Technofeudalism, Network Nations and the Future of Dandelion

Join Stephen Reid, founder and lead developer of Dandelion, to explore:

• Technofeudalism: How big tech companies have created digital empires where they make the rules, control what we see, and profit from our data - all with little oversight
• Network Nations: A new approach where communities with shared values govern themselves online, creating alternatives to corporate-controlled platforms
• The Future of Dandelion: How this event platform could transform from being run by a worker co-op to being truly owned and governed by its community

Big tech companies have gained enormous power in our lives. Google, Meta and Amazon now function like digital kingdoms, with billions of us as their subjects rather than citizens. These platforms make the rules, control what we see, and monitor our activities - all while operating with little oversight or accountability. Economist Yanis Varoufakis calls this system "technofeudalism" - a new economic order where we've become digital serfs on corporate-owned algorithmic land.

So what's the alternative? "Network Nations" offer a promising path forward. These are communities that come together around shared values and interests, governing themselves across geographical borders. Unlike corporate platforms or traditional governments, Network Nations are built on voluntary participation, collective decision-making, and shared ownership of digital tools. They use technology to give communities real control over the platforms they depend on.

Dandelion, having helped sell over 120,000 tickets worth more than £4.5 million, stands at a turning point. Currently run by a worker co-operative, it could evolve into something like a Network Nation. What would this look like in practice? How could event organisers and attendees have a voice in Dandelion's future? And how could Dandelion's governance systems be designed to resist capture and maintain community sovereignty?

Join us for an evening of collaborative thinking on how we can build technology governed by the people who use it.

Suggested pre-reading:

• The Techno-Skeptics by Hilma Church Turing
• Network Nations: Reclaiming Sovereignty in the Digital Age

Stephen Reid

Stephen Reid is a technologist, facilitator and coach who has trained in the fields of AI/ML, complexity science, physics, transformative coaching and insight meditation. Current projects include writing a book on Technological Metamodernism, hosting courses and residencies as a founder of Futurecraft, and leading the development of Dandelion as a founder of not-for-profit worker co-op Symbiota.

Previously, he founded The Psychedelic Society, which established the first legal psilocybin retreat programme in Europe, and served as the youngest ever board member of Greenpeace UK.

Stephen has an MPhys in Physics from the University of Oxford, where he specialised in quantum field theory, an MRes in Complexity Science from the University of Bristol, and a Professional Certificate in Machine Learning and Artificial Intelligence from UC Berkeley.

He lives with his fiancé Laura in Stockholm, Sweden, where he is a resident at Emerge Lakefront and a keen swimrunner.

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