01
The Idea Bank
A curated collection of proposals for technology that is minimal, non-extractive, and rooted in real domains — Education, Health, Housing, Care, and more.
Browse ideas →Vancouver, BC — May 2026
They said technology is the future. We say humans are.
Alternative Tech is a platform for people who believe that technology should serve human life, not extract from it. We collect ideas, amplify dissenting voices, and intervene in real policy decisions.
What we're pushing back against
Attention extraction
Platforms built to keep you scrolling, not thinking. Time-on-platform is the metric. Your focus is the product.
Algorithmic control
Decisions that affect your life made by systems you cannot see, question, or appeal. Black boxes, presented as neutral.
Creative appropriation
Generative AI trained on the work of writers, artists, and musicians without consent, credit, or compensation.
Manufactured urgency
The notification, the streak, the countdown. Technology designed to make patience feel like failure.
Three ways to build the alternative
This platform is a means, not an end. It exists to organise energy into action.
02
The Open Journal
Long-form writing from people living with the consequences of tech decisions — teachers, nurses, farmers, and organisers, not just engineers.
Read the journal →03
Movement infrastructure
Open letters, policy briefs, and organised responses — targeted at specific moments when public pressure can change outcomes.
See the approach →An open letter to Prime Minister Mark Carney on the Telus AI data centre announcement
The federal government and Telus are building 60,000+ GPU clusters across three BC locations — without public consultation. We are calling for an independent impact assessment before funds are committed.
Read and sign the letterFeatured ideas
See all ideas →Latest writing
Read the journal →- Tech Critique8 min
The Architecture of Extraction
Founder · Former AWS Software Engineer
- Care Work6 min
Care Work in the Age of AI
Sarah Jenkins · Community Caregiver, Halifax NS
- Policy10 min
Sovereign Compute for the Rest of Us
David Chen · Open Source Advocate, Victoria BC
This is a place for people who are done watching.
Sign up to be among the first to know when the platform opens fully. You'll be invited to contribute ideas and writing. We will send a periodic dispatch — not a newsletter — with what the movement is doing. We will not market to you.