Happy 250th birthday, America

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Celebrating the 250th anniversary of a declaration that had a passage decrying slavery removed because southern states complained by eating carcinogenic mass produced meat tubes while the President tells half of us we’re evil Marxists while we swelter through a man made heat wave is incredibly American. Happy 4th!<br>All snark aside, genuinely, I do love America. The Declaration of Independence - 250 years ago! - was genuinely important. Most places you go, the people are kind, community-minded, and optimistic. One day, eventually, they will have an equitable government that redresses wrongs and provides real support.<br>My entire political worldview is: what if you could maintain the optimism and energy of America but add an inclusive culture of support that gives everyone education, healthcare, a real safety net and a springboard for their lives, in a way that builds communities rather than extracts from them?It's not our current reality, but I'm certain we can get there.<br>One day, we'll look back, and the corporatism, the militarism, the racism, and the subjugation will be a thing of the past. In their place will be thriving communities. And, finally, all of this will be great.

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Notable links: July 3, 2026

AI, surveillance, open tech, and news as a business.

A new media spinout provides streaming apps for public service broadcasters. I just wish it was open.

We need to see more technical collaborations between public service media organizations. It's also really important that they're based on open technology that doesn't lock them in.

Newsrooms need to get comfortable expressing their business value - and raising money on it.

Newsrooms like to spend their time on the journalistic process and assume that the value of their work will speak for itself. They need to start selling themselves.

OpenAI wants to give us 5% of its success. It's a bad bargain.

A wealth fund that shares 5% of AI success with government and voters is either based on hype or not nearly enough to cover the damage. Either way, the incentives are perverse.

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Ben Werdmuller explores the intersection of technology, democracy, and society. Always independently published, reader-supported, and free to read.

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