Benjamin Seibel
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benjaminseibel.bsky.social
Benjamin Seibel
@benjaminseibel.bsky.social
230 followers 120 following 3 posts
Head of CityLAB Berlin | Civic Technologist | Urban Futurist | Anti-Fascist | Opinions ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
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Reposted by Benjamin Seibel
meredithmeredith.bsky.social
📣THREAD: It’s surprising to me that so many people were surprised to learn that Signal runs partly on AWS (something we can do because we use encryption to make sure no one but you–not AWS, not Signal, not anyone–can access your comms).

It’s also concerning. 1/
meredithmeredith.bsky.social Meredith Whittaker @meredithmeredith.bsky.social · Oct 20
PSA: we're aware that Signal is down for some people. This appears to be related to a major AWS outage. Stand by.
October 27, 2025 at 10:38 AM
Reposted by Benjamin Seibel
meredithmeredith.bsky.social
Stand by this: www.politico.com/newsletters/...
What’s a technology that you think is overhyped? I’m going to give a sideways answer to this, which is that the venture capital business model needs to be understood as requiring hype. You can go back to the Netscape IPO, and that was the proof point that made venture capital the financial lifeblood of the tech industry. Venture capital looks at valuations and growth, not necessarily at profit or revenue. So you don’t actually have to invest in technology that works, or that even makes a profit, you simply have to have a narrative that is compelling enough to float those valuations. So you see this repetitive and exhausting hype cycle as a feature in this industry. A couple of years ago, you would have been asking me about the metaverse, then last year, you would have asked me about Web3 and crypto, and for each of these inflection points there’s an Andreessen Horowitz manifesto. It’s not simply that one piece of technology is overhyped, it’s that hype is a necessary ingredient of the current business ecosystem of the tech industry. We should examine how often the financial incentive for hype is rewarded without any real social returns, without any meaningful progress in technology, without these tools and services and worlds ever actually manifesting. That’s key to understanding the growing chasm between the narrative of techno-optimists and the reality of our tech-encumbered world.
February 19, 2025 at 4:42 PM
Reposted by Benjamin Seibel
efin-diskurs.bsky.social
Im Kontext der @re-publica.com-Session zum digitalen Euro sprach Petra Gehring mit @benjaminseibel.bsky.social u.a. über digitales Zentralbankgeld.

Diese Podcast-Folge, das Video zur Session mit @sebgiessmann.bsky.social und ein Blog-Post sind nun online.

Alle Links hier👇
zevedi.de/aktivitaeten...
Porträts von Petra Gehring (Zentrum verantwortungsbewusste / TU Darmstadt) und Benjamin Seibel (Ctiy Lab Berlin / Technologiestiftung), Podcast Session auf der re:publica 2025: Radio CityLAB Spezial Philosophie und Digitalisierung, JETZT UEBERALL WO ES PODCASTS GIBT
June 23, 2025 at 8:45 AM
Reposted by Benjamin Seibel
efin-diskurs.bsky.social
Nach der #rp25 -Session zum digitalen Euro als neuem Geld der europäischen Öffentlichkeit (s.u.) spricht Petra Gehring (@zevedi.bsky.social / @tuda.bsky.social) dort am Montag um 15 Uhr auf der Podcast-Stage mit @benjaminseibel.bsky.social vom citylab-berlin.org.

👉 re-publica.com/de/session/r...
Porträtfotos von Petra Gehring (Zentrum verantwortungsbewusste Digitalisierung / TU Darmstadt) und Benjamin Seibel (CityLab / Technologiestiftung). Radio CityLab Spezial: Philosopihe meets Digitalisierung. Podcast Live auf der re:publica 2025, Montag, 26. Mai, 15 Uhr, Podcast Stage
May 23, 2025 at 8:18 AM
Reposted by Benjamin Seibel
martinjordan.com
Join us tomorrow evening—if you’re in Berlin.

We’ll discuss ‘Checks & balances’ and hear from @nextnetz.bsky.social’s @anncathrin87.bsky.social & Meike Kamp, Berlin’s Commissioner for Data Protection and Freedom of Information.

Once again, hosted at @tsbberlin.bsky.social’s fabulous CityLAB space
martinjordan.com Martin Jordan @martinjordan.com · Mar 28
How do we make sure our government institutions work well? Effectively, according to its own rules and unbiased?

We will be discussing #Checks&Balances at our next public sector innovation meetup in #Berlin next Wednesday.

Join us there — at @tsbberlin.bsky.social’s CityLAB on 2 April from 6 pm!
Meetup #9 — Checks & balances, Wed, Apr 2, 2025, 6:00 PM | Meetup
How do we make sure our government institutions work well? Effectively, according to its own rules and unbiased? Specific processes and people operate as checks and balance
www.meetup.com
April 1, 2025 at 5:22 PM
Reposted by Benjamin Seibel
martinjordan.com
How do we make sure our government institutions work well? Effectively, according to its own rules and unbiased?

We will be discussing #Checks&Balances at our next public sector innovation meetup in #Berlin next Wednesday.

Join us there — at @tsbberlin.bsky.social’s CityLAB on 2 April from 6 pm!
Meetup #9 — Checks & balances, Wed, Apr 2, 2025, 6:00 PM | Meetup
How do we make sure our government institutions work well? Effectively, according to its own rules and unbiased? Specific processes and people operate as checks and balance
www.meetup.com
March 28, 2025 at 10:29 AM
Reposted by Benjamin Seibel
hiigberlin.bsky.social
Kann #KI wirklich einen gesellschaftlichen Mehrwert bieten?
Bei Radio CityLAB hat @thezueger.bsky.social mit @benjaminseibel.bsky.social über das Spannungsfeld von Gemeinwohl & privatwirtschaftlichen Interessen in der KI-Entwicklung gesprochen.

Jetzt hören 👉 radiocitylab.podigee.io/22-new-episode
January 27, 2025 at 9:07 AM
Reposted by Benjamin Seibel
powen.net
#CityLABBerlin is doing UX testing on the permanent residency application process and looking for immigrants in Berlin who'd like to participate on 4, 5, and 7 November 2024: outlook.office.com/bookwithme/u...
(screenshot from their newsletter)
@tobiaswitt.bsky.social @benjaminseibel.bsky.social
04.11. – 07.11. User Testing Wir brauchen deine Unterstützung für UX-Tests im November 4., 5. und 7. November, CityLAB Berlin, Platz der Luftbrücke 4 Bist du Migrant:in und überlegst, eine Niederlassungserlaubnis zu beantragen oder wartest auf die Bestätigung deines Antrags – sei es für die allgemeine Niederlassungserlaubnis, für Fachkräfte, Angehörige von Deutschen oder für Asylberechtigte und Geflüchtete? Dann möchten wir von Dir hören! Im Rahmen unseres diesjährigen Fokusthemas „Ankommen in Berlin“ lädt das CityLAB Berlin Dich herzlich zu einem UX-Test ein. Ziel ist es, die digitalen Antragsprozesse für Niederlassungserlaubnisse einfacher und nutzerfreundlicher zu gestalten. Deine Erfahrungen sind wertvoll, um die bestmögliche Lösung zu entwickeln. Für alle Teilnehmenden gibt es ein kleines Dankeschön in Form eines Amazon Gutscheins.
October 29, 2024 at 7:19 AM