Hey there! So I’m currently studying CS & IT and I’d like to know more about how developers & computer nerds alike are reflecting the values of solarpunk into their work.
Are solarpunk values part of your thinking process when you decide which software you are going to be making (for personal projects for example), or which company you will be working at? Are they part of the production process (like which tools or technologies you’re using)? How much? And, maybe in a broader sense, is hoping to work on projects aligned with solarpunk values realistic?
I would say that Free & Open-Source software is a core tenant of solarpunk, and I would prioritize using and supporting it wherever possible. It’s a form of prefiguration, and gives us a solid base to build upon that can’t be easily ripped out from under us via enshittification.
As for what company you’ll be working for, that will be a bit harder to incorporate solarpunk ideals, but not impossible if you manage to find a software co-op that is hiring. Alternatively, if you have enough friends or co-workers that would be interested, you could start your own software co-op yourself! Here’s a great video from already successful software co-ops on how they’re structured legally, internally, and make decisions.
Thanks for the detailed answer! And yeah, starting my own co-op or even non-profit is definitely a goal I strive for. Definitely going to be checking that video!
!permacomputing@slrpnk.net is cool.
First, I love the energy. To your last question, if you can get into the right industries, then you can absolutely push forward solarpunk ideals. However, in many cases it entirely depends on where the funding is coming from.
I’ve been an ML engineer for a long time. If you work in a company or organization at an entry level, it’s not really up to you how much the work will contribute to any specific ideals you have. However as you gain more experience, make connections, and yield more power overall, you can shape projects or entire portfolios towards solarpunk, assuming that fits within the constraints and meets requirements. The high level work shaping step usually takes many years and lots of experience to reach though.
I’d recommend specializing in some engineering discipline with some applications in mind, as that’ll give you much more direct experience and make it more likely you’ll get hired by a company/organization that does “solarpunk” research and development (R&D), and testing and evaluation (T&E). I’m assuming solarpunk tech = any kind of renewable energy or environmental improvement capabilities.
