 Hello, welcome. I hope it's not strange that the introduction was actually in German, although the talk will be held in English. But I think this was announced like that on the schedule. OK, so welcome to the bits and bottom movement for digitalization and sustainability, the current needs of bits and trees. Just to make the pun complete, I changed the translation of bits and boomer to bits and trees. So what are we talking about today? First, I want to introduce myself. Then I want to talk about some of the topics we're dealing with in bits and boomer. Then I will describe the initial conference in 2018, then the demands that came out of this conference. Then I will describe the movement that grew out of the conference. And then I will outline some ways to act, which then hopefully guides perfectly into the discussion. So first to myself, I'm Rainer Rehack. I have a background in computer science and philosophy. I work at the Weizmann Institute for the Network Society as a researcher. And I'm active in the forum computer professionals for peace and social responsibility. And I was co-initiating the bits and bottom of the conference. Just one word in advance regarding the framing of environmentalism and sustainability. I'm not so much in favor of the framing that we have to protect nature because the Earth does not really care about the human beings. So of course, once the humans are gone, it just needs a certain 100,000 of years. And then everything is OK again. So I think it's really important to say what we're talking about and what we're protecting is also our livelihoods. So we all live in symbiosis. And you could, in a technical way, say nature provides services we live and we need to live. So you can see nature as its own value, of course. But we're actually just fighting for survival. So this is just to make this somehow clear. So the topics. So what is the whole thing with the digitalization and sustainability about? Well, first, I would consider digitalization somehow. The computerization, algorithmization, and datafication that takes place all across the board. A computerization means really hardware put everywhere, IoT and such things. Algorithmization and datafication, I think, are pretty clear terms here. In terms of sustainability, I want to talk about the ecological, economical, social, and maybe informational sustainability here. So you could say sustainability means a stable condition somehow with a good life that provides a good life for everyone. Well, first, I start with the ecological sustainability. Maybe some data on the material footprint of the digital systems. We're using 1% of the global emissions are online videos. That's 80% of all data traffic. If you add hardware and everything, you are maybe around a few percent in energy use for those systems. Maybe 1 gigabyte in transfer traffic needs around 0.06 kilowatt hours. So that's kind of one hour of Netflix. It's half an hour, 30 watts light bulb plus minus. However, if we take the example of Netflix, they try to be CO2 neutral by themselves. But of course, they are intermediaries which cannot be controlled. So we see it's not that easy just to say, I try to be a climate neutral. Some people say Google use the same amount of energy as the city of San Francisco. At one point, Google says they have 40% energy saving applied right now. However, the rebound effect kicks in if you say that maybe 100 new data centers are being built. So it's really, really not so easy to count those numbers. In Germany, there are data centers that last year took the energy of four medium-sized coal-fired power plants according to BITCOM. And that's maybe 10% of the electricity generation in Germany for internet-related things. So what I'm trying to say here is that all those numbers, you can always, it's not so easy to put a clear number on consumption if we take energy production into account if it's all a renewably created. So where's the problem? But so we have the hardware. Where does it come from? And so all those questions are quite complex. On the other hand, you could also say increasing online usage. Of course, online banking is increasing. But on the other hand, you may need less branch offices. But maybe the back office is the same question applies with physical meetings or video conferences, which we have right now, the topic. Of course, people are maybe then more in home office, less traveling, less office use. But on the other hand, and it's not a very small point, you have heating costs and electricity generation then on another place, another spot, maybe with different kinds of hardware. Because of digitalization, new behaviors emerge. So you can't really say, it's not so easy to say, if this gets less, this gets more. So those are complicated aspects. So what I'm trying to say here is, it's not so easy if we look at certain small aspects to see if it's good or not. But we have to put a target. We have to put a goal in the terms of ecological sustainability. This is, right now, we have emissions. And there's a 66% chance for 1.5 degrees with a certain budget right now. That means this budget, if we take business as usual, we have around eight years time globally. And then we have to cut to zero to stay within this limits. Or you can also, if you like, not factually argument, but politically argue to stay within the Paris Agreement, which limits the emissions. And so this is the goal. The goal is not, how can we save it a little bit here or a little bit there? We have to look at those indicators. But of course, there are other aspects of sustainability. And this is where it gets really interesting. It gets really interesting for our movement or for the idea because we have the informational world connected to economical and social and informational sustainability. So as I've said before, we're shifting our lives into technical dependency. Somehow we need digital infrastructures that are independent from individual use. We have data, informational knowledge that's being reflected within all those digital infrastructures. So how do we deal with this? What does sustainability mean in this aspect concerning also the software use we use and also concerning political processes that are maybe enabled by technology and also what technology has to be made more part of democratic and negotiation processes. You could also look at, for example, internet and advertising where right now the ad industry is just used for increased consumption. So you see a very clear connection here between sustainability and digitalization. And this is also part of us always constantly using new devices if the old ones break or if they're not usable anymore. So it's resource consumption as a whole, which is the problem and which is directly at the corner of digitalization and sustainability. But we can also look at digital rights management is repairing allowed, sharing allowed. And we look at the economic parts of monopolies, privacy and surveillance. What does it mean when there's a lot of power over societies and individuals? How does it influence democratic processes? This is also directly in the middle of those two topics. So you could also say there's a representative crisis in democracy since many people support a shift to sustainability, but somehow it doesn't reflect in policies. So there's a big problem. And we also come to problematic questions like if free software was everywhere, but we should have a look at how this free software has been created. If this is a hobby project of a person, then there's little reliability, but this is of course not a problem of free software, but how could we create an environment where free software is the norm and where the people who work there are not close to burnout all the time. So how to create stable communities. And this is also something to learn from the sustainability force. Yeah, other aspects are maybe electricity and transport grids that needs to be updated and changed according to sustainability goals. A lot of IT is needed there. And if we take, let's say the IT people into those discussions, which are there of course, but that doesn't make it so easy for the sustainability people to fall for the usual blockchain and AI scam. As last interesting topic is maybe trade agreements, where usually more and more there is IT policy included, and those are questions of sovereignty and control, especially for the countries and the global self. So we see there's a lot connected here if we open this box, maybe, yeah, this box. So interestingly, we somehow know what to do, but the client, so we need to limit global warning by limiting emissions. Maybe some people suggest CO2 budgets or caps. We need to abolish subsidies, roll out renewable energies. We need more sustainable mobility concepts, maybe vegetarian food, regional, seasonal. Down to changing the whole economic system. And in all those aspects, we see digitalization plays a crucial role there. How do we internalize externalities? How do we break up monopolies? I mean, we see that right now with Facebook, with Google, with all those big companies, is it a problem with tech or is it a problem with monopolies or is it a combination of both? And we also should ask with the application of technology, is the use case, does it really help with sustainability? We all know the paperless office, which now has more paper than before. So obviously, computers did not help in this aspect, but those are the points where we need to take a closer look what technological solutions actually provide. On the social level, we have to stop exploitation, check about fair distribution of benefits of productivity. And finally, informational, we have to take data protection seriously. Maybe you think about common space peer production and hard end software, but then also other digital goods. And think about free knowledge, open knowledge and free cultural products. Saying that free always doesn't mean it doesn't have to, it doesn't mean that it doesn't have to cost anything, but it's not restricting. So as you might see now, this is very, very complex. This was a very, very complex bunch of questions. So at one point, a group of people decided to make a conference in 2018, maybe a small view backwards. So a group of organizations found each other, I could say, I don't want to read all of them right now. But the idea was to bring together environmental folks, the hackers and techies and the development folks to talk exactly about those topics so that everyone could bring in their abilities and their knowledge and then to get in contact with each other and connect the communities. With the goal of a common livable future for all and the world for all. Of course, that includes a clean atmosphere and that also needs a clean data atmosphere. Yes, okay, and so the idea was then the reflection on the relation of digitalization and sustainability, but also sustainability strategies for projects and also to bring in ideas like convivial technology. Especially interesting, I found the discussion about the means and purpose relationship, you could say digitalization is a means and sustainability maybe is a purpose. So like growth, which is not an end in itself, but it should help, but if it doesn't help, we should stop it. It's the same question you could make for digitalization in certain aspects. Because right now, how we digitalize, do this kind of digitalization, it's just putting oil to the fire. But of course, the question is not yes, no, but what do we do and how do we do? Do we use centralized systems or decentralized systems and all those questions? Yes, and as a result of this conference, there were some concrete demands that came out. I don't wanna go into details, so all of them, you can check them out on the website. But the first point was social ecological objectives and the design of digitalization. So social, environmental and development policy as well as peace objectives should be part of the direction where we're going, right? We talk about technology, so we can shape it as we need it. And it should also foster human rights, climate protection goals, as well as the end of hunger and poverty, because this is the ultimate goal. And all the other demands, you can check out yourself later. As you see, it goes from data protection, monopolies, democracy, education. So all the questions somehow I've been addressing before, we try to put it in a shape that's easy to understand. So it's a small leaflet, actually, and it's supported by, at least in Germany, major organizations from the hacker area, the tech area, and also the sustainability and ecological area. So I'm not going into those details right now. But the question was then, okay, we can't control and we don't want to control this whole thing. So that's why we said, everyone can use the bits of Boimer label as they please if they adhere to some of our, let's say, rules. You have to work on this direction of the digitalization and sustainability. You have to concentrate on active science and civil society, as we know, that companies and especially politicians have their platforms already. So we want to give a voice to the less heard and in our view, more competent actors most of the time. If you support the demands and you live the motto, so you organize those events according to those principles, anyone can use the bits and Boimer label as they want. We have the local material under free licenses. You can ask for help under beveegung at bitsandboimer.org, if you like. And the result was overwhelming. We have branches, pun intended, in Dresden, in Berlin, in Hanover, in Dortmund, Osnabrück, Cologne, and you have, they come from different areas. Some are closer to the chaos family, some are closer to the Obnolage Foundation family. Some are coming just from university backgrounds and come from, yeah, all kinds of backgrounds. We have mailing lists, the forum, matrix chat and there's even an assembly here at RC3. You can check it out if you find it. That's always part of the game. And today at nine, there will also be a matrix chat. You can find all this on the website. You can check out the videos of the conference that have been taking place. And yeah, so that's kind of the whole movement. That's why it got decentralized and it's a really good idea as it turned out. So finally we will get to the last point, the way to act. Well, of course, individual action is good. If you say I want to be streaming with less resolution, that's totally fine, but it's always clear to state that there's a structural problem here. We have a total asymmetry with a lot of subsidies making the cheapest and the most easy option for everything from food to electronics the actually most dangerous one for climate, for avoiding a global warming. And so this is something that really needs to stop and needs to be changed in policy, but that shouldn't stop us from also starting with small experimental projects or with lab projects, with software projects, shape local groups, go to a regular table, we should organize somehow. And you can come, of course, to bits and boimers in those different cities if you want or connect to the online events. So, and sometimes maybe it's okay to just switch off the computer and go outside, but I want to finish with a quote from Joseph Weizbaum. The question is not how digitalization changes society, but how society uses digitalization. And we try to suggest one way of making it usable globally for a good life for all. And I hope that was not too much and too fast, but now I'm happy to get feedback and questions if there are any. Thanks a lot. Hi, I hope you can hear me, Reiner. Thank you very much for your talk. We are right now asking again on the chats and on social media to post questions about your talk. Maybe we can begin. So, did you expect this to become some kind of distributed movement, something that started from one, from event, really? We have actually not planned this, but later on we found out that it's impossible to first to contain it, which we also don't want, but it's also not possible to coordinate this because some of us are volunteers, especially in the tech area. So this is just not possible. And decentralization is always a good thing. That's why we put up those principles. But from the beginning on, that was not the idea, but somehow it got to life. And it turns out it was a good idea because at least in the German-speaking area, this label has become something like an indicator for a certain discourse. If we think, for example, Zylka Helfrich, she organized a project 10 years ago, genes, bytes, and emissions that always already tried this, but then there came different names and different discourses. So it was hard to trace that back, but maybe it works that this kind of open label also helps that people who work on the same issues also find each other better somehow. So we got a question on the chat. Jian is asking, does this mean that there are no big bits and bohrmer conferences in the near future? No, that does not mean that. Let's say there might certainly be a big bits and bohrmer conferences in the future, but this should not keep anyone from organizing small ones or other big ones. But let's say some seeds might be already planted and let's see what's happening. That's good. We have another question coming up right now. And I seem to have lost it. No, are there any distributed online events or meetups one could join? I think you went into this a bit in the end, but maybe you can repeat that where people who are now interested in this can actually meet others. Yes, definitely not only because of the pandemic situation right now, but there are meetups planned also for 2021, well, of course, it's not that long anymore. You could check out on the website up there. There's a connection to the forum and to Matrix Chat and Matrix Chat. And there we will, not we, I'm also not that connect, but I know it will take place. There you can find the connection to those local tables. And the plan for 2021 is to have one bigger exchange that goes just across the cities. And I think this is the place to go to check. But this is definitely in plan and this is a certainly a good idea. So I mean, you did this talking English right now, despite this being something that originated in Germany here, what's basically the internationalization idea you have in mind? Exactly. So the idea was somehow that a lot of those, the work we've been doing and coordinating, I see that it's necessary to distribute this to somehow say, hey, people have been thinking about this already. And for example, in the conference 2018, already the talks, all of the talks have been translated to English as well. So if you check also at Media CCCDE, you can always choose the language, track English. But we just noticed that this was nice for the people who have been there, but it has not gained broad attention. And so this is just an idea to maybe find others who've been working in this direction to see that there are other initiatives working and then to join powers and somehow try to steer the ship into a more sunny direction again. I can't hear you talking right now. Sorry, yeah, I didn't want to. Yeah. Okay. I'll just say again, I wanted to say this another question coming in. I mean, Coolish is asking, where can I see some of the projects that took place in the past two years since conference? I guess the answer again is your website, maybe? Yes, it's partly, but it's partly a bit distributed. First, the website is a good start, but let me see. There have been conferences in Dresden, for example, which you can access, yes, via the website, but Dresden.bitzenvironment.org, so you can find the documentation there. But I think the forum would be a good idea to ask there if you can't find all those other things. And there have been also smaller events like on the Internet Governance Forum 2019, where we were present on Jena at the Great Transformation Conference or the forum, which takes place every, I think, three months, which is a discussion format in Berlin, always to certain topics. And we try to somehow announce it on the website to get this together. But as I said, if people would like to join, it's, we're happy if you're visionary and bring in your ideas and your content. That's really great, but with all projects, it's also nice if you say, well, I actually think it's interesting what's happening there. I don't have the big vision, but I'm happy with tracing what has been happening and putting it in our history log in the calendar, which we already have in a very basic structure. This has also greatly helped so that other people don't have to do this work twice. So that's why we will find some of them on the website, but not all of it, but we're happy if this could be maybe archived in a more structured way. Yeah, that's also always very important with community work to put in the hours and actually do the archiving work so that it's preserved for anything that comes up later, yes. Yeah, I mean, sure, please talk. Just as a comment, this is a classic example as well of sustainability. Like how do you create a sustainable project or a sustainable community? Of course, if new people come in, where do they start? You need some kind of memory for this in an organizational way. And so this is a very interesting instance of what sustainability also can mean. It doesn't always have to be some crazy new ideas, but if we think about digital archiving and all those questions, this is all part of it, of getting a livable digital environment. Thank you so much, Reiner. I think that's all the questions we have from the audience tonight. Sorry again for doing the introduction in German. I was just in my mind coming from that, but I mean, you did it. Anybody in the audience, if you can't find bits in Borne because you don't know how to spell it in German, you can try to get, if you find Vicky Packer, that's our name on Twitter, and we have a new website. We just built today, wickypacker.wtf. Basically just click on anything you'll be linked to our FAR plan, to our digital schedule, where you will find information about this talk and all the links that Reiner provided. So this will end you with the information you need. And go to the assembly in the RC3 world. So we are there as well. Oh, yes, yeah. So please come find the bits in Borne assembly in the RC3 world if you have a ticket. Reiner, thank you so much.