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Last post: Sep 9, 2026
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Site title: Axbom • Compassionate Tech
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Swedish government gives go-ahead for police to generate CSAM
Sep 9, 2026 · original
❗ Please be aware that this article references abuse against children. Find a Helpline lists phone numbers and contact details to organisations across the world in case you, or someone you know, need someone to talk to. Let's get the phrasing issue out of the way: "child pornography" is still a legal term being used in Sweden, despite decades of debate calling for it to be abandoned in favor of a phrase more akin to CSAM, Child Sexual Abuse Material. Knowing how it diminishes the severity of the crime, officials and media tend to avoid using "pornography" when referencing this criminal domain. Thus, hearing the use of "child pornography" being amplified at a government press conference headed by the Minister for Justice, Gunnar Strömmer, is disheartening. But the matter at hand is much worse. Among the government announcements is the concept of infiltrating online networks of child abuse
Borg Complex, technofatalism and think-hostility
May 29, 2026 · original
In a 2013 article , philosopher L.M. Sacasas describes how he coined the Borg Complex. The concept draws its inspiration from the cybernetic collective the Borg in Star Trek — a collective of beings embodied by a mixture of machine and biological life. No Borg has its own will, its own thoughts, nor its own identity. All think and act as a single mind, a mind whose only goal is to grow and assimilate more. The Borg travel through space converting other beings into part of their own collective. They take over individuals against their will, connect them to the collective, and completely erase their own personalities. Knowledge is absorbed, but culture, memories and individuality disappear. When assimilation occurs, these words are usually spoken: "We are the Borg. Resistance is futile." "We are the Borg. Resistance is futile." The Borg Complex gives us terminology to describe people who a
The trauma of AI Humanizers
May 13, 2026 · original
The existence of writing services under the name of “AI Humanizer”, promising to artificially make the tone of your texts more authentic, underscores a ludicrous and brutal era of human suppression. I’ve been writing since I was six years old. My writing has changed profoundly between then and now, 46 years later. But also between last month and now. It has of course changed with age, and it has changed with major and minor life events, teachers, books, and heartbreak. Children, illness, deep sorrow and butterflies of excitement. It has changed with friendships beginning and ending, with knowing people from different countries and cultures. It has changed with falling in and out of love for certain words. With learning how different people learn. Seeing what they take to heart and understand. With listening to people pushed to the edge of society. To the edge of their capacity. With real
Loving a dog
May 4, 2026 · original
As we end the early morning phone call with the vet, I let out a deep cry of anguish. It's happening now. It's startling and jarring. The speed of it. How we won't be there with her when she's put to sleep. How my body reacts. Out of control. Spasmodically. My face contorted in grief. Eyes and nose a snotty, blubbery mess. Gasping for air… All around us are Rusa's belongings, her bed, her food bowls, her leash, her stuffed toys. But Rusa will never return to them. The decisive phone call comes on Thursday , and by then Rusa has been unwell since Monday. She was clearly in pain and her hind legs weren't quite keeping up. She would sit up, struggling to lie down. She became restless, wanting to move around because the pain was uncomfortable, but walking was difficult. She avoided our touch. Tried to hide, as she would when she didn't want to show her pain. As if ashamed. Sweet, sweet Rusa.
Interactive playing cards for critical thinking
Mar 2, 2026 · original
Today it's exactly five years ago since I first published The Elements of Digital Ethics . I've received so much positive feedback on that chart. People from around the world, tutors and practitioners alike, have shared with me how they make use of the tool in their work and teaching. So, on this 5-year anniversary, I decided to make it even easier for anyone to start using the elements in everyday work. I've made them into interactive playing cards on a website – and it's free to use for all. You can visit cards.axbom.com and you'll find two sets of cards already there, The Elements of Digital Ethics and 13 Principles for Good Technology . Jump on over there if you want, but I do recommend first watching my quick video introducing the features of the website. Have a play around with the cards and let me know what you think. And later on, let me know how you get on with using them in a p
Schrödinger's Chat
Sep 12, 2025 · original
The people behind Chat Control claim that they are not breaking end-to-end encryption. At the same time, private messages on services with end-to-end encryption will be intercepted to uncover crimes. This means that we have to seriously start talking about the thought experiment Schrödinger's chat. We can safely continue to use chat services that offer secure communication as long as we buy into the premise that the end-to-end encryption is not broken even when each message is available to a third-party service managed by the state. Yep, the secret communication from sender to recipient is both encrypted and unencrypted at the same time. Or we ask politicians to get their act together and really understand and be honest about the mass surveillance they intend to introduce. Image description: Schrödinger's chat: A communication that is both encrypted and unencrypted at the same time. Exam
Frankenstein's expression
Aug 23, 2025 · original
I get that voice cloning is a wonderful technology for people who have lost their voice and want to use their own voice for expressing their own words. That is giving someone control over self-expression, and self-respect. But when voice cloning is used to copy someone else’s voice for expressing things they never said, that is about removing control and dignity and moving their power across to another actor. When people use language models to express themselves they are not engaging in self-expression. They are using the copied voices of thousands of other human beings (living and dead) for generating thoughts those people never said, mimicking and averaging the individual quirks and wordplay of texts written in the very real joy, agony and consumed minds of those humans. It’s Frankenstein expression.
LinkedIn removes clear support for trans people
Aug 1, 2025 · original
LinkedIn, the Microsoft platform for professional networking, updated its policy regarding hateful and offensive content a few days ago. Specifically, they have removed wording that constituted a clear stance against harassment directed at trans people. The change was discovered by Open Terms Archive , an organization and service that monitors changes in terms of service and policy texts since early 2023. The changes follow a clear pattern where a number of large American companies and authorities have downplayed – or completely deleted – content that expresses support for diversity, equity and inclusion. This follows the American president's demands for exactly this, and all major tech platforms in the USA have chosen to scale down, or remove, stated protections against hate speech. Particularly when it concerns trans people. In LinkedIn's case, they have now removed the clarification t
Accept, leave or reform the unsustainable
Jun 10, 2025 · original
In 1973, Ursula K. Le Guin wrote her award-winning story The Ones Who Walk Away From Omelas . This short science fiction story describes an idyllic city, Omelas, where everyone is happy and healthy. The city celebrates its summer festival with flowers, delicious food, flute playing, and children racing on horseback. The bliss and pleasure embodied by the city feels too good to be true. And it is. The wellbeing of its citizens and their ability to flourish is based on a very specific phenomenon: the suffering of a child. In a basement room, this child is kept in darkness, terrified, and without human contact, year in and year out. The description of the child’s suffering is heartbreaking and morbid. The child is no secret. Everyone in the city knows. It is explained to young residents between the ages of eight and twelve. And they know that their own happiness, loving relationships, and l
Why Signal is more secure than WhatsApp
Mar 27, 2025 · original
WhatsApp also has end-to-end encryption and even uses Signal's protocol for transferring messages. This implies it's just as safe – but is it really? What people tend to forget about messaging services is that privacy isn't just about the content of your message. It is also about your metadata: the information about you, your message and your contacts. Even though the message itself is encrypted, WhatsApp collects a ton of information about you, such as: Your phone model and mobile number. Your profile picture, and yes: every time you change your profile picture. Your contacts' phone numbers Data about the operating system, battery level, signal strength, app version, browser info, mobile network, language, time zone and IP address. Identifiers used by Meta that are associated with the same account or phone in their other services (Instagram, Messenger, Threads, etceteras) Your activity,
Big Trek from Big Tech
Feb 23, 2025 · original
We're in an era where using Big Tech products for managing our online presence, including our work and our relationships, feels inevitable. But it's really high time for taking steps towards protecting ourselves from data mining, surveillance, lock-in and human rights abuses. And we can certainly reduce our dependency on companies that are misaligned with our values, if not fully remove them. Sure, it requires effort and stamina, and yes, I'll even say it: it's a big trek from big tech. Sorry, not sorry. 😁 I get a great deal of questions about tools I use and/or recommend, and I finally compiled this list. My intent is to keep updating this list regularly, as my curiosity about new tools is ongoing, day-by-day. The internet can be pretty awesome when you leave the trodden path. Also, I've almost certainly missed mentioning a favourite. Don't expect all services to be free, though! Actua
Data Shadows in Government Erase Human Worth
Dec 27, 2024 · original
You have many data shadows today. These are vague summaries of you as a person that authorities, banks and insurance companies use to assess your suitability for things like employment, benefits, sick pay, discounts and credit. In many contexts, you are merely a risk, the question is how big, and a 'data-driven' organization places great importance on your shadow to determine this. Unfair treatment by government is certainly not new, or a result of modern algorithms and AI. It is a result of how people are viewed. And of how ideas about efficiency, and reliance on data, affect that view. Sweden’s daily Svenska dagbladet , together with Lighthouse Reports, recently revealed that an automated system used by Sweden’s social insurance agency, supposedly predicting fraudulent behavior, showed clear signs of discrimination. People seeking temporary child support for sick children were disporpo
Typewriter design we still rely on
Nov 17, 2024 · original
Pictured in the featured image is my Remington Standard 12 typewriter from circa 1925, with a Swedish keyboard. Remington is notable as a brand of typewriter because their first two typewriters introduced features that are still in use today on computer keyboards across the world. Feature 1: Qwerty The Qwerty keyboard layout was invented by Christopher Latham Sholes in 1868 and adopted by the first Remington typewriter in 1873. Many people believe that the Qwerty keyboard layout deliberately placed keys to slow down typists, so that the typebars (the moving bars holding the hammers with the letters) wouldn't get jammed. But that's only partly right. What Sholes did was place letters that were frequently used together far apart from each other in the mechanical circle that held the typebars. So for example the common letter pair "TH" meant that the respective typebars for T and H had to b
Bluesky and the Power of Your Own Domain Name
Nov 16, 2024 · original
The ambitions expressed by the social network Bluesky bring hope. In addition to its own network, the company is building a technical way to communicate, a so-called "protocol" called AT . This protocol is published in the open, enabling other organizations to create their own, independent platforms that can seamlessly communicate with Bluesky. The hope is that you will never lose your social media connections and posts again, and if you play your cards right: not even your username. You can already – now – verify your identity and boost trust by having your own domain name as your username. And this costs nothing if you already have a domain name . The username can then continue to work even if in the future you move to another platform that uses the same "protocol". For example, my username on Bluesky is @axbom.com , the same domain name as this blog. Diagram: Where your account lives
Fake QR code in a car park
Oct 16, 2024 · original
I often warn people about QR codes, but it's easier to understand the seriousness of these warnings when you can clearly see what a scam looks like. Here is a film I was given the okay to use for educational purposes (with my voiceover). In the video a woman peels off a sticker on a sign about parking fees at a car park in Ireland. The sticker, placed with criminal intent, is a QR code that fits perfectly on top of a valid QR code that the parking company has encouraged you to use. According to a statement, the woman's daughter lost €1,000 after scanning the code, landing on a page that looked legitimate, and entering her credit card details. Credible actors should not be making use of QR codes in public places. Organizations put their own reputation at risk and they risk the safety of people who are encouraged to scan the code. Sometimes fraudsters are not immediately after money but ar

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