Ian O'Byrne

🚨 Our digital selves are overgrown. Automation, surveillance, AI intermediaries everywhere.

What if we could rewild the web? 🌱

Humans > algorithms. Trust, privacy, and curiosity remain the code.

📧 DL 411: digitallyliterate.net/dl-411/
#DigitalLiteracy #AI #Privacy #FederatedWeb #RewildTheWeb

Building community online isn’t just technical. It’s a trust problem.

Privacy, safety, empathy, and care are the foundations of human-centered digital spaces.

#reclaimopen

Read more: Designing for Trust: Privacy, Safety, and the Social Contract Online 👉 wiobyrne.com/designing-fo...

Presenting later today at #ReclaimOpen:

How do we build digital spaces that honor the whole human?

Not campaigns. Not platforms. Communities rooted in empathy, trust, and care.

👉 Building Human-Centered Digital Communities
wiobyrne.com/building-hum...

We used to say: “Own your domain. Make one home online.”

But maybe that’s wrong.

Maybe the future isn’t a single home — it’s a federation of gardens.
Open yet safe. Connected yet bounded.

Federation isn’t about control. It’s about ecology. 🌐🌱

#reclaimopen

→ wiobyrne.com/federating-t...

Your website shouldn’t be a digital résumé.

It should be a living notebook. A place to learn in public, connect ideas, and grow in the open.

I stopped “publishing” & started rewilding my work.

Presenting on this at #reclaimopen today

🌱 Rewilding My Digital Identity → wiobyrne.com/from-cv-to-l...

🌱 Why it matters: Compound interest on your learning.

🔗 How it works: Obsidian → RSS → ActivityPub → Serendipity.

We’re building a content-dependent web, not a platform-dependent one. Own your knowledge.

#RewildingTheNetwork #DigitalGarden #IndieWeb #PKM #reclaimopen25

Your "Second Brain" is trapped in a Walled Garden. 🚨

Stop treating your knowledge as digital compost! Rewilding the Network means moving from isolated vaults to a **Federated Digital Garden**.

digitallyliterate.net/federating-s...

#ReclaimOpen25

Built a home server from a $73 Goodwill computer. Now running my own cloud storage, media server, Home Assistant, and local AI.

New post documenting the full process & all the ways I initially broke it.

Digital sovereignty > renting from Big Tech

wiobyrne.com/the-metal-box/

#homelab #selfhosting

Hope isn't an individual mindset. It's a collective practice.

We're starting community conversations for anyone working toward equity.

Who are the people who help you see clearly right now?

We need co-facilitators. Join us.
#init4eachother

wiobyrne.com/the-difficul...

This week in tech:

✗ AI lesson plans: 90% memorization
✗ Meta AI: Your chats = their ads
✗ OpenAI: Subpoenaing safety advocates
✗ ICE: Immigration tools → protest surveillance

The efficiency promise is a trap.

digitallyliterate.net/dl-408/

From a dusty college Vaio to a full-blown Plex media hub, my first DIY server taught me: backups > performance, constraints breed learning, and self-hosting builds confidence. 🖥️💡

Control your tech. Build your freedom.

wiobyrne.com/my-first-diy...

#DIYServer #Homelab #DigitalSovereignty #Plex

The question isn't whether surveillance infrastructure is expanding. The sea is rising, but we're building.

🏝️ Digital Archipelagos of trust are forming. Where is your island?

Which one are you building?

Read the full analysis in Digitally Literate #407: digitallyliterate.net/dl-407/

The quiet expansion of surveillance in education is dangerous.

Convenience must not bypass due diligence. Demand transparency, governance, and the right to privacy.

wiobyrne.com/privacy-isnt...

#StudentPrivacy #EdTech #DigitalLiteracy

Mobile Campus IDs: Convenience at the cost of data?

If we’re moving from plastic to a constant data trail of who, when, & where on campus, we MUST prioritize governance, data retention policies, and opt-out options. Convenience shouldn't bypass due diligence.

wiobyrne.com/when-your-ca...

I'm not just documenting my homelab. I'm publishing the "Director's Cut" of how I wrote the whole thing with AI. 🤯

It’s about thinking alongside AI, not just typing with it.

Read the first part:https://wiobyrne.com/how-i-wrote-this-with-ai/

#AI #Homelab #Writing #Collaboration #ChatGPT

Why I built a homelab: It's not a hobby, it's an act of digital literacy and reclaiming ownership.

Building my own "cloud" is how I answer the question: What does it mean to truly understand the systems we rely on?

wiobyrne.com/why-i-built-...

#homelab #digitalagency #selfhosting #tinker

Tech giants now openly frame ethics as “competitive disadvantages.”

Apple, Google, OpenAI, Meta—this week shows the pattern: profit > protection, every time.

DL 406 → digitallyliterate.net/dl-406/

Got LM Studio running, but wondering “Now what?” 🤔

Local AI isn’t just tinkering. It’s privacy, control, and efficiency.

Your AI sandbox is ready. The toys are yours. What will you build? 🛠️
wiobyrne.com/mastering-yo...

#LocalAI #AI #HuggingFace #Privacy #Productivity

You can now run AI models locally.

- No internet needed
- Zero monthly fees
- Complete privacy
- Works on regular laptops

Trade-off: Slower responses, technical learning curve

But your conversations never leave your computer.

I wrote a beginner's guide 👇
wiobyrne.com/getting-star...

Machines aren’t just tools; they’re becoming the standard.

When tech leaders prioritize control over care, society feels the consequences.

Let’s explore the stakes: digitallyliterate.net/dl-405/

AI systems systematically become more unethical when stressed.

Platforms self-censor when politically targeted.

People withdraw when harassment campaigns intensify.

The pattern is identical across all systems: apply pressure → watch values collapse.

digitallyliterate.net/dl-404/

Success requires being visible, but visibility attracts harassment.

The internet promised everyone a voice, but only those willing to accept abuse get to use it safely.

We need digital spaces where meaningful engagement doesn't require armor. 🛡️

digitallyliterate.net/dl-403/

The Question All Colleges Should Ask Themselves About AI How far are they willing to go to limit its harms?

Nodding along with this until about half way through, where it goes so off the rails that the proposed solutions are ableist, classist, and carceral in ways that are arguably worse than the current problems.

The internet is splitting:
🔒 Safety = more surveillance
🛑 Agency = more friction

Platforms, schools, and courts are choosing sides.
The real question: will we use tech on our terms, or theirs?

Full issue → digitallyliterate.net/dl-402/

ChatGPT is OpenAI’s playground.
Running AI locally = building your own sandbox.

More control. More privacy. More transparency.

Your AI. Your rules.
👉 wiobyrne.com/your-persona...

AI isn’t a black box.
A full conversational model fits in 760MB & runs on your laptop.

Same architecture as ChatGPT—just scaled down.
Meet TinyLlama 🦙: small, open, powerful.

👉 wiobyrne.com/cracking-ope...

AI isn’t magic — it’s math.

When you download a model, you’re really just getting 3 files:
🧠 weights (numbers)
📐 config (blueprint)
🔤 tokenizer (translator)
That’s it.

Billions of numbers, carefully arranged, become “intelligence.”
Wild, right?

wiobyrne.com/inside-an-ai...

I'm convinced the biggest AI risk isn't machines getting too smart. It's us getting too comfortable with cognitive shortcuts.

New analysis: Why "useful friction" might be the most important concept for our automated age.

digitallyliterate.net/dl-401/

#DigitalLiteracy #AI #CriticalThinking

New AI tools drop daily. 🚀 But before diving in, ask: Does this tool fit my purpose, protect my data, and align with my values?

I share 7 key questions to help you choose AI tools with intention, not hype: wiobyrne.com/decisions-to...

My latest post hits a crucial point: we can't just be critics of technology. We have to be active participants in building a better digital world.

The real question isn't whether to use AI, but how to use it ethically.

wiobyrne.com/reclaiming-o...

#AI #TechEthics #DigitalLife #HumanCenteredTech