Tech Shadow Work

Movements to reclaim power over technology are springing up, from Neo-Luddism to Permacomputing to Rewilding the Internet. Alongside these approaches, we must discuss how tech has atrophied the exact civic muscle we’ll need to reclaim power over it.

If the shadow of every ID check is permission, then the shadow of digital ID systems is the ability to deny permissions in more places, more often, and with less friction.

A prologue to Tech Shadow Work, this essay explores how "customer service" and "administrative burden" framings can hide deeper assumptions about who deserves access, assistance, and public support.