Algorithmic Sabotage: Manifesto On

We, the signatories of this manifesto, commit to the following principles:

Tone should be urgent, intellectual but accessible, a bit fiery. Need to avoid being too technical or too abstract. Examples of sabotage tactics: fake clicks, bad data reviews, CAPTCHA solving for good, algorithmic "dogpiling." Also must emphasize non-harm and focus on systems, not people.

Governments move at the speed of legislation (decades). Algorithms move at the speed of light (milliseconds). By the time a law is passed to stop algorithmic wage discrimination, the model has already evolved three generations. We cannot wait for the Senate to hold a hearing while the AI decides if we get a loan.

suggests that "bugs" in monopolistic systems should be defended and utilized for personal or community benefit rather than reported and fixed. Techno-Politics manifesto on algorithmic sabotage

The engineers are not evil; they are trapped. They optimize for "engagement" (addiction) and "efficiency" (firing humans) because their stock options depend on it. They have built a system they cannot control. We will control it for them.

We are writing this not from a place of Luddite fear, but from a position of清醒 recognition. The algorithms that promised to serve us have increasingly become our wardens. They curate our realities, determine our worth, allocate our opportunities, and shape our desires. And they are failing us—not because they are broken, but because they are working exactly as designed.

: Indigenous nations and other marginalized groups reclaiming their data as a means of escaping the "algorithmic prison". PhilArchive Drop #17. Manifesto On Algorithmic Sabotage We, the signatories of this manifesto, commit to

In the economy, algorithms have enabled the rise of precarious labor, perpetuating inequality and instability. They automate jobs, displacing workers and concentrating wealth in the hands of a few. They create complex systems of financial surveillance, excluding those who cannot navigate their Byzantine structures.

We do not oppose all computation. We oppose the optimization imperative —the belief that any process, human relationship, or cultural artifact can be reduced to a target function. We sabotage because the system has no off switch. Since we cannot delete the master algorithm, we must corrupt its training data at the source: our own behavior.

In the early 21st century, algorithms have become the backbone of modern society. They govern the flow of information, dictate the course of economic transactions, and even influence the most intimate aspects of our personal lives. From social media feeds to financial markets, and from search engines to healthcare systems, algorithms are the invisible puppeteers that shape our reality. But as we increasingly rely on these complex mathematical constructs, we must confront the darker side of their omnipresence. Governments move at the speed of legislation (decades)

The system demands that every micro-moment be monetized, learned from, or optimized. We reclaim the idle loop. Stare at a blank screen for eleven minutes. Let the SEO crawler find a page that says only "The sun is warm and I have nothing to say." Let the engagement algorithm starve on the feast of your boredom.

Education is key to combating algorithmic sabotage. We promote algorithmic literacy as a fundamental right, enabling individuals to understand, critique, and create algorithms that serve the public interest.

By challenging the dominant narratives and power structures perpetuated by algorithms, we can reclaim our agency and create a more just and equitable society. This requires a willingness to engage in algorithmic sabotage, to disrupt the status quo, and to challenge the authority of code.