The Tech We Want is Built and Maintained with Care – Panel 2 – The Tech We Want Summit 2024

Digital technologies need people to care for them and keep them alive. In a time of obsession for innovation and disruption, in this panel we will shine a light on the invisible but essential work of maintenance.

Speakers:
• Sara Petti – International Network Lead, OKFN [moderator]
• Mathieu Jacomy – Assistant Professor, Aalborg University Tantlab, and co-creator of Gephi and Hyphe
• Allison Pike – Co-founder, Infield
• Katharina Meyer – Director, Digital Infrastructure Insights Fund

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The Tech We Want Summit

In this two-day The Tech We Want Online Summit happened in October 2024, the Open Knowledge Foundation (OKFN) brought together key voices working on public interest technologies to start a collective conversation about new practical ways to build software that is useful, simple, long-lasting and focused on solving people's real problems.

The Summit was online, free of charge, and open to everyone, especially technology workers, developers, engineers and programming language specialists interested in taking a critical look at current technologies.

See below for the full programme and key takeaways from each session:

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Soundtrack

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00:00 Introduction and Housekeeping Notes
01:53 The Importance of Maintenance in Technology
03:36 Introducing the Panellists
06:20 Challenges Faced by Open Source Maintainers
11:33 The Invisibility of Maintenance Work
18:10 Valuing and Supporting Maintenance Work
29:46 Innovative Funding for Open Source Projects
29:58 Challenges in Research Funding
29:59 Implementation Experiments and Guiding Principles
30:35 Infrastructure Insights and Predictive Modeling
31:35 Proactive Resource Allocation
32:04 Science as a Vessel for Sustainable Research
32:53 Personal Experiences with Funding
34:05 The Power Dynamics of Funding Maintenance
36:23 Corporate Culture and Maintenance Rotations
39:55 Ecosystem-Specific Maintenance Strategies
41:53 Ethical and Environmental Implications of Digital Infrastructure
44:58 The Importance of Care in Maintenance
49:40 Visibility and Responsibility in Open Source Maintenance
57:08 Community Support and Purpose in Open Source
01:00:03 Final Thoughts and Closing Remarks