About
Fix the Code is an open invitation for young people to rebuild technology to reflect their values. Our playful educational experience aims to help young people understand how their data is used by today's digital technology and suggests different models to match their priorities.
Young people will be disproportionately affected by the systems we are building today. However they are largely underrepresented in decision-making and development. Our goal is to engage and encourage young people to share their opinions – to reorient technology for the care of future generations.
Our Process
We began this project with the idea of asking young people to redesign social media, as an entry point for thinking about technology at large, and tested multiple types of interactions from Mad Libs to surveys.
However, in working with students (age 13-17) we discovered some issues with asking them to dream about ‘my ideal social media.’ First, this task was like asking them to dream about water – something so omnipresent and immutable that they had never bothered to consider it. Second, imagination requires a certain belief in one’s own agency and most students felt powerless against an industry that seemed not to care about them at all.
So we decided that before we could ask young people to dream, they needed to know that change was possible – that today’s extractive data practices weren’t the only option and that people were already exploring alternatives.
The Experience: Under Your Internet
Under Your Internet acts like a data personality quiz. It begins by exposing the volume of information that is collected and resold by your very own ‘data monster’ and then asks you a series of questions such as your beliefs on data collection and usage, altruistic or capitalistic tendencies and privacy. Depending on your answers, you are matched with one of four ‘data creatures’ representing alternative models of data governance. Through chatting with them you learn more about how they might work and existing examples. By transforming the models into characters, we hope to make what can be a very technical topic a little more accessible and emotionally salient.
The Alternative Models: Data Creatures
We based the data governance models on existing literature, including research from Mozilla’s Data Futures Lab, and added a creative interpretation of their characters and personality traits.
We worked with Charlie Spies, an illustrator and animator, to bring the creatures to life.
Collaborative Co-Op
The technical concept
A Collaborative Cooperative is owned and run by its members, who share both work and benefits. In joining, you pool your data with other members; decisions about how data is used are made democratically through voting. By coming together as a group, each individual has of a say over their data but you have more power collectively than you would alone.
The character
Organised, team player, trusts in processes and therapy, has your back. Quick to call out inequity but critical of friends they think aren’t woke enough – ‘The nail that sticks out gets hammered down.’
Personality traits
Activist / Talkative / Underdog
Example
Driver’s Seat helps rideshare drivers track their own data and optimise how much money they make (info that would usually be kept secret by companies like Uber)
Personal Pod
The technical concept
The Personal Pod acts as a data wallet. This could be an app on your phone where all your private and personal data is stored. When you use a service, you can choose to give it access to data from your wallet, but also choose to revoke permission at any time. This gives users full control over who can see and use their data but they do have to pay more attention to managing access.
The character
Private, careful, does every task thoroughly and thinks through every decision, even if it takes longer. Gets their info from Reddit. May come across as nerdy, neurotic and tedious.
Personality traits
Independent / Meticulous / Analog
Example
Solid creates storage pods with more security controls that can be an alternative to Google Drive or Dropbox
Open Commons
The technical concept
With an Open Commons, people choose to donate their data to a shared database. Data is anonymised and free for anyone to see, share and use — including governments, private companies and individuals. By making data openly accessible, no one person or organisation gets more control or profit from it and the benefits are spread more widely.
The character
Easy going, leaves the door unlocked, friends with everyone. Welcomes strangers over for dinner but never does the dishes. Can seem lazy and unreliable; motives are rarely clear.
Personality traits
Optimistic / Down to earth / Sociable
Example
Wikipedia is a free, open source encyclopedia that anyone can contribute information to
Responsible Trust
The technical concept
With a Responsible Trust, you appoint a person or organisation as the caretaker of your data, giving them full control over who gets access and what they use it for. The trust is legally responsible to keep your data private and manage it in ways that they believe are in your interest. You don’t have to pay attention but also don’t have direct control.
The character
Meticulous, punctual, plays chess and makes you eat your vegetables. Caring but can seem distant and too intellectual; ruthless litigator even if you don’t always agree with their tactics.
Personality traits
Maternal / Judicious / Know it all
Example
We don’t have many examples of trusts yet because people are still figuring out how they’d work, but think of it like a lawyer who’s always looking out for you
Data Monster
The technical concept
The Data Monster is our current model, sometimes called surveillance capitalism. A few companies collect huge amounts of data about you and everyone else in exchange for offering free services. They keep the data for themselves and use it however they want with large profits and little oversight. You have few ways to exert control other than opting out of the internet.
The character
Hustler, always hungry, knows all the gossip but shares selectively. Gives you the perfect birthday present then steals your allowance money. Not trustworthy – ‘Ask for forgiveness not permission.’
Personality traits
Opportunistic / Sly / Alluring
What next?
We – and the young people we’ve spoken with – believe in the power of the collective:
“If many people teamed up to dismantle big tech companies, we could make a big difference… I'm just a dude from Sweden, my word against Sony or Apple is nothing. However if people go together and try and make a change it might be possible :/”
Under Your Internet starts with awareness and education. We hope that young people can then be moved towards action; and that those who are currently in the positions to make decisions on technology are listening.
Our team
We are a diverse collective of designers, educators and technologists committed to raising youth voices at the technology table. We are in the unique position of being both inside and outside the tech industry, of bridging youth education, creativity and activism.
Allison Rowe: design strategist; champions using emerging tech in service of people and planetary good and has lead creative innovation teams at Microsoft, McKinsey and currently SPACE10
Fred Wordie: designer and creative technologist; wrote the children's book Big Data Girl and critically explores how we engage with tech, such as through a game about privacy rights post-GDPR
Meg Obata: UX designer; passionate about inclusive design and leveraging technology to close the accessibility gap
Tania de Sousa Dias: educator working in tech ethics; founded Humanity in Tech, an initiative backed by the World Economic Forum that equips K-12 students to create and advocate for ethical technology