Episode 279 Devconnect 2025 With Shubhranshu Choudhary

Episode 279: Devconnect 2025 With Shubhranshu Choudhary ![rw-book-cover](https://wsrv.nl/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fmedia24.fireside.fm%2Ffile%2Ffireside-images-2024%2Fpodcasts%2Fimages%2F2%2F27729c65-f4a6-4496-8c86-820e7f13b285%2Fcover.jpg%3Fv%3D6&w=512&h=512) ## Document Notes > [!note]+ Document Notes > tags: [democratic_media, blockchain_journalism, decentralized_governance] > author: Sustain Podcast > source: YouTube > reference: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hvmNa_vNa58 > date created: 2024-12-19 14:30 > > # 🏷️ Title: Episode 279: Devconnect 2025 with Shubhranshu Choudhary >  ## 🧰 Action Inbox - [H1] Contact Shubhranshu via WhatsApp +91 98110 66749 — explore collaboration opportunities #democratic_media - [H2] Research CGNet Sara project — study their citizen journalism model #journalism - [H3] Investigate AI + blockchain integration for media platforms — technical feasibility study #web3 ## 🧭 Table of Contents - [📝 Summary](#-summary) - [📖 Main Content](#-main-content) - [🗒️ Notes](#️-notes) - [📚 References](#-references) - [🗣️ Paraphrase](#️-paraphrase) - [📰 Newsletter](#-newsletter) - [✅ Action Items](#-action-items) - [🧪 Hypotheses](#-hypotheses) - [📊 Methodology](#-methodology) - [❓ Questions](#-questions) - [🔮 Future Research](#-future-research) - [💡 Implications](#-implications) - [🧠 Learning Styles Assessment](#-learning-styles-assessment) - [📊 Accessibility Assessment](#-accessibility-assessment) - [🌍 DEIB Assessment](#-deib-assessment) - [✅ Logical Validity](#-logical-validity) - [🛡️ DARVO Analysis](#-darvo-analysis) - [🎯 Conclusion](#-conclusion) ### 🔗 References - [CGNet Sara Project](https://cgnetsara.com) - [Sustain Podcast](https://sustain.substack.com/) ## 📝 Summary - Journalist and activist Shubhranshu Choudhary discusses democratizing media through open-source technology and blockchain - Current journalism is aristocratic and top-down, creating rather than solving conflicts - Proposes "news commission" model where every citizen is a reporter, similar to democratic voting - Seeks to combine AI for content processing with blockchain for economic sustainability - Working in conflict zones of central India demonstrates urgent need for representative media platforms ## 📖 Main Content Shubhranshu Choudhary, a journalist and democratic media activist from central India, argues that traditional journalism mirrors aristocratic power structures rather than democratic ones. Working in areas affected by a 50-year conflict between the Indian state and Maoist guerrillas, he observes that current media design contributes to problems rather than solutions. His vision involves creating a "news commission" similar to India's election commission, where every citizen can report stories. AI would analyze these reports to identify what percentage of people discuss specific issues, helping journalists prioritize coverage scientifically. This approach would ensure news reflects actual community concerns rather than editorial assumptions. The economic model combines local commerce with journalism platforms. Rural communities producing organic food could sell directly to distant buyers through technology-enabled translation and communication, with platform fees funding independent journalism operations. ## 🗒️ Notes #### ⏱️ [00:00](https://youtu.be/hvmNa_vNa58?t=0) — [H1] Introduction and background - Key idea: Journalism today is aristocratic, top-down, and non-inclusive - Evidence: "Instead of kings and queens we have media houses, the owners, we journalists are like probably ministers" #### ⏱️ [02:15](https://youtu.be/hvmNa_vNa58?t=135) — [H2] The conflict context - Key idea: 50-year war between Indian state and Maoist guerrillas shapes media needs - Evidence: "We are in the middle of a war... it's going on for more than 50 years" #### ⏱️ [04:30](https://youtu.be/hvmNa_vNa58?t=270) — [H3] Media as commons principle - Key idea: Natural media is air, but technology creates one-way communication - Evidence: "Media should be commons... the natural media is air which we all use when we are in small groups" #### ⏱️ [07:45](https://youtu.be/hvmNa_vNa58?t=465) — [H1] Democratic communication builds community - Key idea: The type of communication determines the type of community built - Evidence: "Communication makes community and the type of communication you have is the type of community you build" #### ⏱️ [10:20](https://youtu.be/hvmNa_vNa58?t=620) — [H2] Representative media problem - Key idea: 20% urban rich get 80% media space while 80% rural poor get 20% - Evidence: "In India 20% people who live in cities... have more than 80% space" #### ⏱️ [12:50](https://youtu.be/hvmNa_vNa58?t=770) — [H3] Every voter as reporter model - Key idea: Democratic participation model applied to journalism - Evidence: "Every citizen is a voter, can every voter be a reporter" #### ⏱️ [15:30](https://youtu.be/hvmNa_vNa58?t=930) — [H1] News commission concept - Key idea: AI-powered platform to aggregate citizen reports into news priorities - Evidence: "43% people are today talking about this problem... so as a journalist my work starts there" #### ⏱️ [18:10](https://youtu.be/hvmNa_vNa58?t=1090) — [H2] Scientific journalism approach - Key idea: News should reflect what maximum people consider important - Evidence: "In a given geography the maximum number of people's problem... is news" #### ⏱️ [20:45](https://youtu.be/hvmNa_vNa58?t=1245) — [H3] Community radio comparison - Key idea: Northern Uganda project showing farmers owning their broadcast - Evidence: "They can own the radio... what was important to them happening in the farming communities" #### ⏱️ [23:20](https://youtu.be/hvmNa_vNa58?t=1400) — [H1] Web3 discovery at DevConnect - Key idea: Initial skepticism about blockchain changed to seeing potential - Evidence: "Before coming here the only thing I knew about web 3 that scammers use it" #### ⏱️ [26:00](https://youtu.be/hvmNa_vNa58?t=1560) — [H2] Economic sustainability through blockchain - Key idea: Platform combines journalism with commerce for financial independence - Evidence: "Every reporter is also a buyer and seller... can this platform... be also a place for buying and selling" #### ⏱️ [29:15](https://youtu.be/hvmNa_vNa58?t=1755) — [H3] Organic food market connection - Key idea: Technology connects rural producers with distant buyers for fair prices - Evidence: "They produce purest form of organic food... but when they sell their produce, they sell it in very cheap price" #### ⏱️ [32:40](https://youtu.be/hvmNa_vNa58?t=1960) — [H1] Trust and community governance - Key idea: Democratic election of editors builds platform trust - Evidence: "Editor can be elected... if she or he is doing good work will be reelected" #### ⏱️ [35:50](https://youtu.be/hvmNa_vNa58?t=2150) — [H2] Contact information and call to action - Key idea: Collaboration needed across technology and journalism communities - Evidence: "Please reach me out... we can join hands and try to find solutions" ## 📚 References - [CGNet Sara](https://cgnetsara.com/) - [Sustain Podcast](https://sustain.substack.com/) - [DevConnect Conference](https://devconnect.org/) ## 🗣️ Paraphrase - Traditional journalism operates like an aristocracy with media owners as kings, journalists as ministers, and audiences as subjects with little voice - Democratic media should mirror political democracy where every citizen reporter contributes stories, with AI helping identify priority issues based on community concern levels - Economic sustainability requires combining journalism platforms with commerce, enabling rural producers to reach distant markets while funding independent media operations ## 📰 Newsletter 🎙️ **Democratic Media Meets Decentralization** This week's Sustain podcast featured fascinating insights from journalist Shubhranshu Choudhary on democratizing media through open-source principles. Working in conflict zones of central India, he's developing platforms where citizens report community issues, with AI identifying news priorities based on collective concern rather than editorial assumptions. **Key Innovation**: His "news commission" model treats every citizen as a potential reporter, similar to how democracy treats everyone as voters. Economic sustainability comes from integrating commerce - rural organic food producers connect with distant buyers, generating revenue to fund independent journalism. **Community Connection**: The approach mirrors open-source governance with elected editors, inclusive design, and community participation in platform development. It's democracy applied to media infrastructure. Resources: [CGNet Sara Project](https://cgnetsara.com/), [Contact Shubhranshu](tel:+919811066749), [Sustain Podcast](https://sustain.substack.com/) ## ✅ Action Items #### DevRel - Developer advocacy: Present democratic media case studies at web3 conferences, showcase technical integration of AI + blockchain for journalism - Education: Create workshops on decentralized media architecture, governance models for community platforms - Developer experience: Document APIs for citizen reporting platforms, SDK for media democratization tools - Developer marketing: Campaign highlighting journalism as democracy infrastructure, content strategy around media sustainability - Community management: Moderate discussions on media governance, gather feedback from journalism technologists #### Community - Maintainers: Support CGNet Sara technical roadmap, provide governance templates for elected editor systems - Contributors: Onboard developers to democratic media projects, create first-issue programs for journalism platforms - Sponsors: Fund transparent budgets for media democratization, impact reports on citizen journalism outcomes - Ecosystem: Coordinate between journalism and blockchain projects, cross-pollinate governance models #### WordPress - Community: Develop meetup kits for media democracy, support WordCamps focused on journalism technology - Training: Create lesson plans on decentralized publishing, learning paths for citizen journalism platforms - Accessibility: Ensure media platforms work for oral-tradition communities, support multiple input methods beyond text ## 🧪 Hypotheses - Democratic media platforms with elected editors will have higher community trust than centrally-controlled news organizations - AI-powered aggregation of citizen reports will identify more relevant local news than traditional editorial selection - Combining journalism platforms with local commerce will create sustainable revenue models independent of advertising or grants - Open-source media tools will be more trusted in conflict zones than proprietary alternatives due to transparency ### 📊 Methodology - Study design: Compare community trust metrics between democratic and traditional media platforms over 12 months - Data sources: Survey data from conflict-affected communities, engagement analytics from citizen reporting platforms - Experiments: A/B test AI news prioritization vs. editorial selection, measure relevance and community response ### ❓ Questions - How can blockchain technology ensure both anonymity for safety and accountability for accuracy in citizen journalism? - What governance mechanisms prevent democratic media platforms from being captured by vocal minorities? - How might AI bias in content analysis affect representation of marginalized community concerns? ### 🔮 Future Research - Investigate technical architecture for scalable citizen journalism platforms combining AI analysis with blockchain governance - Study economic models for sustainable independent media in low-income regions - Explore parallels between open-source community governance and democratic media platform management ### 💡 Implications - Practice: Journalism education must include technology literacy and community engagement methods - Policy: Media regulation frameworks need updating for decentralized, community-owned news platforms - Security: Citizen reporters in conflict zones need anonymity tools while maintaining content authenticity - Education: Communities need training on both reporting skills and platform governance participation - Funding: Grant mechanisms should support technical infrastructure development for democratic media experiments ### 🧠 Learning Styles Assessment Reading level estimate: Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level 8 #### 👀 Visual learners - Present: Concept explanations through analogies (democracy vs. aristocracy in media) - Improve: Need diagrams showing information flow in democratic vs. traditional media, architecture diagrams for AI + blockchain integration #### 🔊 Aural learners - Present: Podcast format with conversational explanations - Improve: Audio summaries of key concepts, pronunciation guide for technical terms #### 🗣️ Verbal learners - Present: Strong analogies (media as air, voting vs. reporting), clear definitions of democratic media - Improve: Glossary of journalism and blockchain terms, comparison tables #### 🧩 Kinesthetic learners - Present: Real-world project examples (CGNet Sara, Uganda radio project) - Improve: Step-by-step guides for setting up citizen journalism platforms, hands-on exercises #### 🧠 Logical learners - Present: Clear problem-solution framework, statistical examples (20% urban vs. 80% rural coverage) - Improve: Decision trees for platform design, metrics dashboard examples, cause-effect diagrams #### 🧑‍🤝‍🧑 Social learners - Present: Community governance discussion, collaboration calls - Improve: Group project templates, peer review systems for citizen reports #### 🧘‍♀️ Solitary learners - Present: Individual reflection prompts about media consumption - Improve: Self-assessment tools for media literacy, personal journalism ethics worksheets #### 🌿 Naturalistic learners - Present: Organic farming marketplace connection, ecosystem thinking about media - Improve: Environmental impact analysis of decentralized vs. centralized media systems ### 📊 Accessibility Assessment #### Screen reader semantics - Present: Clear heading structure in transcript, descriptive terms for concepts - Improve: Alt text needed for any visual diagrams, ARIA labels for technical architecture descriptions #### Keyboard navigation - Present: Standard podcast player controls - Improve: Keyboard shortcuts for timestamp navigation, transcript search functionality #### Contrast and readability - Present: Clear audio with minimal background interference - Improve: High-contrast transcript display options, adjustable text sizing #### Text resizing and reflow - Present: Responsive transcript layout - Improve: Ensure technical diagrams remain readable at 200% zoom #### Media and captions - Present: Full transcript provided - Improve: Synchronized captions with timestamp markers, audio descriptions for any visual content #### Forms and interactions - Present: Simple contact information sharing - Improve: Accessible contact forms, clear error handling for any interactive elements ### 🌍 DEIB Assessment #### Cultural breadth - Present: Multi-regional examples (India, Uganda), local language considerations - Improve: Additional case studies from other continents, translation resources #### Inclusive language - Present: Respectful discussion of conflict situations, neutral terminology - Improve: Plain-language explanations of technical concepts, avoid Western-centric assumptions #### Neurodiversity support - Present: Clear topic transitions, consistent structure - Improve: More frequent heading breaks, visual organizers for complex concepts #### Representation - Present: Voices from Global South, rural and urban perspectives - Improve: Gender diversity in examples, varied economic backgrounds represented #### Psychological safety - Present: Sensitive handling of conflict zone discussions - Improve: Content warnings for conflict descriptions, trauma-informed approach to citizen journalism ### ✅ Logical Validity #### Strong reasoning - Deductive strength: Democratic principles applied to media follow logically from democratic political theory - Inductive strength: Pattern recognition from successful community radio projects supports broader democratic media thesis - Causal reasoning: Clear connection between media representation and problem-solving capacity - Analogical strength: Voting/reporting parallel effectively illustrates democratic participation principles #### Fallacies - Hasty generalization: Assumes success in central India will translate globally without accounting for different contexts - False dichotomy: Presents only aristocratic vs. democratic media models, ignoring hybrid approaches #### Tone of voice - Overall tone: Passionate but measured, drawing from lived experience while acknowledging uncertainties and need for collaboration ### 🛡️ DARVO Analysis - Deny: No denial patterns observed - Attack: No attacks on accusers present - Reverse victim/offender: No victim/offender reversals identified - Emotional cues and rhetoric: Appropriate use of personal experience and emotion to illustrate urgency of democratic media needs ## 🎯 Conclusion Shubhranshu Choudhary presents a compelling vision for democratizing media through open-source principles and decentralized technology. His work in conflict zones demonstrates both the urgent need for representative journalism and the practical potential of community-governed media platforms. The combination of AI for content analysis, blockchain for sustainability, and democratic --- ## Full Transcript [00:00] [music] [00:06] [music] [00:10] Hello and welcome to sustain the podcast [00:13] where we talk about sustaining open [00:16] source for the long haul. I am Errol Fox [00:19] and with me is [00:20] >> Hi, I'm Victor Brown [00:22] >> and we are speaking to Shu Shiobran Shu [00:25] Chowry but we're going to call you Shu [00:28] and you are working as a journalist and [00:31] activist for democratic media. Can you [00:34] tell us a little bit more about what you [00:36] do, what your work involves and how it [00:38] connects to open-source software? [00:41] See journalism [00:43] as we know today is very aristocratic, [00:47] very top down, very one way, very less [00:51] inclusive. [00:53] If you look at politics which is for [00:56] greater common good as journalism should [00:59] also be as democratized [01:02] all over the world. Last century if you [01:05] look at in Africa in Asia there have [01:09] been a democratization [01:11] but if you look at journalism [01:14] instead of kings and queens we have [01:16] media houses the owners we journalists [01:19] are like probably ministers [01:22] and we have readers viewers you know [01:25] with very little contribution [01:29] and where I come from in central India [01:33] we are in the middle of a war. When I [01:35] say war, it is not between two [01:37] countries. So, it's a conflict between [01:40] Indian state and Mauist communist [01:43] gerillas. And it's going on for you know [01:46] more than 50 years. As a journalist, I [01:50] used to work with the BBC. We report and [01:54] that's a very good or very important [01:57] work. [01:58] But at the same time we also have [02:01] responsibility to understand the [02:04] problems. And when I started looking at [02:07] it I found [02:10] that what we call journalism the design [02:12] of that journalism or mass communication [02:15] or media [02:17] creates these conflicts. We are not on [02:20] the side of solution. And what I do now [02:25] I'm part of this democratic media [02:30] I won't say platform we are yet to be a [02:33] platform we yet to be sustainable [02:36] experiment [02:37] which can be on the side of solution and [02:41] technology will be a great help on that. [02:45] That's where we look for open-source [02:47] technology. We are now looking at [02:49] artificial intelligence and blockchain. [02:52] Can you tell me from your perspective [02:55] and your investigation, [02:57] why do you find open-source and web 3 [03:02] and decentralization critical to the [03:04] democratic media work that you're doing? [03:06] Where do you see the opportunities for I [03:08] think the citizens doing reporting, [03:10] right? I remember us talking about that [03:12] before the podcast. [03:14] >> Media [03:16] should be commons. [03:19] Media should be inclusive but the [03:23] natural media is air. Yeah. Which we all [03:26] use when we are in small groups. But [03:29] when we are using technology a media [03:32] which is natural is not very powerful. [03:34] It allows us to talk when we are in [03:37] small group in a in a small room. But [03:40] when it comes to technology what we [03:42] started with uh one way and [03:47] non-inclusive technology means you start [03:50] with printing press or radio television [03:55] all has been one way from one to many. [04:00] But if we want a democratic [04:05] polity to prosper, the communication [04:08] makes community and the type of [04:10] communication you have is the type of [04:12] community you build. So just by [04:15] switching from aristocracy to democracy [04:18] which has huge problems but that's the [04:20] best we have. [04:22] We need to create democratic [04:24] communication platforms is what I [04:26] understood and internet was the first [04:29] entry there. Then came mobile phone and [04:32] now blockchain. But all these [04:34] technologies need to be open-source [04:37] because if they are proprietary and if [04:40] they are created and used by only a [04:43] small group of people then we're talking [04:45] about the same old model and as as I [04:48] saying that model has very powerful that [04:52] model is very useful but it's on the [04:56] side of problem less on the side of [04:59] solution. What we need is media which [05:03] solves. [05:05] >> Can you tell me from your perspective [05:08] and maybe the people that you work with [05:10] as well? What do you need technology [05:14] organizations and open-source software [05:17] technology? What do you need from that? [05:20] What are your like list of you need to [05:23] do this, you need to say this, you need [05:25] to fund this. What's that list? So when [05:28] I going back to the same story when I [05:31] started talking to the people with guns [05:33] I grew up in that area many of my [05:35] classmates have become terrorists but [05:39] they said we are media activists I [05:43] didn't understand what they were saying [05:45] they said your media mean they were [05:47] talking about the current media is deaf [05:51] they're not representative you know like [05:53] in India we 20% people who live in the [05:56] cities who are on the rich side, we have [06:00] more than 80% space. The poor people who [06:02] live in the rural areas who are more [06:04] than 80% don't even have 20% space. If [06:08] your problem is not news, there are very [06:12] little chances it will get solved. So we [06:15] need technology [06:18] which will make this platform [06:21] representative. [06:23] Like in political democracy, everyone [06:24] has one vote. So our effort is like [06:29] every citizen is a voter can every voter [06:32] be a reporter and for that tools need to [06:34] be democratic tools need to be which you [06:37] call open source it cannot be [06:39] proprietary it cannot be we will not [06:42] allow if you don't know how to read and [06:45] write what we are finding in countries [06:47] like India the literacy figure may be [06:50] very high but when you ask people to [06:54] express their opinion and they feel more [06:57] comfortable listening and speaking [07:00] rather than reading and writing. So we [07:03] need to create platforms like election [07:07] commission as we have in India. We call [07:09] it news commission. Let everybody tell [07:12] their stories. Of course every story [07:15] will not go out as a journalism. When [07:17] everybody votes in India there are 1.4 4 [07:21] billion people but in few days we know [07:24] okay what they are saying so we need to [07:28] create this news commission which will [07:31] tell us what are the pain points of the [07:33] people news has many definitions the [07:37] definition which I like most in a given [07:40] geography the maximum number of people's [07:45] problem [07:46] or whatever they feel is important is [07:48] news So what is that in the current [07:52] form? We sit in London or Delhi and I go [07:56] to newspaper offices they're watching TV [07:59] and when I go to TV offices they are [08:01] reading newspapers. We have a small [08:03] circle. How do we know what is news [08:06] technology can help and so if we can [08:10] create these whatever we can call it [08:13] where people are telling their stories [08:16] and here comes AI it can tell us okay [08:19] 43% people are today talking about this [08:22] problem. So as a journalist my work [08:24] starts there. Nobody should be paid to [08:28] vote in the same way nobody should be [08:31] paid to tell the first information what [08:34] they think what is their concern what is [08:37] their problem they should tell their [08:38] stories and journalism should be helped [08:41] by technology to put a dashboard that [08:44] okay 33% people are talking this so I [08:48] will start my work okay find out what [08:50] are they talking can that be news so [08:54] journalism need to be scientific [08:56] We need technology. It needs to be [08:58] representative. Otherwise, [09:01] we are hopping the wrong things as news. [09:05] And that is what called disinformation. [09:07] Something which concerns me. I want to [09:09] hear that. Not what you think is [09:11] important, not what you understand is [09:14] important. And that is a misinformation. [09:17] That is a disinformation we are flooded [09:20] with in the name of news today. in this [09:22] paradigm, in this design which we call [09:25] mainstream media. [09:27] >> Listening to you talk, I'm reminded of a [09:30] project that I worked on in northern [09:33] Uganda. They were working with rural [09:36] communities, farmers who would sit in [09:39] their communities and listen to the [09:41] radio to receive their news. And the [09:44] project was about [09:47] changing that dynamic and helping them [09:51] to know that they can own the radio. [09:54] They can own their broadcast. They can [09:55] own their own news. And what was [09:57] important to them happening in the [09:59] farming communities with the grazing of [10:01] their herd animals. That was what they [10:03] wanted to hear about. They didn't want [10:04] to hear about the new the news on the [10:07] radio that was being [10:08] >> news. [10:09] >> Exactly. [10:11] But it took this decentralization, [10:14] reversing the centralization of this. [10:16] And this is kind of where I find it [10:18] interesting and important that we're [10:20] here at blockchain web 3 [10:22] decentralization conference. What have [10:25] you heard around this conference at [10:28] Devcon that gives you excitement and [10:31] hope for how these tools can be placed [10:34] in the hands of the communities? Have [10:36] you heard anything? To be very honest [10:39] before coming here the only thing I knew [10:41] about web 3 that no scammers use it all [10:45] the bad people use it. So it was a very [10:48] nice surprise for me to see there is so [10:52] much energy so much work going on and I [10:56] don't have much understanding of it yet [10:59] but I think it is very essential that AI [11:02] which is again becoming very centralized [11:04] now should join hands with web 3 and if [11:09] we can create the joint platforms with [11:13] their plus and minus every technology [11:16] has its strength and weakness. So I'm [11:18] finding though I don't know much it's [11:21] very beginning that web 3 blockchain [11:25] must be used for sustainability of these [11:29] platforms. Let me tell you the platform [11:31] we have tried to build it works. people [11:35] are reporting manually we are finding [11:38] okay 43% people are saying this so this [11:41] is our main news 33% saying this so that [11:43] is our second news and it is solving [11:45] problem but I want to look at AI if it [11:49] can reduce the cost means you know if [11:52] you're as I said majority of people are [11:54] speaking you have got 100 hours of [11:57] recording so listening to that [11:59] translating editing transcribing it's a [12:03] huge work which techn technology can do [12:05] very fast. Coming to blockchain, so as I [12:09] was saying, our experiment was every [12:12] citizen is a voter. Can they be a [12:14] reporter? That works. But every reporter [12:19] is also a buyer and seller. [12:22] And if you look at the economics of [12:25] mainstream media, it's funded by [12:27] advertisement where you know the [12:29] companies are trying to sell something [12:30] to rich. But here where we work in the [12:33] forest of central India, they are [12:35] poorest to the poor people. [12:38] Companies don't have much to sell them [12:39] because they don't have much money. And [12:42] if that platform remains [12:46] dependent on grant, it will not be [12:48] independent journalism. There is no free [12:50] lunch. So we need technology which will [12:54] make them financially independent. [12:57] That's where I am looking at more at [12:59] blockchain at web 3. What we want to do [13:03] mean the ideas which are coming to me [13:04] these are all up in air. So I'm also a [13:07] buyer I'm also a seller. Can this [13:09] platform apart from being a [13:11] communication platform can it be also a [13:14] place for buying and selling? Can it [13:17] connects me to the best payer [13:21] like uh the area where we work they [13:24] produce [13:26] purest form of organic food because [13:28] they're less developed. So bad things of [13:32] development has also not gone there. No [13:34] pesticide, no fertilizer. But when they [13:37] sell their produce, [13:40] they sell it in very cheap price. But [13:42] can technology help us you know sell [13:44] their product to somebody who will pay [13:47] more maybe far off places maybe speaking [13:50] a different language. So technology can [13:52] help us communicate. Let them speak in [13:55] their language. Let you speak in your [13:57] language. And if there is increased [14:00] profit thanks to this technology, can [14:04] part of that increased profit run this [14:06] platform? Make this platform [14:08] sustainable, independent. That's the [14:10] future. For grant you can make it one [14:14] year, 2 year, 3 year after that there's [14:16] no sustainability. So we will have to [14:18] from the beginning like in any democracy [14:21] project what we have learned think of [14:24] the last person first. So we are working [14:26] at the most difficult area conflict area [14:29] poorest people if it works with them it [14:31] will work with everyone. In the same way [14:35] we'll have to think from the day one [14:37] about sustainability. [14:39] We getting grants today but grant will [14:43] not take us very far. Grant is very good [14:46] for experimenting for making the tools [14:49] that these poor communities cannot [14:52] afford and this is not a their problem. [14:55] It's a it's a humanity's problem. We [14:57] don't democracy has seen in a few [15:01] hundred years of journey. So [15:03] democratization of media will also take [15:06] longer time to making tools for them. [15:09] Historically those communities have more [15:12] power, more money. They should invest. [15:15] They should fund. But once those [15:17] platforms are ready, they should be [15:19] sustainable. They should be independent. [15:21] They should be standing on their own [15:23] feet economically. And I think that is [15:26] possible. We just need to redesign it. [15:28] >> I know Victory has a question, but I [15:30] just wanted to respond. As you were [15:33] talking, I'm also recognizing and [15:35] reminded of how blockchain technology [15:38] and decentralized technology is more [15:41] private, more secure. And one of the [15:44] issues with reporting what's happening [15:47] is the risk that you might be reporting [15:50] something that maybe the dominant [15:54] government doesn't want you to report. [15:56] And through using these technologies, it [15:59] gives communities that safety, that [16:01] privacy to say, hey, this is happening. [16:05] Everyone needs to know. Everyone values [16:07] this information, but I now feel safe [16:09] because I know the technology is not out [16:12] to identify me in a way that exposes me. [16:16] But decentralization can do that. [16:18] Victory, you have a question, right? [16:21] >> Yeah. Help me Earl if I'm not framing [16:24] this well, but just building on what you [16:26] just asked, I wanted to ask about the [16:28] trust that you have for these systems [16:30] because it's very important the work [16:32] that you do and in some cases you and [16:36] your family would be at risk doing this [16:38] work that you do even if it's for the [16:40] good of the people. So, I wanted to ask [16:42] more about how important trust is for [16:45] you when picking platforms for reporting [16:48] or even just reporting news like this [16:50] that happen because it's also something [16:52] that most people have an issue with when [16:54] talking about open source is as much as [16:57] people don't trust web 3 tools, some [16:59] people also don't trust open source [17:01] tools as well. So, how important is that [17:03] to you and can you talk more about what [17:06] trust is and with technology and systems [17:09] like this? Trust has many dimensions. [17:13] The where we work as I was saying there [17:16] was conflict going on and fortunately [17:19] that conflict is going to be over soon. [17:21] In the first part when there was [17:23] conflict what you said Ariel those were [17:26] very important that you know we want to [17:28] anonymize what we are saying I don't [17:30] want to be identified but in normal [17:34] conditions where we may be you know [17:36] moving soon I look at trust from a [17:39] different point of view that I need to [17:41] trust this platform where we started say [17:45] 20 years ago these terrorists they said [17:48] we don't trust your platform it is [17:50] funded by the same people who wants to [17:53] destroy us. We don't want to give this [17:56] forest, they want to take the forest. We [17:58] don't want to give this river, they want [18:00] to take water. So there was a complete [18:02] distrust and I could see that it took me [18:05] some time to understand but if it is a [18:08] citizens platform like women they need [18:11] to feel safe that whatever I'm saying it [18:15] will not be used against me. So that [18:19] trust comes when the community is [18:22] involved like the community platform we [18:25] are building I don't know the language [18:28] so the people from the community are [18:30] editors and we are trying to start a [18:34] process where editor can be elected in [18:38] political democracy everybody is elected [18:41] if you do good work you get reelected [18:44] in you know democratic media why can't [18:47] an editor be elected if she or he is [18:52] doing good work will be reelected. Yeah. [18:54] So we need to bring in [18:57] all these democratic you know old there [19:00] is nothing you know rocket science here [19:04] things to make us more trustworthy that [19:07] okay who decided not I somebody from [19:10] outside somebody maybe more educated but [19:13] somebody from you no the factor of trust [19:17] comes with also opensource technology [19:20] but inclusive [19:22] no designs where locals can participate [19:26] more. Now they could decide what is [19:28] news, what is not news. So trust is very [19:32] very important. If they don't trust they [19:33] don't listen and then they use their own [19:36] methods of telling their stories which [19:38] is throwing at bombs and we call them [19:41] terrorists where they were actually [19:43] trying to tell something which we were [19:45] not hearing because our platforms were [19:48] not capable. No we were just doing [19:50] parachute journalism. So when media is [19:53] democratic, it will be trustworthy as [19:56] well is what I feel. [19:58] >> We haven't got much time. We actually [20:00] need to wrap up, but I feel like I could [20:03] listen to you talk about these [20:05] challenges and what you see as the [20:07] future for hours honestly. And Victory, [20:11] I was noticing in this last question [20:13] that a lot of these processes sound a [20:15] lot like open source governance. And I I [20:17] say because you're really involved in a [20:18] lot of open source governance. [20:20] >> Yeah. And I also building on that is [20:23] like inclusive design is so important [20:26] and it's also one of the core things [20:29] that make communities last is like [20:32] hearing back from them and making sure [20:34] that they know that they are heard. It's [20:36] really important and I like the approach [20:38] that your project is taking you know [20:40] getting the community involved in [20:42] building and that's something we do in [20:43] open source is like try to get community [20:45] involved in development of tools and [20:48] it's really beautiful to see that you're [20:51] doing that without even knowing that [20:52] you're doing open source. The economics [20:54] of journalism need to change. Like as I [20:57] said [20:58] >> the people who are voting they should [21:00] not be paid because if you pay 50 rupees [21:03] which is our currency I'll pay you them [21:06] 100 and they'll vote for me or they will [21:08] but they need to be compensated. How [21:11] will you compensate? So when the stories [21:13] come out 1 2 3 these are the biggest [21:16] problems we journalists should walk one [21:19] step forward to solve those problems [21:23] that is the incentive it is not economic [21:26] for your reporters. So it's not [21:29] journalism of cash, it's journalism of [21:33] concern. No, which these platforms [21:35] should be that political democracy is [21:39] for greater common good. So should be [21:41] journalism. So should be media and with [21:44] the help of new and old technologies [21:47] with their strength and weakness, we can [21:49] do it. Last century was the century of [21:52] democratization of politics. This should [21:55] be the century of democratization of [21:58] media and it is possible and it is [22:00] doable and we can ignore it only at our [22:05] own peril. This is for our next [22:07] generations that like politics was [22:10] democratized media can also be [22:12] democratic and we must work for it. [22:15] >> We must absolutely. [22:17] To wrap up how can people find you on [22:21] the internet? Are you on social media [22:23] platforms at all? Where can people [22:25] follow your project? Tell us. [22:27] >> So at the moment it is called CGNet [22:31] Sara. So if you search for it, you'll [22:34] find us online or uh I can give you my [22:38] phone number. My phone number is + 91. [22:42] That is the code for India. Then 98110 [22:46] 66749. [22:48] I'm on WhatsApp. I'm on Telegram. [22:51] Please reach me out. We can't do it [22:53] alone. As I said, it is the problem of [22:57] humanity and we all need to come [23:00] together. When I say all, only [23:01] journalists cannot do it. It's not [23:03] journalists problem. All the technology [23:06] people need to come in. So we can join [23:09] hands and try to find solutions as [23:12] political democracy has huge problems. [23:15] That is the best we have so far. In the [23:17] same way, democratic journalism will [23:20] have a lot of problems and we are not [23:23] sure that it will be good or bad, but we [23:25] must experiment with it. We haven't [23:28] started that journey and we must. [23:31] >> Amazing. So, Shu, thank you so much for [23:34] joining us on the podcast. And to any of [23:36] you listeners out there that were [23:38] inspired by what Shu was saying, please [23:41] check out the project. Please get [23:42] involved. Please contact him and make [23:45] media as democratic [music] and open and [23:48] collaborative as open source is for the [23:50] future. Thank you very much. [23:52] >> Thank you [music] B. Thank you. Sh.  ## Highlights - **Media Is Locked In An Aristocratic Design** - Journalism today is aristocratic and top-down, limiting community contribution and problem-solving. - Shubhranshu argues technology and democratic redesign can move media from gatekeepers to commons. Transcript: Shubhranshu Choudhary Journalism, as we know today, is very aristocratic, very top-down, very one-way, very less inclusive. If you look at politics, which is for greater common good, as journalism should also be as democratized all over the world. Last century, if you look at in Africa, in Asia, there have been democratization. But if you look at journalism, instead of kings and queens, we have media houses, the owners. We journalists are like probably ministers. And we have readers, viewers, with very little contribution. And where I come from in central India, we are in the middle of a war. When I say war, it is not between two countries. So it's a conflict between Indian state and Maoist communist guerrillas. And it's going on for more than 50 years. As a journalist, I used to work with the BBC. We report and that's a very good, a very important work. But at the same time, we also have responsibility to understand the problems. And when I started looking at it, I found that what we call journalism, the design of that journalism or mass communication or media creates these conflicts. We are not on the side of solution. And what I do now, I'm part of this democratic media, I won't say platform, we are yet to be a platform, we are yet to be sustainable experiment, which can be on the side of solution. And technology will be a great help on that. That's where we look for open source technology. We are now looking at artificial intelligence and blockchain. ([Time 0:00:41](https://share.snipd.com/snip/8810ff5a-ae9d-4249-b351-b580caa7c790)) - **Build Media On Open, Democratic Tech** - Use open source and decentralized tools so media platforms remain inclusive and not controlled by a few owners. - Prioritize democratic communication design rather than proprietary one-way systems. Transcript: Shubhranshu Choudhary Should be commons. Media should be inclusive but the natural media is air which we all use when we are in small groups but when we are using technology the media which is natural is very powerful. It allows us to talk when we are in small group in a small room. But when it comes to technology, what we started with one way and non-inclusive technology means you start with printing press or radio, television, all has been one way, from one to Many. But if we want a democratic polity to prosper, communication makes community. And the type of communication you have is the type of community you build. So just by switching from aristocracy to democracy, which has huge problems, but that's the best we have, we need to create democratic communication platforms is what I understood. And internet was the first entry there. Then came mobile phone and now blockchain. But all these technologies need to be open source because if they are proprietary and if they are created and used by only a small group of people, then we are talking about the same old Model. ([Time 0:03:14](https://share.snipd.com/snip/3062a0a7-c907-488d-86f7-860438a8a745)) - **Make Reporting Universal And Oral-First** - Design platforms so every citizen can act as a voter and a reporter, enabling representative reporting at scale. - Use tools that accommodate oral expression and local languages rather than requiring literacy. Transcript: Shubhranshu Choudhary Back to the same story, when I started talking to the people with guns, I grew up in that area. Many of my classmates have become terrorists. But they said, we are media activists. I didn't understand what they were saying. They said, your media, as they were talking about the current media, is deaf. They're not representative. You know, like in India, 20 percent people who live in the cities who are on the rich side we have more than 80 percent space the poor people who live in the rural areas who are more than 80 Percent don't even have 20 percent space if your problem is not news there are very little chances it will get solved. So we need technology which will make this platform representative. Like in political democracy, everyone has one vote. So our effort is like every citizen is a voter. Can every voter be a reporter? And for that tools need to be democratic, tools need to be, which you call open source. It cannot be proprietary, it cannot be, we will not allow, if you don't know how to read and write, what we are finding in countries like India, the literacy figure may be very high. But when you ask people to express their opinion they feel more comfortable listening and speaking rather than reading and writing. So we need to create platforms like election commission as we have in India. We call it news commission. Let everybody tell their stories. Of course every story will not go out as a journalism. When everybody votes in India, there are 1.4 billion people. But in few days, we know what they are saying. So we need to create this news commission, which will tell us what are the pain points of the people. News has many definitions. The definition which I like most, in a given geography, the maximum number of people's problem or whatever they feel is important is news. So what is that? In the current form, we sit in London or Delhi and I go to newspaper offices, they're watching TV. And when I go to TV offices, they are reading newspapers. We have a small circle. How do we know what is news? Technology can help. ([Time 0:05:29](https://share.snipd.com/snip/e1b84ff4-29fa-4c0d-a6a1-a22499eb71e1)) - **AI As A Signal For Community News** - AI can surface what communities care about by aggregating many voices into measurable signals. - That signal lets journalists focus investigation where the community shows concentrated concern. Transcript: Shubhranshu Choudhary And so if we can create these, whatever we can call it, where people are telling their stories and here comes AI. It can tell us okay 43% people are today talking about this problem. So as a journalist my work starts there. Nobody should be paid to vote in the same way nobody should be paid to tell the first information. ([Time 0:08:07](https://share.snipd.com/snip/8c3376d2-ec69-4e70-a1fe-4ceb1135e542)) - **From Skepticism To Interest At DevConnect** - Shubhranshu admits he once saw Web3 only as a place for scammers before attending DevConnect and finding productive work. - He now sees potential in combining AI with Web3 for sustainable community platforms. Transcript: Shubhranshu Choudhary Be very honest, before coming here, the only thing I knew about Web3 that, you know, scammers use it, all the bad people use it. So it was a very nice surprise for me to see there is so much energy, so much work going on. And I don't have much understanding of it yet. But I think it is very essential that AI, which is again becoming very centralized now, should join hands with Web3. And if we can create the joint platforms with their plus and minus, technology has its strength and weakness so i'm finding though i don't know much it's very beginning that web3 blockchain Must be used for sustainability of these platforms let me tell you the platform we have tried to build It works. People are reporting. Manually we are finding, okay, 43% people are saying this. So this is our main news. 33% saying this. So that is our second news. And it is solving problem. ([Time 0:10:37](https://share.snipd.com/snip/1e2c3164-73a0-4aef-8537-897d2643f1f5)) - **Design Sustainability Into Platforms** - Plan for financial sustainability from day one by enabling platform commerce and local producers to reach better buyers. - Redirect part of increased market value to fund the platform so it doesn't rely solely on grants. Transcript: Shubhranshu Choudhary But I want to look at AI if it can reduce the cost. Means, you know, if you're, as I said majority of people are speaking you have got 100 hours of recording so listening to that translating editing transcribing is a huge work which technology Can do very fast coming to blockchain so as I was saying our experiment was every citizen is a voter. Can they be a reporter? That works. But every reporter is also a buyer and seller. And if you look at the economics of mainstream media, it's funded by advertisement where the companies are trying to sell something to rich. But here where we work in the forest of central India, they are poorest of the poor people. Companies don't have much to sell them because they don't have much money. And if that platform remains dependent on grant, it will not be independent journalism. There is no free lunch. So we need technology which will make them financially independent that's where i am looking at more at blockchain at web3 what we want to do means the ideas which are coming to me these Are all up in air so i'm also a buyer i'm also a seller can this platform apart from being a communication platform can it be also a place for buying and selling? Can it connect me to the best payer? Like the area where we work, they produce purest form of organic food because they're less developed. So bad things of development has also not gone there. No pesticide, no fertilizer. But when they sell their produce, they sell it in very cheap price. But can technology help us sell their product to somebody who will pay more? Maybe far off places, maybe speaking a different language. Technology can help us communicate let them speak in their language let you speak in your language and if there is increased profit thanks to this technology can part of that increased Profit run this platform make this platform sustainable independent that's the future for grant you can make it one year, two year, three year. ([Time 0:11:46](https://share.snipd.com/snip/3b3119bf-3fbe-4509-8a90-3d71bacefa17)) - **Design For The Last Person First** - Design 'for the last person first' by building for the poorest, most difficult contexts so solutions scale broadly. - If platforms work in conflict-ridden, low-resource areas they will work elsewhere. Transcript: Shubhranshu Choudhary So we are working at the most difficult area, conflict area, poorest people. If it works with them, it will work with everyone. In the same way, we'll have to think from day one about sustainability. We are getting grants today, but grant will not take us very far. Grant is very good for experimenting, for making the tools that these poor communities cannot afford. And this is not their problem. It's a humanities problem. We don't miss democracy as seen a few hundred years of journey. So democratization of media will also take longer time. To making tools for them, historically, those communities have more power, more money. They should invest. They should fund. But once those platforms are ready, they should be sustainable. They should be independent. They should be standing on their own feet economically. And I think that is possible. ([Time 0:14:25](https://share.snipd.com/snip/bfd9db04-7b98-4c8d-a8a0-301c7e85b57c)) - **Trust Shifts With Context And Security** - During active conflict, anonymity was essential for contributors who feared reprisals in central India. - As conditions normalize, trust shifted to community control, local editors, and elected governance. Transcript: Shubhranshu Choudhary And fortunately, that conflict is going to be over soon. In the first part, when there was conflict, what you said, Ariel, those were very important that we want to anonymize what we are saying. I don't want to be identified. But in normal conditions where we may be moving soon, I look at trust from a different point of view that I need to trust this platform where we started, say 20 years ago, these terrorists, They said, we don't trust your platform. It is funded by the same people who wants to destroy us. We don't want to give this forest, they want to take the forest. We don't want to give this river, they want to take water. So there was a complete distrust and I could see that. It took me some time to understand. But if it is a citizen's platform like women, they need to feel safe that whatever I am saying, it will not be used against me. So that trust comes when the community is involved. Like the community platform we are building, I don't know the language. So the people from the community are editors. And we are trying to start a process where editor can be elected. In political democracy, everybody is elected. If you do good work, you get re-elected. In democratic media, why can't an editor be elected? If she or he is doing good work, he'll be re-elected yeah so we need to bring in all these democratic you know old there is nothing you know rocket science here things to make us more trustworthy That okay who decided not i somebody from outside somebody maybe more educated but somebody from you No, the factor of trust comes with also open source technology, but inclusive, You know, designs where locals can participate more. They could decide what is news, what is not news. So trust is very, very important. If they don't trust, they don't listen. And then they use their own methods of telling their stories, which is throwing at bombs. And we call them terrorists, where they were actually trying to tell something which we were not hearing because our platforms were not capable. ([Time 0:17:17](https://share.snipd.com/snip/bfc68c80-f280-45bc-9f11-79d4db5bb927)) - **Elect Local Editors To Build Trust** - Involve local community members as editors and introduce democratic selection so people trust platforms. - Let communities decide what counts as news to reduce parachute journalism and misunderstanding. Transcript: Shubhranshu Choudhary Like the community platform we are building, I don't know the language. So the people from the community are editors. And we are trying to start a process where editor can be elected. In political democracy, everybody is elected. If you do good work, you get re-elected. In democratic media, why can't an editor be elected? If she or he is doing good work, he'll be re-elected yeah so we need to bring in all these democratic you know old there is nothing you know rocket science here things to make us more trustworthy That okay who decided not i somebody from outside somebody maybe more educated but somebody from you No, the factor of trust comes with also open source technology, but inclusive, You know, designs where locals can participate more. ([Time 0:18:23](https://share.snipd.com/snip/f4337cd3-d1fd-44cf-99ed-f82c8ffd74e3)) - **Incentives Should Be Impact, Not Per-Story Pay** - Journalism's incentive should be 'concern' rather than cash; reporters are motivated by impact more than per-story payment. - Democratising media is a long historical project comparable to political democracy's century-long journey. Transcript: Shubhranshu Choudhary And it's also one of the core things that make communities last is like hearing back from them and making sure that they know that they are heard it's really important and i like the approach That your project is taking you know getting community involved in building and that's something we do in open source is like try to get community involved in development of tools and It's really beautiful to see that you're doing that without even knowing that you're doing open source the economics yeah journalism need to change like as i said the people who are Voting they should not be paid because if you pay 50 rupees which is our currency i'll pay you them 100 and they'll vote for me or they will but they need to be compensated how will you compensate So when the stories come out, one, two, three, these are the biggest problems, we journalists should walk one step forward to solve those problems. That is the incentive, it is not economic, for your reporters. Journalism of cash, it's journalism of concern, which these platforms should be, that political democracy is for greater common good. So should be journalism, so should be media. And with the help of new and old technologies, with their strength and weakness, we can do it. Last century was the century of democratization of politics. This should be the century of democratization of media. And it is possible and it is doable. And we can ignore it only at our own peril. This is for our next generations. That like politics was democratized, media can also be democratic. And we must work for it. ([Time 0:20:26](https://share.snipd.com/snip/17c4e57b-183b-479d-a7fc-fae4082859e4)) - **Join Journalists To Co-Design Platforms** - Collaborate: technology people must join journalists to build democratic media platforms and experiment bravely. - Reach out to CGNet Swara to help co-design inclusive tools and governance. Transcript: Shubhranshu Choudhary At the moment it is called CGNet Swara. So if you search for it, you'll find us online or I can give you my phone number. My phone number is plus 91. That is the code for India. Then 9811066749. I'm on WhatsApp. I'm on Telegram. Please reach me out. We can't do it alone. As I said, it is the problem of humanity. And we all need to come together. When I say all, only journalists cannot do it. It's not journalists' problem. All the technology people need to come in so we can join hands and try to find solutions. As political democracy has huge problems, that is the best we have so far. In the same way, democratic journalism will have a lot of problems, and we are not sure that it will be good or bad, but we must experiment with it. ([Time 0:22:27](https://share.snipd.com/snip/8049203d-dfe1-4ca2-a95d-6fd84cbb4e32))