Mark Boyd

Mark Boyd

@markboyd.bsky.social

Mostly here to talk about how to build open digital ecosystems where everyone can participate and co-create (platformable.com) and to share my queer fetish comedy fiction (akamarkboyd.com). He/him 🏳️‍🌈📚

729 followers2.3K following830 posts

Mark Boyd
@markboyd.bsky.social

Hope. Never mind the "far right taking over" fear trope. Its another strategy of the pedocracy of billionaires. Here's what's happening...

the Juice Media@thejuicemedia.com

The Government™ has made an ad about all these protests happening around the world, and it’s surprisingly honest and informative.

Mark Boyd
@markboyd.bsky.social

The European Deforestation Regulation needs to be extended to add data centres as a commodity

Jan Willem Goudriaan@jwgoudriaan.bsky.social

Illegal logging of 250.000 trees by Google to construct a data centre in Finland is such a structural violent act against people and planet These trees were needed for storing CO² Most media ignore it to focus on kids setting fire to a dumpster bin or scooter Txs @mirandabryant.bsky.social

theguardian.com‘Pure arrogance’: anger in Finland as Google illegally fells 250,000 trees for datacentreCompany ordered to stop work at two sites in country, which has found itself at forefront of tech firms’ latest push
Mark Boyd
@markboyd.bsky.social

Milkshake duck strikes again

Keith@mosheroperandi.bsky.social

The whole internet loves Jev, a cheap model that classifies in milliseconds! *5 days later* We regret to inform you the Jev is racist

Mark Boyd reposted

Robin Berjon
@robin.berjon.com

We all know that the GDPR et al. aren't working great. Alas, the current proposals to fix that — in what EU jargon calls an "omnibus" — make it way worse. This counter-proposal is: better for people, simpler for businesses, *much* stronger on security, competition, sovereignty, and online safety. 🧵

berjon.comA Real Digital Omnibus for European Competitiveness and SecurityThis document is offered as an expert contribution to ongoing discussions about the data aspects of the Digital Omnibus. Drawn from my experience in digital policy, technology strategy, and digital business, I find that the Commission's current Omnibus proposal contains a small number of provisions that achieve genuine simplification and strengthen the reliability of the regulatory environment, alongside a larger number of provisions that, however well-intentioned, would produce outcomes contrary to the legislative aims set out in the Commission's own framing. My purpose is to provide the framework and background information necessary for trilogue interlocutors to identify which provisions can be retained, which can be improved, and which should be reconsidered, so that the final Omnibus achieves the impact that its proponents seek.
Mark Boyd
@markboyd.bsky.social

This is the strategy I predict and advocate for but going in the other direction. Through open digital ecosystems, sovereign infrastructure & a shift away from a growth at all costs mindset we can build a parallel market of quality businesses that enjoy serving customers and all buy and work in that

Jenny Cohn@jennycohn.bsky.social

I don’t know why it took me so long to see the parallel between the Tech Bros’ “network state” strategy (“parallel institutions”) & the “7 mountains mandate.” But now that I see it, I can’t unsee it. 1/

Mark Boyd
@markboyd.bsky.social

There is nothing wrong with my 10-year old iMac, but Apple want me to chuck it out & buy a new one so they have stopped allowing software updates to work with models that fall outside the EU's Empowering Consumers Directive maintenance requirement: technically allowable but still sucks

Mark Boyd
@markboyd.bsky.social

Still annoyed by this. I am part of some lgbt tech groups here in bcn where people have been asking if increased STDs is a fact or rumour and the most recent state data is 2022. Now @ecdc.europa.eu says it's rising but doesn't actually link or publish any of the data it is withholding.

European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control@ecdc.europa.eu

☀️ Summer brings new places, new experiences and sometimes new connections. Sexual health belongs in the conversation too. Many STIs have no symptoms, so prevention and testing matter. Know your options and enjoy your summer. ❤️ 👉️ bit.ly/ECDCSafeSummer #SafeSummer #SafeSex #TestTreatPrevent

Mark Boyd
@markboyd.bsky.social

Great new series from @apievangelist.com providing course corrections and beat practice's on a range of API governance and other topics. Affordable bite sized chunks that summarise where the industry is at and how to move forward on the issues that just seem to keep popping up over and over

API Evangelist@apievangelist.com

Three teams building the same API is not a tooling problem. Reuse fails before the first line of code. https://papers.apievangelist.com/papers/fundamentals-of-api-reusability/

Mark Boyd
@markboyd.bsky.social

A year ago in our state of the api economy report I predicted that finops - and in particular ensuring AI costs did not spiral - would become a key issue this year. Up until a few months ago people were still disputing that this would be the case.

This post is unavailable.

Mark Boyd reposted

Corporate Europe Observatory (CEO)
@corporateeurope.org

"Big Tech is selling AI to Big Oil to find more fossil fuels to burn, faster" explains DeSmog. "Big Tech has gone from promising climate breakthroughs to breaking the climate." 😡 Fossil fuel-powered data centres + data centre-powered oil & gas expansion = 🔥🌍🔥🌎🔥🌏🔥 www.desmog.com/2026/07/16/b...

desmog.comBig Tech Joins Big Oil in Ruining SummerThe industry has abandoned its climate pledges in favor of fossil fuel-powered AI data centers.

Mark Boyd reposted

Elise (they/them)🇦🇺 🏳️‍⚧️
@eliseswords.eurosky.social

Replying to @eliseswords.eurosky.social

Hi Folks! I write friendship-centred, Epic SciFi/Fantasy, in which people saving the world happen to be Queer & ND! With mystery, monsters, magic, banter & adventure. Sythe Series also explores aro-ace, autistic & nonbinary identities, trauma & healing All🔗 elisecarlson.com/sythe-series/ Direct⬇️

elisecarlsonsffbooks.auElise Carlson, Fantasy AuthorElise is a restless adventurer and passionate educator, with an endless list of 'what if?' questions to explore in epic fantasy and SciFi-Fantasy. They write neurodiverse, queer-led adventures for tho...

Mark Boyd reposted

Sonja Drimmer
@sonjadrimmer.bsky.social

“Data work is a popular side gig for many Philippine football league players looking for additional income…”

Rest of World@restofworld.org

The FIFA World Cup’s advanced AI tools rely on thousands of data workers manually logging match actions to fuel the sports betting industry https://restofworld.org/2026/fifa-world-cup-ai-data-workers/?utm_campaign=row-social&utm_source=bluesky&utm_medium=social&utm_content=1782232049

restofworld.orgThe AI-powered World Cup runs on thousands of data workersHuman annotators in Brazil, Cambodia, and the Philippines are tracking every movement in the football tournament for teams, broadcasters, and the betting industry.

Mark Boyd reposted

Tim Newman
@tnewmsblues.bsky.social

Excited to share V2 of our project mapping the data work part of the AI supply chain. This update includes: 📍A new interactive network graph including data work companies, their clients and investors; 📍Profiles of some of the major companies: 📍47 new companies in the database. DataWorkLandscape.org

dataworklandscape.orgData Work LandscapeTech companies in the AI industry are powered by workers who develop, train, test, and maintain AI systems. We’re shining a light on this shadowy industry.
Mark Boyd
@markboyd.bsky.social

I wonder how much of this is from APIs? The Dutch Gov is one of the most advanced with their API governance: developer.overheid.nl

developer.overheid.nlOntwikkelaarsportaal van de Nederlandse Overheid | developer.overheid.nlEén plek met informatie, bronnen, tools en codevoorbeelden van de overheid voor developers over privacy, security, toegankelijkheid, DevOps, infra, data, AI, standaarden, API's, Open Source en meer.
Dutch Government News@dutchgovnews.com

The Dutch government has made strides in enhancing operational efficiency, as outlined in the *Annual Business Operations Report 2025*. Presented by State Secretary Eric van der Burg, the report highl... #openrijk

openrijk.nlDutch Central Government Achieves Efficiency Gains as Workforce Growth StabilizesThe Dutch government has made strides in enhancing operational efficiency, as outlined in the *Annual Business Operations Report 2025*. Presented by State Secretary Eric van der Burg, the report highlights progress in workforce management, digitalization, and procurement, reflecting a shift toward a more agile and streamlined administration. In 2025, the central government’s workforce grew by 1.9%, a significant slowdown from the 6.2% increase in 2024, reaching 160,016 full-time equivalents. External hiring also declined to 13.1%, though it remains above the targeted 10% due to demand for ICT expertise and temporary projects. Transparency efforts include a public dashboard tracking hiring trends across ministries.

Mark Boyd reposted

Olivier Hoedeman
@olivierhoedeman.bsky.social

The EU's current #deregulation agenda resembles nothing we have seen before, in terms of scope, level of ambition, speed and degree of corporate capture 🚨 New must-read report presents the workings of the deeply undemocratic #deregulationmachine that Commission President von der Leyen has built ⬇️

Corporate Europe Observatory (CEO)@corporateeurope.org

Commissioner Séjourné held 84 meetings on #deregulation. All 84 were with business groups. Not one civil society org. Not one. This isn't consultation. This is what corporate capture looks like. 🧵 Check out our new report 👇 corporateeurope.org/en/2026/04/w...

corporateeurope.orgThis is what corporate capture looks like! | Corporate Europe ObservatoryWhere do the EU deregulation laws come from? From extensive talks between the European Commission and business groups, often in opaque new types of dialogue, according to the report “This is what corp...
Mark Boyd
@markboyd.bsky.social

This is ecosystem thinking. Build infrastructure to distribute power not consolidate it.

Robin Berjon@robin.berjon.com

"Why do people keep calling for a 'European X' or a 'European Instagram' when instead, by sharing infrastructure as we're doing with @eurosky.social, we could have 20 or 30 social networks?" — @seabass.bsky.social

Mark Boyd reposted

⭑ salma
@whitep4nth3r.com

To celebrate the launch of the @npmx.dev alpha, I wrote up a guide on how to make your first contribution to an open-source project. Let me know if this helps you make your first contribution (and it doesn't have to be code)!

whitep4nth3r.comHow to make your first contribution to an open source projectGetting involved in open source doesn't have to be scary! Understand how to find a great project and make your first contribution in this ten-step guide.
Mark Boyd
@markboyd.bsky.social

One of airtable's suggested prompts for using their AI is "Generate brainstorm ideas for our fall activewear campaign". Generate brainstorm? Also, if you are in marketing isn't that the part of your job you *want* to do?

Mark Boyd
@markboyd.bsky.social

After PEPFAR funding was cancelled I looked for EU health groups I could join to advocate for replacement funding to ensure we keep pace with ending the global AIDS epidemic. I didnt have any luck so i volunteer directly with a human & sexual rights ngo in Nigeria. The issues they face are: ... 1/3

Martin McKee@martinmckee.bsky.social

🧵1/ Global health is under attack, and not just by pathogens. Governments are walking away from international law, blocking humanitarian access, and even targeting health workers. We need a principled response, which @tiagocorreia.bsky.social & I set out in an editorial in Eur J Public Health

Mark Boyd
@markboyd.bsky.social

Because of USAID funding elimination they are now competing more with general population-focused agencies for funding. Gov funding in order to meet new HIV US funding can only target heterosexual and gen pop audiences. Right wing policies gain traction in a global context further reducing their 2/3

Mark Boyd reposted

UNI Europa
@uni-europa.bsky.social

As Amazon announced 16,000 layoffs today, worker representatives and MEPs blasted Amazon management for undermining worker health and democracy at work during a European Parliament hearing on working conditions in its warehouses.

uniglobalunion.orgUnions and MEPs blast Amazon’s disregard for worker health at European Parliament hearingAs Amazon announced 16,000 layoffs today, worker representatives blasted Amazon management for disregarding worker health at a European Parliament hearing on working conditions in its warehouses.
Mark Boyd
@markboyd.bsky.social

Anyone else reading Some Desperate Glory or read it recently? By @emilytesh.net So good! Halfway through at the moment but the emerging deradicalisation plotline is fascinating and keeping me up at night reading. And love the queer characters of course.

Mark Boyd reposted

Dr Abeba Birhane
@abeba.blacksky.app

if you’re passionate about AI accountability research and enjoy working in a vibrant lab with a multi-disciplinary team but not interested in doing traditional academic work, this position might be for you

Dr Abeba Birhane@abeba.blacksky.app

I’m looking for my right-hand person to come help me run the @aial.ie - Job Title: Lab Coordinator, AI Accountability Lab (0.8 FTE) - Pay Scale: (€58,999 - €69,325 per annum pro-rata) - Closing Date: 11-Feb-2026 12:00 Apply here: my.corehr.com/pls/trrecrui... Main Responsibilities👇🏾

Mark Boyd
@markboyd.bsky.social

Why isnt this data used in the constant “EU needs to be more competitive” policy arguments? Why isnt this all factored into the so-called competitiveness agenda?

Adam Bonica@adambonica.bsky.social

If there's one empirical insight I'd want everyone to understand about American politics, it's this: America's problems are solved problems. Just not here. What would change if the US simply matched the average of 31 peer democracies? Not Denmark or Norway. Just the middle of the pack. 🧵

Mark Boyd
@markboyd.bsky.social

I do appreciate what i think is @mozilla.org's work in providing an option when right clicking for links: offering a "clean link" copy that removes everything after the ? So much easier to share links without having to manually remove campaign tracking parameters each time

Mark Boyd
@markboyd.bsky.social

Over on LinkedIn people are AI meme-ing their way through the threat of the Greenland invasion. Here I am getting hopeful that Europe is finally saying "enough", (they should have done that after EU digital regulation threats & commissioner sanctions but now is a good time too)