I believe it’s important to design with the ethical-utilitarian model in mind (e.g. blog post ninety-two), to get to an approach in which the notion of participatory action is functional for restoring autonomy and belonging.
The ethical-utilitarian approach asks: how do you optimize autonomy, belonging, achievement and safety for the most people? Not by using the highest technological standards, but by making sure the technology actually reaches and impacts the target group. Preferably at a feasible cost and without collateral damage.
Decentralization and re-centralization of autonomy
In the early days of the internet, data lived with the user. This protected autonomy but made belonging and achievement harder to scale. Over time, platforms centralized data to deliver personalization and scale. The result: a tradeoff. People gained convenience and community, but lost autonomy. Surveillance capitalism became the default.
Let’s get to the point
We need to flip the model. Keep data with the user. Bring the app to the data. This lets people control their own data while still benefiting from tools and personalization. But it requires a new architecture, where apps are portable and can run locally on user-owned data stores.
So. Data to apps. But: how?
- Personal data vaults: personal data is stored in user-owned spaces, like secure pods or vaults.
- App containers: apps can be downloaded and run locally, accessing only what the user authorizes.
- User consent dashboards: permissions are transparent, revocable, and understandable.
- Collective data pools: people can optionally opt in to share data in pooled datasets for research or public goods.
This doesn’t solve everything. But it offers a path where autonomy is not sacrificed for scale. It turns surveillance into collaboration.