We are thrilled to announce that we have a new team member! ✨ Quincey just joined SUPERRR Lab and will help advance our work on a feminist tech policy. To introduce and welcome him, we've asked him a couple of questions:

SUPERRR: A good way to get to know someone is via their side projects and hobbies. What are some of your current side projects, Quincey?

Quincey: Apart from being interested in different topics and communities revolving around digital technologies (yes, this topic sticks with me even when I leave the office 😅) an ongoing project of mine is to better understand the way we organise ourselves as societies. This theme was the initial motivation for my studies at uni in philosophy, politics and economics and led me to engage with the digital space. I felt and still feel that the latter still is an environment where lots of things are possible and we could (theoretically) imagine new ways of organising our societies in a more equal way. Other than that I love being out in nature, either gardening, biking, walking, jogging or just lying in the sun - preferably in company of friends. A very personal project at the moment is to engage with my non-german side more on a bodily and less on an intellectual level - I started taking Afro-fusion dance classes, which are lot of fun!

SUPERRR: With Superrr Lab we are thinking a lot about the future(s). What is an object/or application that does not yet exist – but something that you would like to have at your disposal in a preferable digital future? Something you would use every day and cannot imagine living without?

Quincey: Oh, I think I can cite many ideas in this context, but only to name a few: on the fully digital side I would be thrilled to have a social media network that respects my privacy and is part of a public digital infrastructure, hence not prone to profit seeking or other detrimental incentives. I still believe that social media has a lot of potential to connect across borders and societal bubbles, but currently has completely lost its focus. On the software/hardware side a dream of mine is to be able to travel fast, comfortably as well as environmentally friendly to all corners of the world - by air, rail, sail, whatever else the future might bring 😉

SUPERRR: What's your biggest energy sucker these days?

Quincey: Since summer is coming, fortunately not Berlin winter weather anymore, which makes other energy suckers more bearable. But the current global political climate worries me a lot and the constant news thunderstorm on all the terrible things happening in the world sometimes use up a lot of my energy.

SUPERRR: What is a small humble change you would like to see in the world? How can we work towards it?

Quincey: I think we could make things already a lot easier for ourselves, if we would start to really listen to one another and try to understand where the other is coming from and what they are trying to say. To properly listen is really hard. Hence I think we need to cultivate spaces and methods (of which many exist already) where we can practice to listen. Physical spaces are the best I think, but also well designed digital spaces could help us to cultivate this ability.

SUPERRR: What communities are you part of?

Quincey: Hm, quite a few I think and always in constant flow. Through my studies I move easily in academic circles, through my family background I feel very much at home in international communities, where everyone comes from somewhere else, I feel connected to the BIPoC community, as well as to tech and creative circles.

SUPERRR: Things we should all read/know about! Please share three of your favorite projects, texts, links, inspirations with us:

Quincey:

• Everyone working with tech or in the tech field should have a look at Hans Blumenbergs „Writings on technology (Schriften zur Technik)“. His writings prompt interesting thoughts on our relationship to technology and the genealogy of this relationship.

• Not trying to advertise the company, but Goole earth developed an amazing feature to visually experience the devastating effects of climate change on the earths surface. I think, such tools help immensely to make the climate crisis more tangible and communicate the need for urgent action.

• „Reimagining the internet“ by the initiative for digital public infrastructure is a podcast I try to listen to regularly. I can only recommend it, since it is thought provoking and challenges todays internet realities.

SUPERRR: Last but not least, what's your favourite Meme?

Quincey: Uiuiui, that is a difficult question for me - I hardly see memes since I am not so much on social media…I’d rather share a song 😄 

SUPERRR: Thank you so much Quincey, and once again: Welcome on board!