Democratising technology

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A DIY device for mining cryptocurrency

It is estimated than in the next fifteen years at least forty per cent of jobs are going to be replaced by machines. In Jaywick in the UK, sixty per cent of the population have already lost their jobs or are out of work – largely because of the introduction of automation and machine learning, and the subsequent decline in job opportunities. Engaging with this difficult scenario, the designer collaborated with Jaywick’s local community to create a practical workshop where local people could build fully functioning crypto-miners to allow them to generate a secondary income. Conceived as a call to action, the project raises important questions about what we want our collective future to look like, and how we can ensure a democratic use of technology in the future.