From every point of view, the current digital model is catastrophic. Yet, even when we are aware that we need to change the model, it is difficult to take action because it is a complex, wicked
---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: "Miriam Bastian, FSF" <info@fsf.org> Date: Wed, 05 Apr 2023 02:03:11 -0400 Subject: Chart your course with the LibrePlanet 2023 online series To: Karl Semich <0xloem@gmail.com> *Please consider adding <info@fsf.org> to your address book, which will ensure that our messages reach you and not your spam box.* Dear Karl Semich, As promised at this year's [LibrePlanet][1], the Free Software Foundation (FSF) is hosting a series of online talks and workshops over the coming weeks. Now, we'd like to announce the five workshops and two talks in this series. Please see the schedule below for dates, times, workshop descriptions, and registration links. Capacity to these events is limited, so we encourage you to register soon to ensure your spot. [1]: https://www.libreplanet.org/2023/ ## Workshops We're excited to present the following workshops and talks: ### Newk Script: Code katas to learn programming * **Time:** Monday, April 10, 12:00–13:30 EDT (16:00–17:30 UTC) * **Format:** Online workshop * **Event link:** <https://www.fsf.org/events/libreplanet-workshop-april-10-newk-script-code-katas-to-learn-programming-by-reynaldo-cordero> * **Registration link:** <https://my.fsf.org/civicrm/event/info?reset=1&id=115> * **Presenter:** Reynaldo Cordero * **Description:** Are you interested in a serendipitous Haskell programming learning method on your computer with over 1,700 [katas][2] ready to train? Newk is a Bash script using a 100% free software environment that takes advantage of serendipity the same way you learn to speak in childhood. No formal (or informal) classes: you are simply exposed to spoken information of any kind and at any level in real contexts, where everything is new, surprising, and true. Did you learn to speak? You will learn to program! [2]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kata_(programming) ### The immortal cookbook * **Time:** Monday, April 24, 12:00–13:30 EDT (16:00–17:30 UTC) * **Format:** Online workshop * **Event link:** <https://www.fsf.org/events/libreplanet-workshop-april-24-the-immortal-cookbook-by-adam-monsen> * **Registration link:** <https://my.fsf.org/civicrm/event/info?reset=1&id=117> * **Presenter:** Adam Monsen * **Description:** Join us in the journey: chart your course to digital recipe freedom! Celebrate your favorite home-cooked meals with all their history, comfort, and tradition. Cherish and share these meals with friends and family. Gather and curate your delicious recipes with ease. Recall your favorite dishes in an instant and keep them forever. This workshop will cover practical digital recipe storage and maintenance with free software using libre data formats. The focus will be on ease of use and collaboration. The workshop is designed to attract people capable at plaintext editing, including some coding experience. ### Metacartes: a free/libre toolbox to chart the course to an ethical digital technology * **Time:** Monday, May 01, 12:00–13:30 EDT (16:00–17:30 UTC) * **Format:** Online workshop * **Event link:** <https://www.fsf.org/events/libreplanet-workshop-may-1-metacartes-a-free-libre-toolbox-to-chart-the-course-to-an-ethical-digital-by-lilian-ricaud-and-melanie-lacayrouze> * **Registration link:** <https://my.fsf.org/civicrm/event/info?reset=1&id=118> * **Presenter:** Lilian Ricaud and Mélanie Lacayrouze * **Description:** problem. To support individuals and collectives on their path toward ethical digital tools and practice we developed a pedagogical tool in the form of paper cards linked to a digital resource using QR codes. We brought together a set of ready-to-use workshops and set of questions. We've put them on cards that can be used for face-to-face workshops, while the online resource can be used to get further up-to-date information. All the contents were developed using free software and are available online under a CC BY-SA licence. ### LeanWeb: A Ruby (out of rails) web framework for static and dynamic content * **Time:** Monday, May 08, 12:00–13:30 EDT (16:00–17:30 UTC) * **Format:** Online workshop * **Event link:** <https://www.fsf.org/events/libreplanet-workshop-may-8-leanweb-a-ruby-out-of-rails-web-framework-for-static-and-dynamic-content-by-felix-freeman> * **Registration link:** <https://my.fsf.org/civicrm/event/info?reset=1&id=119> * **Presenter:** Felix Freeman * **Description:** LeanWeb is a very lean web framework on top of Rack and Tilt that works for both static and dynamic content alike. The idea is being able to build static websites first, and add dynamism when needed without having to rely on dirty tricks. First, we will explore the basics of LeanWeb. Then, we will create our first static website using the tool. Finally, we'll add dynamism without pain nor guilt. For participation, some experience with HTML and CSS is recommended. No previous experience with Ruby is required. However, some programming experience is recommended. To make things go smoothly, please install Ruby on your GNU/Linux machine prior to the workshop. Installation with your distribution's package manager is sufficient. ### Digital colonialism, surveillance capitalism, and a libre software future * **Time:** Monday, May 15, 12:00–13:30 EDT (16:00–17:30 UTC) * **Format:** Online workshop * **Event link:** <https://www.fsf.org/events/libreplanet-workshop-digital-colonialism-surveillance-capitalism-and-a-libre-software-future-by-jose-castro> * **Registration link:** <https://my.fsf.org/civicrm/event/info?reset=1&id=116> * **Presenter:** Jose Castro * **Description:** Why are most mainstream platforms free of charge? Why is the answer to this first question a threat to humanity's future? What can we do about it? With a historic perspective, citing authors like Shoshana Zuboff, Marshall McLuhan, and Yanis Varoufakis, I try to give a perspective of how dystopian digital platforms nowadays are personal data extraction machines, how this machine works, the power of media (after S. Freud and E. Bernays), and why it is so critical for the future of humanity to choose libre software and ethical platforms. ### BigCode: Open and responsible research on code-generating AI systems * **Time:** Tuesday, May 30, 12:00–12:45 EDT (16:00–16:45 UTC) * **Format:** Online talk * **Event link:** <https://www.fsf.org/events/libreplanet-talk-bigcode-open-and-responsible-research-on-code-generating-ai-systems> * **Registration link:** <https://my.fsf.org/civicrm/event/info?reset=1&id=120> * **Presenters:** Harm de Vries and Leandro von Werra * **Description:** While code-generating AI systems like CoPilot have emerged as a powerful tool for professional developers, there are growing legal and ethical concerns around the development of these models. Questions have been raised as to whether these AI models respect current free software licenses---both for model training and generation---and what the social impact of this technology is on the free software community. The BigCode project is a scientific collaboration (with over 350 participants) working on the responsible development of code-generating AI systems. In this talk, we discuss how we navigate the legal-ethics-governance aspects around the development of these models, including how we developed a permissively licensed code dataset, give developers the option to remove their code from the training data, redact personally identifiable information (PII), and attribute generated programs to the original code snippet. ### WorldVistA EHR version of the Department of Veterans Affairs Electronic Health Record * **Time:** Monday, June 5, 16:00-16:45 EDT (20:00-20:45 UTC) * **Format:** Online talk * **Event link:** <https://www.fsf.org/events/libreplanet-talk-june-5-worldvista-ehr-version-of-the-department-of-veterans-affairs-electronic-health-record> * **Registration link:** <https://my.fsf.org/civicrm/event/info?reset=1&id=121> * **Presenter:** Nancy Anthracite * **Description:** WorldVistA EHR is a slightly modified version of the Department of Veterans Affairs Electronic Health Record, VistA. VistA is currently in the process of being replaced by Oracle Cerner by the VA, but implementation of the new system is currently on hold because it is not performing up to expectations. Meanwhile, VistA is in use in many places internationally, with the largest implementation in the country of Jordan. The largest implementation in the U.S. is at Central Regional Hospital, a state mental health hospital in North Carolina. It will fall upon the free software community to keep this comprehensive free software EHR available in the future. ## Livestream No worries if you don't get a spot. We will livestream and record these sessions just like any other LibrePlanet session, and you can view them via <https://libreplanet.org/2023/live/>. ## Volunteer! We are looking for remote volunteers to help provide a short intro to our speakers, as well as to pass along interesting questions. If you want to volunteer to assist with online session moderation, please reach out to <resources@fsf.org>. We hope to see you there! Yours in freedom, Miriam Bastian Program Manager -- * Follow us on Mastodon at <https://hostux.social/@fsf>, GNU social at <https://status.fsf.org/fsf>, PeerTube at <https://framatube.org/accounts/fsf/video-channels>, and on Twitter at @fsf. * Read about why we use Twitter, but only with caveats: <https://www.fsf.org/twitter> * Subscribe to our RSS feeds: <https://fsf.org/blogs/RSS> * Join us as an associate member: <https://www.fsf.org/jf> * Read our Privacy Policy: <https://www.fsf.org/about/free-software-foundation-privacy-policy> Sent from the Free Software Foundation, 51 Franklin St, Fifth Floor Boston, Massachusetts 02110-1335 United States You can unsubscribe from this mailing list by visiting https://my.fsf.org/civicrm/mailing/unsubscribe?reset=1&jid=166848&qid=82098686&h=d7e55d472bba3610. 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