Public compute infrastructure

Notes

Computing as a public utility

Framing

Computing as Public Utility

This framing shows how bad corporate monopolies that charge rent for computation
How can access to computing be more equitable
Google, Microsoft, etc didn't invent computing, they have no right to control all of it

Historically, mainframes were something you could rent and every one could access it at the same price.

Material conditions for computing, making the cloud less ethereal.

How to bridge the gap in awareness for owning your data

Photo backups * you pay Google/Apple, or you're very technical, and there are no other options

Could we imagine government run email?

Another problem this would help solve is arbitrary censorship of content and access

Need to archive content without paying tech monopolies

Problem of usability * technological capability doesn't seem to be the problem.

Skills, perception, SLA expectation are some obstacles -> What is actually acceptable? The assumption is it must be 24/7, but is that always true?

So what would it look like?

Metaphor of a community garden

Half-Built Garden by Ruth Ann Emyrs * scifi novel decentralized communities

Idea: depending on ex-tech industry employees to help training

Creating open source manuals with repeatable formulas for creating data centers

Example of re-purposing infrastructure in Detroit: mesh network with nodes in churches

There will likely be a lot of unused data centers after the Al boom busts. These could be re-purposed.

Powering these with clean power is a significant challenge.

Waste heat into water is a huge pollution concern
A lot of private data centers are publicly subsidized while also using public power on an already resource constrained grid

This tends to be a dry issue-needs to be more fun.

Security--don't want the state running my computers how can this be private, but community owned.

Distributed networking and computing for resilience.

Practical example to get started: locally run mapping applications. What if we could try this with small pilot programs that run for a few years?

Spend as much money on organizing as on tech
Bring in different parts of the community, like immigrant and Native American communities

Enough funding and volunteer time aremperennial challenges

Bay Area projects as examples

Context of global access, compute, water, power

Distributed systems empower more people through shared ownership--there's something inherently fun about that

Summary

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