Your Digital Life, Your Rules

Imagine a world where you escape from endless-scrolling algorithms, have control of what you see, and technology that serves your interests and well-being. That future is closer than you think.

In our fast-changing digital landscape, we've somehow grown accustomed to algorithms dictating what we see, read, and engage with. Social media timelines designed to maximize engagement and advertising revenue have long become the norm. It feels as if this is how it always has been and probably will never change. But what if there was another way? What if we could build our own timelines that work for us, not for advertisers or engagement metrics?

I recently had an eye-opening conversation with Davide Eynard, a machine learning engineer and researcher at Mozilla.ai who is leading the fascinating BYOTA (Build Your Own Timeline Algorithm) project. Speaking with Davide helped me realize there is a better approach, and we always have a choice. This post summarizes the key takeaways from our discussion, challenging traditional beliefs about AI and offering a hopeful glimpse of a more user-focused digital future.

The Power of Thinking Small

One of the most compelling ideas Davide shared was his philosophy of "thinking small." In an era where tech companies race to build ever-larger AI models requiring massive computational resources, Davide suggests something radical: sometimes smaller, more focused models can be better, especially when they're designed to serve individual needs rather than corporate interests.

"I think very often you can find very good solutions that work for you, not for everyone, but work very well for you without the need to use a lot of power, a lot of computational resources." - Davide Eynard

This challenges the dominant narrative that we need enormous models and vast amounts of data to create effective algorithms. Not to mention the tremendous energy that giant tech companies must consume to run those models. On the contrary, BYOTA demonstrates that users can have meaningful, personalized experiences with algorithms that:

1. Run locally on their devices

2. Don't require sharing personal data

3. Work on modest hardware (Yes, even on a tiny Raspberry Pi!)

4. Serve the user's specific needs

The point about serving users' needs is often discussed but neglected. Few social media platforms genuinely consider their users' well-being or needs. While these platforms may initially provide an excellent experience, they soon shift their focus to profit, resulting in a diminished user experience, a phenomenon termed “enshittification” by writer Cory Doctorow. These platforms embrace the motto “move fast and break things.” Our attention becomes the “things” they experiment with and eventually monetize for profit.

Standing on the Shoulders of Giants

Another cornerstone of Davide's approach is his commitment to open-source principles. In explaining why open source matters, he used a beautiful metaphor that resonated deeply with me: "Everything that you do is based on some work that has been provided by somebody else, and it has allowed you to do things more easily. So it's just right that you do the same and make things easier for others in the future."

This collaborative approach is in stark opposition to the competitive, proprietary model that dominates today's AI landscape. When tech giants race forward in secrecy, hoarding breakthroughs for market advantage, humanity suffers as countless minds waste precious time solving the same problems—an inefficiency that open source elegantly eliminates.

Open source offers several profound benefits:

• Freedom: Users aren't locked into proprietary ecosystems

• Learning: People can study how technologies work and build their understanding

• Innovation: Developers can improve upon existing solutions rather than starting from scratch

• Accessibility: Technologies become available to those who might otherwise be excluded

The BYOTA project and all the tools provided by Mozilla.ai exemplify these principles by making their code freely available and designing them to run on accessible hardware.

Reimagining Social Media for Users, Not Profits

What struck me most about BYOTA was how it fundamentally reimagines what social media could be. Most of us have accepted the status quo of algorithmic timelines designed to maximize our time spent scrolling through "everything-nothing content," as Davide aptly called it.

BYOTA proposes something different: a timeline that helps us find meaningful content, respects our privacy by processing everything locally rather than in the cloud, and puts control back in our hands.

Privacy by Design

Another interesting aspect of BYOTA is its privacy-first approach. In an age where data harvesting is the norm, BYOTA shows AI can be effective without the extensive data collection that big tech has led us to accept.

"It's important for people to have something personal, local, because it's privacy preserving, so you don't share your own data with anyone else," Davide explained.

This represents a fundamental shift in thinking about AI: rather than centralizing data and processing, we can bring the algorithms to the users, allowing them to maintain control of their information while still benefiting from intelligent processing.

Shaping Our Digital Experience

Projects like BYOTA transform our relationship with technology. Instead of being passive consumers of algorithmic decisions made by profit-seeking corporations, we become active participants in shaping our digital experience.

This shift is profoundly empowering. It suggests a future in which we don't merely accept the digital environments designed for us, but actively shape them to support our goals, values, and well-being.

Davide demonstrated through his work on BYOTA that building more human-centered technology doesn't require waiting for Big Tech to change course. It starts with individuals and communities creating alternatives that prioritize human needs over profit motives.

When I asked Davide for his advice for those looking to reimagine technological progress, his answer was simple: "Think small, build on top of what others do, and allow others to build on top of what you did.”

This collaborative approach of focusing on small, meaningful improvements that can be shared and built upon offers a refreshing alternative to the "move fast and break things” mentality that has dominated tech for too long.

Join the Movement

If you're interested in exploring alternatives to mainstream social media algorithms, here are some ways to get involved:

1. Check out BYOTA on Mozilla.ai's Blueprints page

2. Explore Mastodon and other Fediverse platforms

3. Support open source projects that prioritize user agency and privacy

4. Experiment with running local AI models on your own hardware

As Davide reminds us, we don't need massive computational resources or corporate backing to create meaningful change in our digital lives. Sometimes, thinking small is the most revolutionary approach.

What do you think? Are you satisfied with your social media experience, or are you ready to take back control of your timeline? Let me know in the comments below.

Thanks for reading Progress Reimagined! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.