This talk tells a story of FOSS as it is centered in current trends of world-affairs, for FOSS is not merely technical coding. It is a social contract. One of FOSS' most important possibilities might be countering perverse incentives in today's internet financing models. With the current model, privacy, democracy and supply-chain security are risked. Yet no matter what solutions are feasible, the goal of this talk is to broaden our perspectives out onto the world at large. The first step is outlining some contemporary problem policy-issues (such as privacy, encryption, democracy, walled gardens, inter-cultural warfare, social profiling, online moderation and left-right divides). Then the second step is outlining potentials for strategic leverage points, places where FOSS and its related co-operative ecosystems might make large positive contributions to our futures. Software is at the center of a broad range of topics and ethical concerns affecting every facet of human and non-human life. The stakes are large, but there are so many places to make a positive difference: civil infrastructure, human-scale interactions, the four freedoms (to use, study, alter and share FOSS), the fediverse, supply chain audits and especially the feasibility of co-operative service models that address questions of ownership and control beyond licensure.
Speakers: Delib