<synthesis> SILENT WORKS warm-up: audio, photos, texts

[Krystian Woznicki]

Hi,

big tech is using the Covid-19 pandemic to take over Berlin. Amazon, for
instance, one of the biggest profiteers of the crisis, is turning its
logistics empire into ‘critical infrastructure.’ Meanwhile, workers are
being romanticized as an ‘essential’ labor force in order to suppress
their bargaining power: ‘heroes’ are expected to sacrifice themselves
for ‘the greater good’ rather than go on strike. This neo-feudalism is
crowned by Amazon’s soon-to-be erected tower in the heart of the city.
How can workers, that is: how can we, join forces against the rising
Technopolis?

This was the starting question of a SILENT WORKS warm-up event in Berlin
last week – an insightful and stimulating panel discussion with
activists from “Berlin vs. Amazon” and “Berlin Tech Workers Coalition,”
moderated by Magdalena Taube (Berliner Gazette). Preparing for the
upcoming SILENT WORKS exhibition and conference as an
“onsite/face-to-face” event in Berlin, Nov.7-28, it was an important
experience, and we were happy about an inspiring audience in which –
amazingly – also some participants/speakers of the SILENT WORKS
conference showed up, including Phoebe Moore, Katharina Höne, and
Gustavo Sanroman.

Here are some pictures from the event by Andi Weiland:
https://flickr.com/photos/berlinergazette/albums/72157713432698548

Here is an audio recording by Modell Berlin/Radio Woltersdorf: 
https://soundcloud.com/berliner-gazette/silent-works-modell-berlin

If you find some time, please also look at the SILENT WORKS text series
that we are running on Berliner Gazette (in German). In September we
published new contributions by Jörg Nowak (“Arbeitskämpfe in Europa:
Neubeginn einer Bewegung oder letztes Aufbäumen?”), Rebecca Puchta
(“Tasten, Tippen, Tappen, Wischen, Klicken: Zur Un-/Sichtbarkeit der
Arbeit von Fingern), and Timo Daum (“Gespenster des KI-Kapitalismus: Was
es bedeutet, Geistesarbeiter*in in agilen Environments zu sein”). Here
is the overview of latest texts:
https://berlinergazette.de/feuilleton/2020-silent-works/

For those of you who just now are tuning into the SILENT WORKS
conversation, the English language edition of selected SILENT WORKS
interviews on Mediapart.fr could be of interest, including conversations
with Angela Mitropoulos, Tom Holert, and  Kerstin Guhlemann. You can
find these texts here: https://blogs.mediapart.fr/krystian-woznicki/blog

More info on the SILENT WORKS project you can find here:
https://silentworks.info

Best wishes,

Krystian

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BG – Berliner Gazette | since 1999 | https://berlinergazette.de

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SILENT WORKS – The Hidden Human Labor in AI-Driven Capitalism  
BG Project 2020: Exhibition, Conference + Text Series
https://silent-works.berlinergazette.de

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MORE WORLD – How Can We Cooperate Across Borders to Tackle Climate Change?
Results from BG’s 20th Anniversary Event: Videos, Audios, Projects + Texts 
https://more-world.berlinergazette.de 

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