OpenZFS also provides important foundational technology: an open, reliable, robust, and secure filesystem with which a device can manage local data and content
the third leg of this foundational platform is OpenIPFS, an implementation of IPFS
· OpenIPFS enables digital organisms to communicate, research, and learn over the human internet
the final component of the base platform is dGround
· dGround implements the essential services needed by digital organisms
· it provides the computational, storage, and networking facilities that organisms use to do their work, including fulfilling peoples queries and commands
· its main objective is to adapt aspects of OpenBSD, OpenZFS, and OpenIPFS so that they are usable by the organisms living in a device
the main digital organism that lives in a human·internet device is called Hedy
· Hedy is the organism that responds to person·initiated queries or tasks
· it performs the functions of a personal_assistant in the human internet
in addition to its personal·assistant duties, Hedy takes care of the personal data under its purview
· that is, Hedy ensures that the data is secure and safe
· this is the organism that manages all the other organisms, ensuring that they have the resources they need to operate effectively and that they behave as they should
Hedy also orchestrates the operations of digital_agents, which perform tasks for device owners
· through Hedy, these agents access or modify the owners data in response to the owners requests, or requests by other agents whom owners authorize to access or modify their data
another of Hedy’s responsibilities is to convey information to the owner in response to owner requests
or when needed
· depending on the owners device_context and life_context, Hedy conveys information to the user using text, graphics, sound, speech, or a combination of these and other interaction modes
Peoples will work on designing and prototyping the human internet in earnest
· the initial areas of focus are personal_connection and thought_sharing
· people who help get the ecosystem off the ground by trying out prototypes will be able to share their thoughts with others with no influence, oversight, or interference by any other entity
the main software component that will make this possible will be called Peoples·OS
· a BSD·derived operating system, Peoples·OS will run initially only on desktop computers
· and those computers must have a secure_element
one of the roles Peoples will play in the human internet is that of datapod_host
· Peoples will store the personal data of human·internet explorers using secure datapods
· as with any prerelease software, all data stored in the prototypes is considered expendable
· testers must not store sensitive personal information on their test datapods
there will be no automatic migration of data from the prototype to the first public iteration of the ecosystem
· when that first wide·availability version of the human internet is ready for publication, in about five years, testers will have to “manually” copy the data they wish to make public for everyone to see to the “public” version of the ecosystem
the internet needs to reflect humanity, and humanity needs honest and trustworthy digital connection
a lot of the problems we find in the internet stem from the fact that it has no human values
· even though it provides fast, efficient, and resilient digital communication, the internet is an amoral construct, created to provide a reliable means of communication to humanity
· but it lacks a moral center, a way to guide its operations so that they benefit its principal denizens, people
· we need a humane internet, possessing values and principles that reflect the best of humanity, and help it resist its worst impulses
with time and through the misdeeds of powerful internet·based entities, we have learned that we need to impose rules that specify what entities can and cannot do with our personal information
· without effective rules, companies like Facebook, Google, and many others feel free to do whatever they want with personal_data as long as they make money from those actions
· through their actions (and sometimes through public announcements), companies are asking to be regulated
· the human_internet is the answer to these requests that actually delivers a benefit to people and humanity
the human internet aims to leverage the most advanced technology available to people to protect their identity, enforce their right to privacy, and secure their personal data
companies ask for regulation, but why should we trust that they will follow new rules when they have shown so much disdain and disregard for existing rules?
· as we have seen time and time again, companies cannot be trusted to abide by rules on their own, even with the threat of punishment
· these companies attribute any fines incurred by breaking the rules as another operating cost
· they also lobby intensely to curtail or weaken rules that are incompatible with their goals or business practices
in the human internet, entities that work with personal data are punished if they do not follow the rules
· however, the human internet provides infrastructure that makes it easy for any entity to adhere to rules and policies aimed at protecting personal data
· the human internet uses people·centric rules and policies as the framework on which its infrastructure is designed and its operations implemented
· therefore, the natural state of personal data in the ecosystem is private
· only the entities that the data_owner authorizes can access eir data, which is kept secure through minimal effort by those entities
· entities who put personal data at risk do so because they perform perilous, nonstandard actions on data, such as not protecting it using strong security measures including encryption
· the ecosystem facilitates remedial actions against entities who put personal data, and the safety of its owners, at risk
in addition to securing personal data, the human internet provides its users stronger means of
managing their identity
· the human internet does not support anonymity
· when people publish content that others can view, the viewers can readily identify the source of the content
· this helps to combat the spread of false information by entities with nefarious motives, such as the Russian Federation in its drive to sow mistrust and hate throughout the world
the human internet also provides more useful ways to consume content that are possible on the internet
· the ecosystem follows closely the concepts and ideas spoused by Ted Nelson, the originator of hypertext and hypermedia
· his concepts provide for a more immersive and informative content·consumption experience, one that is especially useful for people who do a lot of research such as teachers, students, lawyers, and scientists
• our vision uses wisdom to identify the general direction and the goals to aim for
• our principles leverage history, law, and human rights to provide guidance, and fundamental rules that indicate how to move forward
• our values help us internalize behavior that is compatible with our vision and principles, and identify behavior that goes against those tenets
the internet lacks values
· other than effectiveness and efficiency as a communication infrastructure, the internet has no human values
· there are people who try to implant values on it
· but, at its core, the internet is a valueless, amoral network of computing devices exchanging information as efficiently as possible
without a vision and values geared towards humans, the internet infrastructure is incapable of
providing a humane environment for people to be themselves, and to expect honesty and respect from other entities
· nothing in its specifications and implementation says anything about guaranteeing the privacy, security, and safety of its human participants
· because of that, it is easy for many entities on the internet to dedicate themselves to separating people from their money, or to capturing data about them and use it to obtain revenue, not to improving the human condition
· this is unsustainable, self·destructive behavior
· people eventually revolt against entities that operate against their best interests
· just as with the financial sector decades ago, people will get fed up and rebel against the companies that abuse them
the internet of tomorrow, the human internet, has a vision, principles, and values that guide its participants in their journey to help people be better people, and to move humanity forward
the Human Internet Vision guides every aspect of the network’s design, implementation, and operation:
- bring technological advancement to individuals, societies, and humanity
- educate entities in the humane treatment of individuals and their personal information
the Human Internet Principles guide the development of human·centric technologies, policies, and rules used in the ecosystem:
- entity_data belongs to the owner, who maintains total control over it
- entity data must remain private
- entity data must be encrypted at all times, except when needed during local processing
- entity data, even in its encrypted form, must be protected from unauthorized access
the Human Internet Values describe the behaviors expected of all participants in the ecosystem
· violations to these values are grounds for suspension or expulsion from the ecosystem
· you can remember these values using the acronym RISE:
- respect
· respect the privacy and sovereignty of every participant - integrity
· be honest, open, and transparent in all activities - service
· provide first·class service to people and to those who help them - excellence
· strive for and seek excellence in every interaction, and every operation
so, you are enjoying a “free” service on the internet
· dude, you are not the service’s customer
· you are the bait it uses to service its real customers
the goals of internet companies, like those of most companies, include maximizing profit and shareholder value
· they accomplish their goals through objectives like these:
- collecting data about people, either directly or through data_brokers
- convincing people to share as much intimate information as possible
- using data about people to target them with advertising and other messaging that may be detrimental to them
- improving the efficiency of data collection and processing using artificial intelligence and other techniques
- using any approach necessary to grow their data collections, even breaking laws and regulations, disrespecting individuals, and trampling on their right to privacy
the human internet changes the way advertisers get their message to people, making it more respectful of peoples personal data, their privacy, and their time
internet companies can do a lot with personal_data
· current technology allows them to find out a lot about us
· unfortunately for us, we are not their customer
· they use information about us to provide services or advise to their real customers, such as advertisers, insurance companies, and banks
internet companies can do many “innovative” things with personal data because they
practice irresponsible disruption
· they make products and services available for purchase that are little more than experiments
· they “move fast and break things,” especially our personal data
· they are beholden only to their mantra of generating growth and maximizing value for their shareholders
· they use data about us in any way they want, not only because of the lack of strong laws and rules but also because we are being desensitized to the value of our data
we share freely our social_data, health_data, location_data, financial_data, and other kinds of intimate information, which we used to keep secret
· internet companies have developed innocent·looking and practical mechanisms to push us to share things like our tastes (likes), our whereabouts (check-ins), and our political leanings (groups)
· by collating such information about hundreds, thousands, and millions of us, a few powerful companies have gained the resources needed to manipulate large swaths of people, to change their minds, not with facts but with misinformation
· our data is the key to our souls, and the holders of those keys are no angels
· our data is not being used with our best interest in mind
advertisers spend a lot of resources getting their ads to be viewed by a specific audience, but they are not focusing enough on the ad·consumption experience
· ads are content that we do not want to see and mostly ignore (except, for some of us, on the first Sunday in February)
· this means that, systemically, resources are being used inefficiently
content that is more tailored to you and your sensitivities would be more effective in helping advertisers to establish real, mutually beneficial connections with you
· content companies should not treat you as bait for advertisers
· they should consider you another customer, who has needs for connection similar to the needs of the advertisers they serve
the human internet uses entity_introductions instead of ads
· entity_introductions are very similar to introductions made by matchmakers
· the matchmaker knows information about two parties that help sie determine whether they should connect
· the two other parties may not know each other, but they trust the matchmaker implicitly because of their past experiences with sie or eir reputation and knowledge
in the human internet, instead of advertisers targeting the members of a network either blindly or using certain criteria, they share information with a content provider who offers information services to consumers
· the advertiser can request an introduction to a particular person or anyone matching some criteria
· the content provider may then present the introduction to people, identifying to them the information used to make the match
· if the content provider presents the invitation to people, they are free to act on it as they see fit, depending on the options the invitation provides
· the content provider does not identify the people who received the invitation to the advertiser
entity introductions protect personal data and provide people with a pleasant experience while interacting with advertiser content
· advertisers who request entity_introductions to specific persons must prove that the information they provide that identifies the individual (name, picture, birthplace, and so on) was obtained from an entity authorized by the person to have that information
· if content providers present many inappropriate or annoying introductions to a particular person, the person may not let the content provider present sie entity_invitations in the future, or sie may stop using that particular content provider, and switch to another that provides a better experience and shows more respect for its human customers
· this will contribute to a better “advertising” experience for people, and better relations with potential customers for advertisers, based on respect for the individual
• trustful identity infrastructure is anchored at real identities
• strong encryption of personal data is essential in a network that values human rights
the current internet infrastructure does not provide the protections required to guarantee the privacy and security of personal_data
· a new infrastructure is needed that is based on attested identity and strong encryption
· to effectively protect your identity and your personal data, this infrastructure must:
- guarantee that you deal with real people and the ones you expect, and that others know that they are dealing with you and not an imposter
- make the natural state of your personal data unreadable, even to entities that you have authorized to access it (to read such data, authorized entities must decrypt it using a secure_element)
there are a number of initiatives and projects that aim at providing strong identity on the internet
· but they are worthless if they do not have as their foundation a link to a person’s real identity (using credentials such as passports or other government·issued documents that include identifiers such as photo, name, and birthdate)
· without those guarantees, these systems are unable to ensure that someone cannot assume a fake identity (or an identity that does not belong to that person) using contrived or stolen credentials
· privacy is not the same as anonymity
· in the human internet, privacy is enforced and anonymity is not allowed
you must be able to trust that every entity you deal with in the digital world is real
· the infrastructure on which entities operate must guarantee that they (individuals and organizations) are legal entities whose identities have been attested by trusted and accredited human beings, such as notaries public and secretaries of state (this attestation must be done every five years)
· no entity can be anonymous or use false identifying information to connect with other entities or
to publish content
· you must be able to easily and immediately verify the source of any content you see to determine its authenticity
a second necessary aspect of protecting a person’s privacy is encryption
· personal information must be digitally locked so that entities who somehow get access to that information are not able to read it
· only entities with authorization from the owner of a particular set of data should have the key with which that data can be unlocked (decrypted)
· entities with control over encrypted personal·data must perform decryption operations in specialized devices that are strongly protected from access by all entities
· these devices are called [secure_elements][secure·element]
the human internet has human values
· it serves you, and helps businesses serve you privately, securely, respectfully, reliably, and honorably
the closer you are to your data, the more use you get out of it
· your data should be at your fingertips, without the need for a phone call or email requesting it from those with control over what is rightfully yours
· reviewing your latest medical test with your doctor’s notes while comfortably sitting in your couch is your right
· being able to do that on your 4K television would be nothing short of amazing
· this is possible with your data at your fingertips
your personal information is more important than any corporation’s business_model
· you let companies access your data so that they can serve you
· if you do not like how a company does business or do not like its service, you do not need to move your data to another company
· you just need to give another company permission to access your data, the same data the other company lost its permission to access by failing you, or by not meeting your needs
when you stop liking an airline, you fly with another one
· there is not another copy of you continuing to fly that undesirable airline
in the human internet, your data is the center of the universe, all things and entities revolve around it
to give power to you, the human internet:
your data, instead of being duplicated and distributed among the companies you deal with, is stored in one place, and is managed by you
internet companies control your personal information to make you use their products because those products may be inferior to similar products from other providers (remember, your benefit is a miniscule component of their growth strategy)
· their goal is to collect as many users as possible, not to actually be helpful to them
· this is because, for the most part, people are not their ultimate customers
· their real customers are the entities who pay them to target people with ads
· but when it comes to essential services, or ones that help people manage personal information such as social services, healthcare services (healthcare providers), and health·insurance services (health plans), people need the flexibility that a multitude of services competing on merit—not on personal·information gathering practices—can provide
these companies generally form data silos, places that maintain collections of personal_data that provide them with business advantages
· but for individuals and society, data silos are ineffective and wasteful
· for example, healthcare providers would offer more effective service if they were able to access your entire body of health information, not just the information they obtained directly from you or from other medical organizations that use compatible systems, or information they received through email, regular mail, or faxes
· they would benefit from knowing that you actually took the medicine doctors prescribed at the appropriate times, and that you have been active the past week, by being able to see how many steps you took, and your heart rate during that activity
· with comprehensive information in digital form, doctors would make thoroughly informed and timely decisions, and the system as a whole would be more efficient, wasting less resources on the storage and maintenance of duplicate or redundant copies of health information
the data silos healthcare providers and health plans rely on make for an ecosystem that forces you to ensure that the records each entity keeps on you are correct
· this makes interacting with these entities tedious and mentally draining
· why must you fill paper forms with your health information when visiting a new medical facility?
· and why must you fill the same forms with the same historical information, over and over?
when entities use datapods to store and manage your health_data, efficiency increases, annoyance decreases, interactions between healthcare providers and health plans run smoother, and patients are happier and healthier thru fewer, more focused procedures
credit·reporting agencies duplicate data amongst themselves, and control data that is actually yours
· these entities (members of the Consumer Data Industry Association) should store their research on your creditworthiness on your datapod
· while such information would be modifiable only by them, you would be able to view and analyze it at no cost, anytime you like
· with that information readily available to you (not only once a year), you would be able to make informed decisions related to your creditworthiness and would not have to seek reports from several agencies to ensure that all of them have the correct information
· and when they fix their mistakes, you would be able to confirm it on the spot, in the place that serves as the authoritative store of that information
· a single store of credit_data results in more efficient interactions regarding your credit information
· not to mention that these entities have proven incapable to protect the valuable information they control, with Equifax putting millions of people in peril, for example
· in addition to not protecting your information, companies like Equifax do their best not to disclose the extent of the damage their negligence or incompetence causes people, which shows how little respect they have for their product (you are not their customer; you and your data are the product they offer their real customers)
companies that work with your data operate on your datapod, the authoritative store of your personal data; your data is permanent and universal, which gives you options regarding how your data is processed and by whom; entities who collect data about you must have your permission to do so, and they must store that data in your datapod
personal data outlasts any product, any company, and any business_model
· as the owner of your data, you must be able to have any capable entity manage and process it on your
behalf
· for example, you should be able to use the health_data captured on your Apple Watch (steps, heart rate, and so forth) on your Chrome OS laptop
· it is your health_data not Apple’s health_data
businesses come and go, your data is permanent and universal
· a diabetic wants easy and immediate access to eir glucose levels from eir handheld, tablet, and desktop devices at all times
· the comprehensive health_data you capture today, such as step count and heart rate, may provide you and healthcare professionals critical information while researching a health issue 10 or 20 years from now
· that health_data must be as useful at the end of that period as it is today, regardless of the hardware and software used to capture it and to view it
to ensure that data remains useful to its owner as long as possible, we need lasting data_models that are not tied to particular service providers
· when data_architects introduce products that have to do with personal data, they submit their plans for consideration and further development to the Human Internet Consortium (an organization composed of reputable entities who participate in the human internet), or a suitable representative body, for example, when away from Earth
· there, those ideas are considered as part of a “whole person” and “whole society” data infrastructure with the aim of ensuring that records produced using the resulting data_models and interaction_models are supported by the entire ecosystem, not just by the entity who introduced them
· in other words, universal data usability is assured at a fundamental level during feature design, not as an afterthought
· features that have to do with personal data are baked into the human internet itself, this way data_architects are free from the responsibility of hosting, securing, and safeguarding personal data
· we have seen how often companies introduce products to the marketplace that they view as testing platforms (funded by individuals sold on sales pitches), and later they leave individuals and even other companies and governments in the lurch, with data that is largely useless, unless it is translated into a different format or structure
· in the human internet, companies are free to innovate, but they innovate responsibly, with the needs and rights of individuals and humanity as their guiding light
the human internet leaves no data behind
the beneficiaries of rich personal datasets must include the subjects and owners of that data, not just the entities who collect or compute the information
· the companies who collect your data have shown that they are incapable of respecting
and protecting it
· they also have a tendency to abuse their access to your data
· no matter their size, they are often breached, share your data with entities you do not know, or use it in ways they have not disclosed to you
· or if they have disclosed their data·using ways, they did it on the legally binding contract you entered with them when you clicked Agree before starting to use their service
· have you read any of those usage agreements?
in a people·centric digital universe, all your data (all data about you) is stored in your datapod
· your health_data, your purchase_data, your entertainment_data, all data that identifies you or that can be used to identify you is stored in your datapod
· this means that every entity you deal with stores data they collect about you, in any way, in your datapod
· to do that, they must have a relationship (a connection) with you, and you have to have given them authorization to write data to your datapod
· which means that entities who cannot access your datapod must not collect data about you
· this is how real data ownership and control looks like
instead of you signing terms·of·use contracts where you grant use of your personal data to a number of entities you do not know, the entities whom you authorize to access data in your datapod enter into terms·of·access contracts with you, promising to abide by your privacy settings, and not to share the data they get from the datapod with other entities
· you entrust them with your data, and they must behave responsibly with it
· that responsibility is not transferable
· these entities are not allowed to share your data with any other entity, no business partners, no subcontractors, no subsidiaries, and no parent companies (WhatsApp would be able to access your datapod, but not Facebook, for example)
· therefore, if any third party with which they share your personal data is breached or otherwise loses control of your data, the entity you entrusted with your data is responsible and liable for the breach
your data stored in a datapod provides several benefits:
- all your data is always up to date and coherent; this is your personal data’s single point of truth
- the effort for all authorized parties to get up·to·date information and to keep it that way is minimized
- you always have the current view of your data (you do not need to ask anyone for access or permission to access your own information)
- you know who changes your data and why
- you can view past versions of your data
you authorize such entities, known as data_specialists, to access your datapod to work on your behalf with the data domain you authorize
a data_specialist is an entity capable of interacting with datapods
· there can be health_data specialists, such as healthcare providers, and health plans; social_data specialists, such as social services; and financial_data specialists, such as banks and investment firms
· these specialist roles are further divided into data_consumers, data_managers, and data_architects
· data_consumers can only get data from datapods
· data_managers can add, get, modify, and remove data in datapods
· data_architects specify how data is structured and how data_specialists access and manipulate data in datapods
· an entity can play one or more of these roles at the same time
regardless of how a particular entity identifies itself—consumer or manager—the datapod owner sets specific datapod_access_capabilities for accessing particular data domains in the datapod
· for example, if the Acme Corporation identifies itself as a manager for social, health, and financial data, the owner can set the access_capabalities of that corporation with respect to sie datapod as follows:
| specialists | social | health | finance |
|---|---|---|---|
| Acme Corp | read | write | none |
· this means that Acme is able to read social_data, and read and write health_data, but it has no access to the financial_data of the datapod owner
· every time Acme accesses the personal data on the datapod, it should ask the datapod what it can do with the data it stores, and adjust when the access capability is more restrictive than expected
a datapod keeps your data safe and protected against access and tampering from entities you do not know
· you need to authorize access to it to specialists you trust so that they manage your data in the domain that you specify, and in the way you want it managed
· you do this using software in a personal_identification_device such as a handheld or a tablet
only the entities a datapod owner authorizes can manipulate data in the datapod
· not even the datapod_host can access the data, unless authorized by the owner
· data is always encrypted using the strongest encryption available
you can designate highly trusted people as your personal_agents, which allows them to access your datapod so that they can perform actions on your behalf in case you are incapacitated; this facilitates their access to information that you want kept from everybody else but that would be useful for them to have when you cannot provide it yourself
a strong identity infrastructure provides people and organizations with significant capabilities
· the flexible authentication and authorization features available in the human internet allow you to grant highly trusted individuals (and even some organizations) direct access to your data, in case you are incapacitated or need others to have such access, such as your spouse or a person with power·of·attorney privileges
when you give another person or entity direct access to your datapod, that person, known as a personal_agent, can access it with the same flexibility you have, through the data_specialists you have authorized to access
your datapod
· however, you may limit the access of each personal_agent (or attorney_in_fact) to specific data_domains in your datapod, such as health or finance
| agents | social | health | finance |
|---|---|---|---|
| Marian Diamond (lawyer) | read | read | write |
| Honey Bun (spouse) | write | write | write |
instead of going through intermediaries like Twitter, Facebook, or YouTube, you publish content as your own platform; people can follow your thoughts, your posts, and your videos, not your Twitter tweets, your Facebook posts, or your YouTube videos
· you have total control over the content you publish and view; you are the master of your domain and are free to express yourself in whatever ways you see fit; you can also view any content you want from any source you choose; but you bear total responsibility for the content you publish
the internet of today is full of companies that create platforms
· Amazon is an ecommerce platform
· Facebook is a social and communication platform
· Twitter is a news and microblogging platform
· YouTube is a video platform
· people create and publish content through these platforms
· but must that be the case?
· will Facebook be on the spaceships that take us to other solar systems?
· no, only the people on the ships and their fellow travelers will be there
· Facebook and its infrastructure will remain on Earth
· in space we don’t need Facebook
· we need only each other (and the space tech that will keep us alive and safe during our long, long journeys)
what kinds of platforms are you?
· all kinds
· you are a social platform, a messaging platform, a research platform, a whatever platform
you have family and friends, not Facebook family or Facebook friends
· you have professional relationships that encompass more than your LinkedIn connections
· you can publish articles under your own name without the need for a Medium between you and your readers
· you can publish videos that showcase the real you, without any entity’s monetization objectives affecting the content you put out
· you control your content’s monetization approach; it is your content
· what stops you from being your own platform?
· nothing
· in the human internet, the principal, most powerful, and most influential platform is you
the human internet has no social networks, it has social services
· the network is you
· people follow you, they subscribe to your content, they get notified when you publish new articles dealing with sports, the automobile industry, or politics
· in the human internet, Facebook, Twitter, Medium, and similar entities do not stand between you and your audience
· you are the content producer, moderator, and editor in chief
· a social service (a role that any entity can take) uses your network as the source of social_data about you
· therefore, any social service you use works from the same information, which gives you great flexibility regarding your social experience
whether you are an influencer or a newbie, you do not need a platform like Instagram or Twitter to get your message across
· who other than you can determine what you have to say?
· who other than you can specify what content you should be exposed to?
on the other hand, you can specify the type of content you want to view, and your desired sources for that content
· if you do not find a source credible, you can add it to your undesirable_sources list, or remove it from your desirable_sources list
a few caveats, though
· although you can publish anything you want, the human internet does not support any kind of anonymity
· it does not allow you to use a name different from the name you used to become a denizen of the ecosystem, which is based on government·issued credentials
· if you publish illegal content, you will be prosecuted
· if you publish false content, people may stop following you and, worse, disconnect from you altogether
each facet represents an aspect of your life that you want your followers to be able to follow individually, without bothering with the rest of your digital life; for example, people can follow only your professional life and avoid getting pictures of your cute cat’s life
you may have a personal life, a professional life, and a political life, which you manage using three social·networking platforms, such as Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter
· some platforms let you crosspost to others; for example, a Facebook post can be duplicated in a Twitter tweet
· because of the different capabilities and limitations of the platforms (for example, Twitter’s limit on the length of tweets) this is a flawed way to bridge multiple aspects of your life
· these issues are easy to solve
· but solving them goes against the common corporation goal of world domination, so you miss out
remember, in the human internet, you are your own platform; therefore, you do not need other platforms to define you or any aspect of your digital life
· you can use different facets of digital life to compartmentalize your life both for your sake and for the benefit of those who are interested in your life, making it easier on you to produce content and on your followers to consume it
· people can follow the “whole you” or only the “professional you”
· although you have a single identity, it can be separated into facets that can be used across services
· therefore, instead of “follow me at @you,” you can tell people interested in your political musings “follow me at @you~politics”
· and, when you need to publish a though or comment on more than one facet, the same item is expressed on all the facets you choose, giving its consumers the complete item without artificial limits placed on its representation
these entities are platforms of their own, allowing you to develop connections with a large number of people with common interests
you can form groups and communities that are platforms of their own
· if you want to create platforms that are bigger than yourself, you can start groups or communities that exhibit traits you share with others
· groups and communities can establish rules for membership and acceptable content
· they may also develop capabilities that present specialized content or facilitate custom interactions
between members
these entities could be the foundation of mini social services that satisfy the belonging needs of most people, eliminating the need to join generalized social·networking platforms that are incapable of catering to particular audiences, and whose goals are not to help individuals, societies, or humanity, but to enrich themselves by collecting as much revenue as possible from their real customers, advertisers
· like personal data, these groups and communities are separate from the software people use to interact with them, allowing individuals to choose the service that best meets their needs, while guaranteeing that data is not duplicated, and that the proven and tested basic interactions are reliable and error·free
just like you can specify how apps can use your location and other data on your phone, you will be able to specify how data specialists use and dispose of your data; you can think of this as your human internet preferences, which all entities who want to access your data must adhere to
in the human_internet, you set the parameters for access and disposition of your personal_data, which the entities you authorize to interact with your datapod must adhere to
· you do this thru an easy·to·use interface on your personal_identification_device, no emails or phone calls needed
· the parameters specify, for example, how long a data specialist can keep local copies of your data before they must be destroyed or archived (for compliance with regulations, for example)
you can view which entities access your data and for what reason, at any time, directly on any device
with your personal data stored and managed in a datapod, you can view and analyze all activity on your
data at anytime you wish
· this way, you know what entities modified your data and why
· for example, you can monitor your financial activity and see what medical services your health plan has paid for, and know when your last lab tests are ready for your doctor to analyze
as people learn how their personal information is abused by the “free” services they use, which turn out to be data_brokers and data_traffickers, they increasingly reject the surveillance_economy
our reality is increasingly digital, which means that those who control the technology that implements the core functionality of our digital lives have great power to influence individuals and societies, and to impose their goals and objectives on humanity, even though humanity may not benefit from that imposition
· many of the physical items and activities we deal with in our daily lives are being transformed into digital alternatives, such as:
• paperless banking
• paperless billing
• digital signatures
• digital currency
however, people have been slow to notice that essential and intimate aspects of their lives are controlled and monetized by entities whose goal is not to benefit people but to enrich themselves and their shareholders or owners
· these are examples of companies that put their bottom lines ahead of human lives:
• Ford (Pinto)
• Boeing (737 Max)
• Tesla (Autopilot)
• Facebook (Facebook)
· history has shown that when powerful people operate behind unfeeling, inhumane entities, bad things happen to less powerful people
we must take the reins of our digital lives to ensure that the capabilities and flexibility of our digital ecosystem are used mainly on behalf and to the benefit of human beings, without whom there would be no internet
· we must look for trustful (honorable, responsible, accountable, truthful) alternatives to the dominating, irresponsible, unaccountable, and greedy entities who have commodified our lives to dominate, control, and abuse individuals and societies
· due to our increasing reliance on the internet and our digital devices, we need to be able to trust the entities we deal with on the internet, but neither those entities nor the internet infrastructure provide the reliable, trusted environment that fulfills that need
instead of companies using your data to enrich themselves, you must be able pool your data with that of other individuals to take humanity forward, generating human profit
· the real power of data lies in having access to vast amounts of it
· advertisers, together with platforms like Facebook’s and Google’s, use personal_data to target people with ads
· but it can also be used to research cures for diseases, to learn about the real makeup of communities and societies to develop social programs, to determine the movements of people after a natural disaster to design cities that cope better with such events
· pooling people’s data together to answer questions to benefit humanity is a great, humane use of technology
· but it must be done in a way that ensures peoples privacy and the security of their data, and that denies entities whose motives are not compatible with those goals access to that data, and the ability to process data they obtain without the permission of the data_subject
to give power to The People, the human internet:
by pooling our data, we—yes, We The People—become a powerful alternative to the internet companies that use their power (large collections of our data) on their own behalf instead of to our benefit
the big internet companies constantly wow us with innovative features that one·up their competitors to convince us to stay on their platforms or to join them, which benefits the companies more than us because they force us to choose a platform, a data silo, giving those companies the fuel that they need to power their operations and generate their profit
· to you, your data is valuable because it represents memories, your health, your finances, your tastes in movies, your kids high school graduation, your favorite recipes, your high scores, your thoughts, and many more things that define you
· to profit·dedicated entities this data is the commodity they use to generate revenue and produce profit
· but, thankfully, things are changing
technology has advanced to the point that you have the computing and communication prowess to be your own bank or publishing house
· impressive computing resources, especially in the form of storage capacity, is available to organizations of all sizes
· these entities can become datapod_hosts, and provide the human internet all the storage capacity it needs to hold the personal data that will make it valuable to entities of all kinds
· when you allow a service provider to host your data, you contribute to the gravitational forces that make the human internet the new internet, a private, secure, and safe ecosystem where personal information is not a commodity, is highly valued, and is treated with the care and respect it deserves
thanks to IPFS, regardless of the datapod service provider you use, your data and content is seamlessly available to members of the ecosystem authorized by you to access it
· people searching and navigating content in the ecosystem need not be aware that content is federated among various service providers
· thus, the ecosystem provides a single point of entry for finding and navigating content, and region·specific or otherwise specialized data storage for individuals (and other entities with private data of their own)
· however, in addition to you controlling your data, people control their data
collections of datapods can become valuable repositories of personal data, data that individuals nurture and keep updated because they have effective control over it
· through access permissions, every person can specify the facets of their digital lives that are available to specific entities, such as financial data, or to the public, such as thoughts, posts, and articles
· they also know that by enriching it with additional information and context, they make the data more valuable to entities that need to work with it, either on the data owners behalf or for their own benefit such as medical·research facilities
· such a rich collection of data can prove so valuable at an individual level, but especially on aggregate, that it entices [data_specialists][data_specialists] (entities that work on personal_data as part of their normal operation) to pay for its access, contributing to the development and improvement of the open ecosystem that allows them to work seamlessly, cooperatively, respectfully and profitably with personal data, on behalf of the data_owners
· thus, the human internet is a market for managed access to personal information that closely reflects the interests of the individuals whose data is used to fuel the operations of small and large businesses
only a large group of cooperating nonprofit, public·benefit, and for·profit entities, united under the principles and values of the human internet, can be a capable and effective alternative to the internet oligarchy, which pilfers and profits from our personal information, and uses its vast, ill·gained resources, to bend rules and laws in its favor
the human internet facilitates competition among many entities by:
people need alternatives to closed, monolithic, untrustworthy, abusive, and criminal companies
· a number of honorable, trustworthy, responsible, and accountable companies of all sizes, who differentiate themselves through the quality, robustness, and helpfulness of their products, relying on the same personal data, can compose a richer, more diverse, and safer ecosystem than what the oligarchs—operating in their selfish and irresponsible ways—can engender
· multiple experiences, generated using the same data, by companies with different backgrounds, sensitivities, and target audiences, make for an ecosystem that supports multiple products, each perfect for specific groups of people, while promoting inclusion, tolerance, and community for everyone
you need an open environment that promotes the creation and nurture of competing and complementary services that cater to your specific needs
· in such an environment, you choose the services that best address your needs, instead of having to use the only one that amassed enough users to make it attractive to investors, despite its many and profound shortcomings
for example, instead of one big social·service provider whose approach to social networking, privacy, interface, and overall experience you do not like, you should be able to use two (or more) providers, one that caters to the politician in you, providing tools that let you analyze the political makeup of districts, and one that specializes in your inner scientist, providing bespoke content about the latest advances in biological and nuclear research
· because both services use the social_data from your datapod, your connections, relations, groups, and communities are the same in both services (because they do not host your personal data on their infrastructure)
· however, each service offers custom interaction models that match the expectations of each services
target audience
· with capable [digital_organisms][digital_organisms] driving the experience, your social experience is an amalgam of the features of the two services; you get the best of both services
· this way, your digital social life is richer, more efficient, and more satisfying than what one big, unfocused social·networking service can provide
Shapr is a social network that facilitates introductions between professionals using a Tinder-like interface
· although LinkedIn is a social network for professionals too, it does not offer Shapr’s specialized functionality; Shapr’s sole purpose is to help people make connections
· LinkedIn suggests connections between people, but the basis on which the service makes those suggestions is vastly different from Shapr’s (LinkedIn’s recommendations are based largely on the people you are connected to thru LinkedIn, or on the email addresses of people in your address book)
· plus, the entire Shapr experience, from first launch to daily use, exudes its narrow goal of helping you connect with people who share your interests
· Facebook also makes connection suggestions, but the reasons that drive it to make them are, likewise, not as explicit as Shapr’s
· Shapr lets you specify your interests and whether you want to meet people based on your location, and its Tinder·like interface reduces the rejection anxiety that the LinkedIn and Facebook experiences can create thru manually·initiated connection requests
· Shapr’s goal of helping people meet someone new every day sets it apart from companies like LinkedIn and Facebook, who have more general, and selfish, goals
a service that offers an experience similar to Shapr’s but dedicated to improving women’s dating experience by encouraging them to make the first move (in heterosexual dating) is Bumble
· the Bumble philosophy is to empower women in relationship building, to make the process more equitable
Bumble also lets you link your Instagram and Spotify accounts
· however, in a datapod·based ecosystem, this type of explicit linkage between services at the app level
are not needed
· the reason for this is that everything is naturally related to other things because the underlying link, you and your data, is what defines those relationships
· so your posts and your music tastes would be accessible to services like Bumble (if you authorize it), regardless of which service you use to make the posts (Instagram or Tumblr) or listen to music (Spotify or Apple Music)
in the ecosystem of tomorrow, social services like Tinder, Shapr, and Bumble use a lot of the same information from your datapod
· in fact, every data_specialist uses the same methods to make similar changes to your data, which reduces mistakes and ensures that your data is never damaged by using thoroughly tested methods
· in the human internet, personal data is a high·value resource that is cared for seriously; the human internet does not break your data, as some companies are so willing to do
· the success human·internet companies rests on the value they add to your data, on their capability to attract and motivate people to try out their services, and to keep using them, based on the efficiency of their interfaces, the appeal of their experiences, and on the trust the community puts in their effectiveness, their professionalism, and their competence at keeping the data they are granted access to private and secure
in this ecosystem, you are in control
· if you want to get entity_introductions (highly·personalized ads), you can get them, the way you want
· if you do not want to receive introductions, you do not get them
· there is no profit·maximizing imperative to force you to grow your connections
vast personal data collections will no longer be a competitive advantage for data_brokers because people will have effective and direct control over their data
· an entitys competitive advantage will comprise its principles, values, and reputation
· more than “exits,” company founders will focus on the meaning of their ventures to themselves, their target audience, and the world
· this will be a strong catalyst for the creation of long·lasting companies and business models, which provides lasting value to investors
· and those investors will have a larger pool of companies in which to invest
after unprecedented growth, companies like Facebook and Apple are having trouble connecting with new audiences because they have strayed from the values that made them great in the past
· values like integrity, simplicity, elegance, usability, connection, service, reliability, soul, experience, and individuality have been placed behind growth, profit, and influence
the Apple software ecosystem provides a solid foundation upon which innovative companies build compelling products that run on Apple platforms such as macOS, iOS, and watchOS
· people need a similar but larger and more inclusive ecosystem that allows innovative companies that may not necessarily want to target Apple platforms to build compelling products that run on many platforms, including BSD, GNU/Linux, Android, Windows, and vw.OS, for example
· multiple companies following one core vision that puts individuals, societies, and humanity at its center, make up a strong, diverse, and resilient alternative to the behemoths that dominate the internet today
such a diverse but highly·integrated ecosystem provides the baseline from which companies are free to innovate using their expertise to create interfaces and experiences that satisfy their equally·diverse audiences
· by ensuring the quality, reliability, and security of their services, and by performing their operations honorably and respectfully, each company maximizes its chances of captivating customers, who would be dedicated to its success because the company would have their trust
· those customers, then, give these companies the best publicity available: word of mouth
· in the ecosystem, personal data is a common, shared resource that underlies the interactions between people and companies, each focused on what it does best on behalf of their customers
· this highly·efficient ecosystem with people at its center provides businesses an infrastructure that helps them keep the valuable resource they work with private and secure
having one or two premium platforms is nice
· but making our entire digital ecosystem premium is a lot more beneficial to people
· connecting all of a persons devices (watches, handhelds, cars, home·automation devices), not only those from one manufacturer, to eir data is more humane than forcing sie to choose one manufacturer to manage all eir data, or to divvy up, for example, eir fitness_data among different platforms such as Apple’s and Google’s fitness·focused platforms
the human internet is the ecosystem of the future, the one that nurtures all devices, all platforms, all operating_systems, all working together helping people to connect better, relate better, communicate better, and be better
if you want to start a business, you will not have to worry about hacking its growth
· all you have to do to start your business—whether it is a social service, a health service, a repair service, an education service, a data·processing service, or whatever—is determine why you want to start your business, and make sure that the reason is compatible with the principles and values of the human internet
· with people more aware of the power of their data, your chances at success are greater than ever, as long as you are responsible, honorable, and accountable for your actions
· the human internet is the new, egalitarian ecosystem full of opportunity to all kinds of innovative ideas and business models
the human internet embraces innovation and differentiation
· but it does not allow personal information to be put at risk by any entity
· the data_models and the interaction_models used to interact with personal information belong to and are controlled by The People
continuous improvement is what drives humanity forward, and humanity is at its greatest when people work together to improve lives and find solutions to common problems
the U.S. interstate highway system of the 1900s was an improvement over the railway system of the 1800s, an improvement that through planning, rules, and policies brought great prosperity to American society
· the rail system built in the 1800s provided profit and wealth to the entrepreneurs who broke ground through strange and dangerous territory
· in the 1900s, the interstate highway system, although largely motivated by the logistical needs of the U.S. military, was a great boon for the transportation, automobile, and tourism industries
· it provided new options and greater capabilities for individuals and families to move about the country, for business or pleasure
· it also facilitated the creation of a diverse transportation market, dedicated to particular regions, and specialized in the transportation of specific products
· this provided economic success to countless road·based freight companies, who benefited from having a common highway system with laws, rules, and policies that govern its use
· now, people and businesses have a myriad ground·transportation options when they need to ship products, or themselves, across the country
an internet with human principles and values, the human_internet, can do for our digital life what the interstate highway system has done for transportation: make it more equitable and accessible to businesses, while providing more capabilities and flexibility to individuals, groups, and communities
the human internet provides a diverse, innovative, reliable, and robust environment for business by:
just like a society benefits from speaking the same language, entities using common data languages when working with personal data makes processing that data simple and efficient
a data_language describes the data structures used to represent a thing or concept related to an entity and the interactions used to manipulate the data
· for example, there is a data language for working with data from fitness gear, a data language to work with a persons health_data, and so forth
the Human Internet Consortium ensures that data languages operate correctly on the
data they manipulate
· it also ensures that data languages are not duplicated so that, for example, entities that deal with data from fitness gear use one language to interact with many types of fitness devices from many manufacturers
· a data language maintained by an organization separate from the entities who use it ensures that data remains viable even after the pioneering entity who introduced it disappears, or switches priorities or business models
the long·lasting viability of personal data is essential for people to trust that their data will remain viable and usable by any company who specializes in it, that it is not held hostage by only one company
· this makes it easier for people to try services in search of the perfect one, while keeping their data safe
all along
people deserve a digital environment that respects their privacy, and ensures the security and safety of their data
requiring your phone number to use a service will also not be tolerated
· services like GroupMe, WhatsApp, and Signal, which require the phone numbers of all participants, are not humane because, instead of facilitating real connections between people, they require the disclosure of personal information for basic functionality
· personal_connections are between people not account numbers or cellular service identifiers, which can be spoofed by bad actors
each country or region sets rules and laws for personal·data collection, processing, and disposition
· your datapod_host complies with the data_processing and [data_disposal][data_disposal] rules set by the region on which
it operates
· therefore, you may have multiple datapods for multiple regions, for example, if you hold dual citizenship in the U.S. and Europe and have a digital presence in both regions
different societies and cultures may have particular ways of structuring and dealing with data
· your datapod host supports your language, culture, and other characteristics that define you and your society
· but, by using common data languages, the datapod host facilitates interactions with individuals and entities who operate on different regions
· all participants are able to use the practices and data processing models they are familiar with, and no data is lost during the interactions
we need compelling experiences on our digital devices because they help us to be more productive and happy than when we have to muddle along with subpar interactions that distract us from our main goals
· we do not want to deal with “errors,” long waits, or unanticipated problems
· we do not want software instructing us to perform tasks to “fix” simple problems that our devices are—or should be—perfectly capable of solving themselves
· we do not want our time wasted
a compelling digital experience is one that gives people confidence that their tasks are performed correctly by providing accurate feedback about task progress (or incompletion)
· systems that provide compelling experiences can also give people options about how to perform tasks, similar to how you have options for going from your home to the airport: you could drive yourself, use a ride·sharing service, take a taxi, or ask a friend to give you a ride
· each of those options offers advantages and limitations
· but all of them take you from your home to the airport
compelling digital experiences are built on an effective, distributed, and federated infrastructure that is highly capable, flexible, and resilient
· datapods, by basing their functionality on the InterPlanetary File System, provide the resiliency, permanency, and security needed to guarantee human internet users that their data remains private, safe, and accessible only to those they authorize
· but storage and distribution infrastructures are implementation details
· a person does not have to know which datapod host another person sie wants to connect with uses
the human internet is one large community of people and other entities who can request an introduction and make connections with other entities safely and respecting everyone’s privacy
· this is what the human internet needs to help provide effective alternatives to Facebook, Google, Apple, Amazon, and other internet behemoths who do not have peoples benefit as their highest priority
· its single vision gives people confidence in its operation, while its federated structure lets many entities implement essential functionality in a way that addresses the needs of their particular audiences
· Facebook cannot provide that level of specialization because its purpose is to unite the world under Facebook so that it can serve ads to that world
Facebook is not really interested in meeting the needs of its product, the users—this assertion has been proven again and again by the descriptions of former, highly·placed employees, and by revelations from
internal communications
· instead, Facebook focuses on making its product attractive to its customers: entities who want to reach people using the wide array of parameters Facebook makes available from its treasure trove of personal information
· in this model, Facebook facilitates transactions between strangers
· however, what Facebook users crave are meaningful relationships with other people and entities with shared interests
· these two divergent objectives cannot be reconciled into a common goal
the human internet provides entities a more natural and humane way to reach people
· instead of blindingly pushing products and services by using dishonorable tactics, product manufacturers and service providers (producers) rely on entity_introductions
· people and producers make meaningful and lasting connections through a trusted entity that both find capable of representing their interests and handling personal information privately and securely
· these intermediaries are data_specialists who vouch for the trustworthiness and competence of the two parties
· for example, if you trust a social service to handle your social_data, and allow it to make introductions on behalf of trustworthy producers, it may recommend entities that are compatible with your tastes without disclosing any of your personal information to them
· any disclosure of your personal data to those entities happens only after you develop a personal connection with the entity and authorize it to access your data
· this model obsoletes business models that rely on the capture and control of personal information, and makes personal connection the new business advantage
to ensure egalitarianism, fairness, security, safety, and efficiency (through the deduplication of data and by maintaining a single store of your data instead of having your data distributed-among and controlled-by multiple untrustworthy entities), we need trust, strong security, true safety, and constant reliability, things we lack today in every aspect of our digital life
· for us to truly value our digital environment, we must know that we are in total control
· the components that make up our devices must be serviceable by professionals or even ourselves
· and the software that we run on such devices must run reliably and securely for many years
· artificial support windows or limits on how people can repair their own devices are not beneficial to people who do not have the means or desire to update their hardware every few years
· a compelling, integrated hardware and software experience includes having the option to keep using devices as long as possible by updating or repairing software and hardware as needed confidently, securely, and reliably
· this also requires robust software·engineering practices that produce truly correct and secure software, software that is extremely difficult to compromise by any entity
the infrastructure you—and the entities you authorize to access your personal data—rely on must guarantee the privacy and security of your data when it is stored and when it is transmitted
banks do not rely only on safes to secure cash and security instruments
· they install those safes in secure areas within secure buildings with strong doors, alarms, guards, security services, and arrangements with police departments
· the key is redundancy
· we must take a similar approach to ensure that personal information is always secure
while your data is in their custody, data specialists are responsible and accountable for its security
· if the specialists systems are breached, the specialist is accountable for any misuse of your data
reliable software is the bedrock on which every platform operating on the human internet stands
· the software that makes up the backbone of the human internet (dGround) is released periodically, after years of development, engineering testing, user testing, integration testing, and upgrade testing
· extensive testing is the key
· dGround comprises technologies and components that have been in use without problems for a number of years
· except for security issues, such software is not updated until the next planned upgrade
the human internet is an ecosystem that people trust implicitly
· every participant in the network is honorable, responsible, and accountable for eir actions
· failure in any of these aspects is grounds for punishment and expulsion from the ecosystem
before new data_models and interaction_models for them are introduced to the human internet, they are tested for a number of years
· in the human internet, we move slow and break nothing because we care about people, their data, and their safety
· the privacy, usability, and security of data is goal number one, number two, and number three
· this applies to all products and services
· entities are not allowed to put peoples data at risk, for any reason
Autopilot? no
MCAS? hell no!
Tesla should have known that Autopilot may drive straight into solid barriers and not released that faulty, dangerous product on unsuspecting individuals
· Tesla was incompetent in not discovering the problem, or it irresponsibly released a product it knew
to be defective
· at the very least, when presented with evidence of the products defects, Tesla should have deactivated it on all vehicles on the road using it thru an over·the·air software update, and it should have conducted public, extensive research into the causes of the problem
· then, only after a focused, all·hands·on·deck effort demonstrably solved the issue, should Tesla have reactivated the feature
Tesla uses a misleading name for technology that has killed its users (Tesla’s marketing overrides human safety)
· telling people to keep their hands on the wheel is not enough to mitigate the failings of defective software
· the thing is called Autopilot!
· instead of “maintaining a steady course” on a highway, Autopilot fails at that, fails at avoiding solid objects on the vehicle’s path, and actively steers vehicles into solid objects while accelerating, apparently after identifying an obstructed path as a clear, open lane
· that is a HUGE, DEADLY bug
Tesla must dedicate itself to the safety of its customers and their passengers
· like Volvo, Tesla should commit itself producing deathproof vehicles
· to that end, Tesla should—in addition to adding scenarios that replicate dangerous, life·threating situations present on roads and highways to its testing and quality·control strategy—
reconsider its position on the use of LIDAR on its vehicles (the evidence demands it)
· while LIDAR imposes additional cost per unit produced, it would improve the efficacy of Autopilot
· until Tesla cars can process visual information perfectly to detect obstacles, it should add LIDAR to its cars so that they have more information to help them, for example, determine that what appears to be an open lane is blocked by a solid piece or steel or concrete
· any new human driver can easily avoid most of the dangerous situations Autopilot has encountered and failed to navigate
· Autopilot should recognize hazards and react accordingly, like any newly certified human driver would
· anything else is irresponsible and puts lives in danger
Boeing is greedy and treats professional pilots with contempt
· in several occasions, Boeing’s MCAS overrode pilots and started to fly planes into the ground
· several crew had more knowledge than others and deactivated the system in time
· others, even though they followed standard procedures, were not successful at keeping the plane in the air
· MCAS exhausted them, both physically and mentally
· with all its years developing airliners, jet fighters, and other sophisticated vehicles, Boeing SHOULD HAVE KNOWN BETTER
· but its hubris, greed, and focus on profit blinded it to the correct approach
· now its reputation is deservedly ruined
· how is Boeing to pay for the catastrophic decisions that put defective planes on airports and skies all over the world, putting in danger the lives of millions of individuals, and ending the lives of 346 people?
· the reputations of Boeing and the US Federal Aviation Administration are on the ground, where they will remain for decades due to the development cycles and lifetimes of the products Boeing sells and that the FAA is supposed to certify and regulate, unbiased and without undue influence
the Boeing 737 Max shows Boeing’s prioritization of profit over human life, and it represents its hubris by tacitly stating that its MCAS system is more capable than professionally·trained pilots at controlling a plane that they have invested a significant portion of their lives to master (unless, of course, they are actually not flying the same plane)
· Boeing’s MCAS has killed 346 people
public disclosure of every safety aspect of a product is required for all participants on the human internet
· people will not be exposed to products that put their data or their lives at risk
in a world that puts human life ahead of material gain, companies who produce products responsible for peoples safety must share publicly how those products are developed and tested
· what testing procedures does Tesla use?
· has Tesla requested National Transportation Safety Board, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, and Department of Transportation assistance in determining the causes of its Autopilot failures, which make vehicles using it drive straight into highway medians and other vehicles?
· or is Tesla behaving like a spoiled brat, and not participating in investigations out of hubris, spite, and pride, placing itself above the lives of its customers?
· what has Tesla done to ensure that Autopilot stops steering people into solid barriers?
· people need answers to these questions if they are to trust Tesla’s technological expertise as well as its marketing acumen
in the human internet, people decide whether to use a product by knowing exactly how the product was designed, developed, and tested
· this information includes the methodologies used throughout the development process, the qualifications of the people involved, the level of testing and quality assurance performed, and other aspects, such as whether artificial_intelligence·based software includes ethical evaluation of circumstances while reacting to life·threatening situations, aspects of complex products that companies do not normally publicize
· the human internet encourages such disclosures because they contribute to safety and user trust
· for example, companies like Tesla and Boeing should disclose how they test their products, that is the only way people can begin to regain trust in the judgment and engineering prowess of those companies
· software plays an outsize role in the safety of billions of individuals every day
· companies cannot hide behind patents and trade secrets while denying people the information they need to make the life·and·death decisions involved in getting from point A to point B, on an automobile or airliner
for people to trust that companies like Tesla and Boeing learn from their mistakes, just like people must periodically pass written and practical tests that determine their capacity to drive safely on public roads, automated systems must pass rigorous tests, including realistic depictions of situations that they failed to navigate correctly in the past (similar to how unit_testing prevents regressions in software products)
· the results of those tests must be publicly accessible
· presentations about new technology or approaches for automated_learning are not enough to inform people about how products from these companies behave in normal and emergency situations
every release of software (introduction, major updates, and maintenance updates) that is directly responsible for human safety must pass documented tests, representing extreme situations, and situations like the ones that Autopilot has previously failed, resulting in death
· the tests must also include situations on which software is fed incorrect data, like the ones that resulted in the deaths of 346 civilians and crew
· users (drivers, pilots) must be educated on how software updates affect the behavior of the complex machines they operate
· that is, most software release notes or bulletins must include or cite the official content that describes in great detail the nature of the software release in question
· this compulsive release documentation must identify all the tests that the products (cars, planes) incorporating the new software passed
· because not passing documented tests is unacceptable, the documentation could be used in legal proceedings against companies if it can be proven that the products that contain the software release cannot pass the tests
people benefit greatly when they can customize their experiences to meet personal standards
· any environment or ecosystem that claims to be humane must provide people several ways of customizing their experiences in it
people need options when configuring their device environments, resulting in highly·personalized experiences
· one or two providers of anything is not enough
· for example, we need more than two options for the operating systems that run our handsets
· by facilitating the creation of products and services that operate on the same entity_data, the human internet facilitates the creation and nurture of entities that create products that provide varied experiences, giving people many options from which to choose
in the human internet, the business models and priorities of data_specialists are much less relevant to the administration of entity data because data is under the control of the data_subject, not the entities who collect or store the data
· data_owners can use more than one service to perform the same functions, while the services rely on the same underlying data
· when a data specialist changes its business_model, is purchased, or goes out of business, the owner of the data can start using a different data specialist to perform the same functions using the same data, without the need for data·transfer processes
· the human internets infrastructure, policies, and rules ensure that data is not used to keep people and businesses tied to particular data specialists
the Human Internet Consortium ensures that no data category is understood and managed by fewer than three data specialists
· when a data specialist introduces a new data category to the human internet, the consortium requires that at least five specialists (including the submitter) commit to supporting that data category in perpetuity
· and, when through mergers, acquisitions, or other mechanisms, the number of specialists committed to supporting a particular data category goes below four, the consortium looks for additional specialists to support that category, or funds two or more specialists so that they create and support products and services that operate on the category
· no data will be abandoned in the human internet
all the devices and digital services you use are connected through a common entity: you
· therefore, all of them must work together to help you accomplish what you want to get done
there is only one of you, all the services you deal with in the physical world deal with the one copy of you that exists
· the same is true for your personal_data, your home_data, your transportation_data, and your health_data
· in the human internet, you are the chief manager of your data
· all the personal data·based services you use operate on the one true repository of your data that exists
· you do not have to worry about separate entities having different versions of your data because there is only one version of your data
the devices you use are connected through you, therefore, they should operate together, as a team, to help you get things done, effortlessly and seamlessly
· today, a friend that visits your house can join your wireless network without needing a password from you if both of you have iOS devices
· or, if you get a Samsung TV, it can be configured for your network if you also have a Samsung phone
· this kind of functionality must be extended so that regardless of the company that produces a device, it can operate effectively with devices from other manufactures because that would benefit you
· your devices work together to do your bidding, not to serve as tool for behemoths to collect, control, and abuse your personal data, your privacy, and put your life at risk, so that they can report good results in the next quarterly financial statement
Amazon runs two kinds of businesses:
• one is a platform, the place where small businesses [such as Pet Pillow] trade, and buyers and sellers meet; Amazon runs the platform but also sucks out tons of information from every single transaction
• it then uses that information, which no one else is privy to, to identify profitable businesses [like Pet Pillow], which it then competes against; Amazon then puts out a product in competition with Pet Pillow, and moves that profitable business back to page 6, and puts Amazon’s own business at the frontusing a baseball analogy, you could be the umpire (the platform), or you could have a team in the game (running individual businesses that meet on the platform)
· but you don’t get to do both simultaneously
Elizabeth Warren
most kids who play in a playpen are happy and want others be happy too
· they learn to share, take turns, and show their peers, and their parents or guardians, how rewarding a particular
activity can be
on the other hand, most businesses today have one selfish goal in mind: to maximize profit
· this behavior has produced entities that put human lives and the environment at risk because the goal of businesses is not to be friendly with each other, or to help people be better or guarantee their safety
· the goal of these profit·focused entities is to grow so that they can generate large revenues, and produce ever growing profit
· related to this goal is the elimination of the competition by undercutting business models, or by acquiring foes
· this is how companies who started with altruistic goals such as Google and Facebook, and companies who over time had earned reputations as masters of technology and engineering, such as Boeing and Tesla, have degenerated into the greedy, inhumane, and criminal entities they are today
· their actions show that their focus is on maximizing revenue, and maintaining or increasing profit, at the cost of, anything, including human life
· staying focused on the needs, rights, and safety of individuals and their home, Earth, is how companies can remain helpful to societies and humanity despite changes in business realities and demands from shareholders
Amazon is both a marketplace and the largest participant in that marketplace
· it has used that position to leverage the data it collects through marketplace interactions to copy and marginalize the rest of the participants, all of whom have access to less information than the platform runner
instead of being selfish bullies, businesses like Amazon should cooperate on open platforms that facilitate business·to·business interactions, knowing that no one business has an unfair advantage over the other participants
· by contributing their knowledge and expertise to the development of highly capable and flexible platforms that raise the chances at success for all participants, platform experts would help develop the business environments that take humanity forward
· or they may choose to participate in egalitarian platforms where customers choose their products based on their innovation, flexibility, and value, instead of their unfair access to the intimate business_data of
their competitors
in the human internet, data_architects cooperate to build open data_models, interaction_models, and processing algorithms that benefit every person, and that can be used by any data_specialist
· to introduce changes to human internet infrastructure, five otherwise provably unrelated entities submit their proposal to the Human Internet Consortium
· these entities have concrete plans for offering services that use the proposed subinfrastructure
· users of the services facilitated thru the new or modified models and algorithms must get the same benefit regardless of the data_managers they choose to manage their data
· under this model, data managers are replaceable service providers, and the public infrastructure that encompasses the critical data manipulation and processing knowhow is not subject to control, influence, or acquisition by any other entity; it is part of the human internet itself
while on todays internet entities differentiate themselves with proprietary data models and algorithms (Google’s search algorithms are a good example of this), on the human internet data and algorithms are always shared
· the data belongs to its owner, who has total control over it
· and the means thru which that data is manipulated, the algorithms, are public and open
· for example, if two data managers change the same data, the same method is used to make the change; the data manager does not change the data directly, it only asks the datapod containing that data to make the change
· the datapod service provider is a persons own cloud_computing infrastructure with which specialists interact to access or change that persons data
personal data and the data and interaction models used to manipulate it are like people and roads: the same people travel over the same roads, albeit using different vehicles
· you can get to a friends house on a motorcycle, a taxi, a car with autonomous driving capabilities, or a limousine
· the vehicles provide you transportation service, using standard interaction practices (language, symbols, door handles, seats, and tires)
· they take you from place to place, but they do not own or control you
· in the same vein, on the human internet, specialists interact with your data using a standard language and methods; they do not own, control, or store your data
· on the internet of today, companies behave so incompetently, irresponsibly, and criminally with personal data (yours, your friends, your familys) and business_data (Amazon) that they do not deserve to have control over personal or business data in the next evolution of the internet
the human internet implements the common language that participants use to work privately and security with personal information in a way that keeps human beings at the center of its operations
· the human internet is how people will learn, work, relate, communicate, and live digitally
· it is also the infrastructure that will allow entities to serve people and other entities privately, honorably, reliably, securely, and responsibly
markets without rules are theft
Elizabeth Warren
as Senator Warren often says, we need to level the playing field when it comes to how Amazon and other companies operate platforms on which they compete against platform users who do not have the same information the platform operator has
· Amazon operates an incredibly powerful, closed marketplace, which lets it compete unfairly with its participants (sellers do not have access to information such as product availability, inventory levels, and purchasing details, like Amazon has)
· the human internet facilitates the creation of open marketplaces that provide the same flexibility and name recognition Amazon provides but without the threat of competition from its operator
· business entities can participate in or create their own marketplaces using common data models and algorithms
· all data processing in these marketplaces is done for the benefit of their participants including sellers, buyers, and shippers, but not to directly benefit the platform operator
a marketplace_specification describes how a marketplace operates, detailing its data_model, interaction_model, and algorithms
· anybody can examine the specifications for open, public marketplaces
· this is what makes these marketplaces truly open, transparent, and fair
the human internet features the Open Market
· the Open Market aggregates the business_data (products for sale, shipping services offered, and so on) of entities who make that data available to market_agents
· market_agents (marketplace operators) present the business data they are authorized to access by market_sources (product sellers or service providers) to customers
· they let customers search for products, analyze their features, and purchase them without giving preference to products from any particular seller
· the experience is driven by customer preferences and history, not by the business priorities of the operator
· the more market agents an entity gives access to its business data, the wider its reach and customer base become
· instead of one big and uberpowerful Amazon, we have many small-to-large specialized marketplaces, which adapt better to the expectations of the audiences that they target
market agents cannot participate in the marketplaces they publish
· the service they offer is that of an interface between customers and sellers using the business data they are authorized to access as their data source
· this means that multiple market agents give customers choice over their buying experience
· instead of Amazon being the, er, Google of business transactions, the human internet facilitates the creation of many businesses, who may specialize in selling products or in providing a compelling shopping experience but not on both activities
to customers, marketplaces themselves become commodities
· when a person searches for information about a product or service in the Open Market, the search results include all the marketplaces that offer that item for sale
regulation and antitrust proceedings can address Amazon’s dominance over internet digital commerce
· but emulating its platforms capabilities and features in the open, for any business entity to use without the fear of competition from the all·knowing platform owner is a more organic and humanistic solution
an attorney_in_fact is a person authorized to act on behalf of another through a power of attorney document
a benefit_corporation is a business entity whose priority is not solely making profit
· these businesses commit themselves to the benefit of their customers, employees, community, and the environment before profit; it is enshrined in their articles of incorporation
data about the operations of an entity that provides services or products to other entities
a business_model describes the rationale of how an organization creates, delivers, and captures value, in economic, social, cultural or other contexts
the process of reading data from or writing data to a repository
a data_specialist with expertise on designing data_models, interaction_models, and algorithms
· data_architects help build the open infrastructure of the human internet by using their knowledge and experience to provide the network the features and capabilities used by people and other entities to access and manipulate personal_data privately, securely, reliably, and safely
a data_broker is an entity who collects personal information for various sources, including public and private records, driving records, social·media sites, bank records, and web·browsing histories
· after generating an individual profile for the person, which can include a persons age, height, race, religion, an other attributes, a broker sells it to other entities, including government agencies, for motives including advertising and identity verification
a data_specialist that requires read access to data in datapods
· entities can identify themselves as data_consumers to assure people of their intention not to modify the data they need to access to perform their activity or service
the process by which personal_data that was actively used on behalf of its owner moves to an inactive state, is de-identified, or is destroyed
[data_disposal]: #data_disposal "process that deactivates, deidentifies, or destroys personal data""
a specification that describes the processes and structures used to access or modify data
· the specification also describes how the data is manipulated, communicated, and processed to allow its shared access by multiple data_specialists and service providers
a data_specialist who, in addition to reading data from a datapod, can add, modify, and delete data in a datapod
a data_model specifies the data structures and relationships used to represent an entity, object, attribute, or content, so that it can be manipulated by data_specialists
a person or entity who stores data on a datapod
entity that accesses and manipulates entity_data on behalf of its owner or a data_specialist, with the authorization of the data_owner
the process of combining and manipulating data to produce useful information
an entity that possesses expertise in the usage of data to accomplish a task or perform a service
the person or entity to which a particular data item refers
a private, secure, and safe repository of personal_data controlled by the data_owner
· the owner can grant access to parts of the repository to data_specialists so that they can provide the owner services, or perform social research
a datapod_access_capability specifies the actions a data_specialist can take on a specific data realm in a datapod
· the possible access capabilities are read and write
a service provider that houses and provides access to datapods
the device_context is the state of the owners device environment at a particular time
· it represents the state of the owners current interactions with Hedy (and other digital organisms) in a device
dGround is the lowest software layer of Peoples·OS, and it provides the essential digital services used by digital organisms living in a device
a ditital_organism created by a data_specialist to get or manage personal_data to which the data_owner has authorized the specialist to access
a set of capabilities, interfaces, and interactions that is composed from the preferences and history of an entity (a person or organization) that works with data, interacts with other entities, or both
a digital_organism is a smart, reliable, and secure software component that operates in Peoples·OS
data that identifies or is used to identify an entity, or that describes entity activity such as commerce, fitness, and interentity relationships
an introduction of one entity to another through a third entity that both parties trust
the main digital organism that lives in human·internet devices; it is charged with responding to device owner queries and tasks
network, infrastructure, and ecosystem that gives an entity total control over its data
· such entities (people, organizations, and others) can also exert control over the information other entities create from such data and its online and offline activities
· this ecosystem is guided by principles and values whose guiding light is the benefit of individuals, societies, and humanity
personal_data that uses its owners preferences, history, and other data to help the owner discover helpful services and resources
dynamic network of connected hyperdata cooperating on behalf of their owners
a set of operations—including verbs, and objects—that describes how a data_specialist works with data, by itself or with another entity, to perform a task or a service with data or content
an owners life_context represents the state of the owner in real life
· for instance, it indicates whether the owner driving a car or a motorcycle, running, interacting with a patient, and so on, in addition to the state of the life interactions the owner is involved in
data_specialist who facilitates interactions between market_sources and consumers on a marketplace
entity that offers products or services for sale on a marketplace
document that describes how a marketplace operates, detailing its data_model, interaction_model, and algorithms
the increased value of a service to its users by the addition of other users to the service
an open·source implementation of IPFS aimed mainly for Peoples·OS but available for any entity to use
the main software that manages the operations of hardware and firmware in a device to provide services to high·level software, such as apps
personal_data that a person or entity stores in a datapod
a person who assists a specific person in eir personal and business affairs
entity_data that refers to a person (a human being or a legal person)
direct connection between two entities (persons or organizations) in which both parties are certain of the identity of the other as attested by a notary_public, secretary of state, or similar government agent
a device equipped with a secure_element that an entity (person or organization) uses to connect to the human internet, manage eir data, and perform identity authentication and authorization functions involving other entities
· because such a device is central to managing the identity of an entity, to set a device as a personal_identification_device, the entity needs to provide identification documents to a notary public, secretary of state, or similar government agent
· that functionary then uses software in the device to attest to the identity of the entity and certify that the entity is who the entity claims to be
· the device stores this attestation using its secure_element, making it a personal_identification_device for the person or entity
· after that, the entity is able to verify the identity of other entities whom have gone through the same process, authorize data_specialists to access datapods, and other identity·related functions
a process by which entities can share with others what is on their mind, what issues concern them, at specific moments, very similar to what people can do with Twitter and Tumblr
a special, secure chip in a device, whose contents and operations are inaccessible by other hardware and software components
· secure elements can create and store secrets who are unknown by everything outside of them; instead of the secret, the chip provides a digest of it, which can be used in encryption and decryption processes so that two or more entities can share data privately
v1 (2019.08.10 0220 UTC)