Richard Stallman was one of my heroes in my early days learning about technology, learning how to code and how software works. He’s not well known but should be known widely. His lectures and ideas are very accessible.
He’s the founder of the open software movement. One that succeeded on some fronts and failed on others. He is an advocate for all people being free to access, change, remix, share and even sell - the underlying source code of programs. His philosophy and ideas are encapsulated in his 4 Freedoms. He outlines them in the video. He is a co-creator of the GNU operating system. Suffice to say, Google, Microsoft, they didn’t court him nor invite him to lecture to their employees.
The thrust of Stallman’s 4 freedoms was “liberty”, the idea that software has so much control and power over us, our actions, what we do (just think of how powerful Google search is or all the algorithms out there - showing us only what they want us to see, puppet masters behind the curtain). Basically, when you are online, the tech companies (the barons of the source code) know everything about you and what you are doing. Much more than you think. We know nothing of them or how they do it. It’s private. That’s wrong. The 4 freedoms Stallman argued, were essential for the continual growth, prosperity of democracy, direct or distant. Our very own freedoms are at stake. Now 20 years on, even more is at stake.
Long story short, we’ve failed. Now, we see how through software, controlled software / code, we are manipulated, cajoled, fed bread and circuses. We no longer can see into the belly of the beast, create alternatives, challenge. It’s all just - trust us. Yeah, right.
A quick example. Today, just moments ago, I woke up and got a message from YouTube - the video below was removed. What? Yes, for hate speech. Yet, it is a video (if you listen) of Timothy Leary saying the exact opposite. Go figure. But just one example of how the “code” is cleaning up everything and destroying our own liberty as individuals.
The kicker is that it was an algorithm, a machine that canceled me, this video. A dumb machine. AND, it came after I posted about Novak Djokovic and had a trending video about his recent denial of entry into the US as unvaccinated. Right after the notification, the 1,000s of views of that video stopped, abruptly. The software controls us.
I’d like to extend Stallman’s ideas into the realm of language, speech, expression. For essentially, code is a language. We need our own freedoms to speak, express, say, share, converse, discuss, talk … So to end, here is my summation of his freedoms, now the 4 freedoms of expression.
The four essential freedoms of expression
A person is free if they have these four essential freedoms: [1]
The freedom to think and say what they want (freedom 0).
The freedom to critique and judge and dissent (freedom 1). Access to primary sources, non-personal information, is a precondition for this.
The freedom to share one’s thoughts and expressions (freedom 2).
The freedom to form a community based on one’s expressions of belief and creative works (freedom 3). By doing this you can give the whole community a chance to benefit from your expression.
The 4 Freedoms Of Expression