Let me provide some context of this forum.
Krali Collective is a future multistakeholder cooperative to organize efforts for building technologies that increase operator freedoms and protect human rights. We have acknowledged that not only are current technologies broken in this regard, but their means of production is broken as well. Proprietary systems seek to consolidate capitalist power. FLOSS fails to sufficiently address computer hardware. Even the most advanced FLOSS organizations such as Apache tend to emulate hierarchical management structures, and although they may provide some project tooling, it is insufficient to engineer complex systems. Furthermore, Embrace-Extend-Extinguish strategies are becoming more advanced and we are witnessing a colonization of the FLOSS space. Computing technologies and the open-source means of production have basically stagnated, getting locked in to the current paradigm. Although there are some efforts such as LibreSilicon and others in OSHW, the state of affairs is dismal and lacking systems engineering direction in particular.
In order to engineer the computers that we need, that fulfill our needs and realize the dreams of yesteryear, we need systems engineering to manage the complex architectures and development lifecycles of cyber-systems. Although this engineering discipline was born from the military, I believe it can be adapted to a cooperative means of production. When the architecture is laid out, new contributors can more readily understand the system and find places to contribute. You ought to notice that most FLOSS projects have ad-hoc design documents at best. Complex systems such as GCC and the Linux Kernel may only have high-level block diagrams. Software engineers lack the tools and knowledge to deal with the complexity, and instead muddle their way through, introducing myriad defects in their C code which become security vulnerabilities. There is a significant tooling gap to fill to even begin to engineer the next-generation of computers, and that is the subject of my PhD research. Suffice it to say that we must abandon Linux and x86 ISA. We must rethink how computers work in order to realize their potential. Otherwise, we will end up in a cyber-fascist world more dystopian than some cyberpunk stories.
It is this systems approach that distinguishes this organization from others. It is a way of thinking that has been kept from us, but which unlocks many possibilities. Funding is a pervasive issue in FLOSS and must be redesigned as well to avoid venture/vulture capital, which is why Krali Collective is organized as follows.
Krali Computing - (currently registered as a LLC) - a co-op that designs, manufactures, and sells personal computers. Think like those computer companies from the 80s that went defunct. Although at first, manufacturing will be done by partners, a different approach will be needed to ensure transparency and trustworthiness, starting with inviting them to join the Collective. These computers are designed using systems engineering and formal methods to eliminate classes of errors and vulnerabilities. They are designed to empower the human operator, and are offline-first with available mesh connectivity.
Krali Consulting - the consulting arm of the Collective, primarily for revenue generation to fund research and development. Consultants in particular can help other organizations implement and use our next-gen tools and methods to solve their own problems. Fact is, we all have skills that can be lended in exchange for some revenue. However, the point is not to spend all our time consulting.
Krali Technology - a technology standards organization that stewards system architectures and releases the artifacts to the public domain wherever possible. Focus on life-saving and critical civilization-building technologies. Unfortunately, there are many lifesaving technologies such as those for extracting potable water from the air, purifying water, generating electricity, safe cooking stoves, and terraforming with trees that are currently held behind many patents and greedy corporations. An important principle here is that this market penetration technique of capitalists will never reach everyone who needs the technologies. The designs must be public domain or copyleft so anyone can grab them, and follow the directions to manufacture the devices locally, eventually contributing back improvements. Supply chain participants are encouraged to join the Collective and share information and knowledge. And these technology standards must be translated in as many languages as possible, even printed and distributed where possible.
Krali Research - tentatively a separate arm of the Collective, although it may be considered a part of Krali Technology. The point is to support fundamental research that cannot be done in traditional academic or corporate settings. The cooperative can peer review publications, and pay people for their work. Of course, that is the hard part, and publishing is relatively easy nowadays. Research groups may be formed spontaneously by co-op members.
The organization is designed to support lifelong work in these areas, because doing things in our spare time will only lead to failure or mediocre results. We need a new way of organizing our work to benefit humanity and showing that it is sustainable despite pressures of the capitalist environment. Maybe that inspires you, in which case I hope we can come together to form the necessary Board and get traction on the work to be done.
