Another Notch on Your NPUB

Derek Ross recaps his weekend at the AI Hack for Freedom hackathon in Austin, where the Soapbox team built Pathos—a freedom-fighting app for Venezuelan activists. Plus: new Shakespeare integrations, Derek's Onyx productivity tool, and Heather’s open source geocaching in Arizona. Chapters 00:00 - Introduction to Decentralized Social and AI 02:36 - The AI Hackathon Experience 05:50 - Building for Freedom Fighters 10:55 - Innovative Features and Challenges 14:48 - The Importance of Activism and Journalism 20:38 - Creating Secure Financial Solutions 26:59 - The Role of Secure, Open Source AI in Activism 31:57 - Developing New Tools for Activists 32:49 - Building Trust in Digital Communities 34:48 - Collaboration and Innovation in Freedom Tech 37:53 - Onboarding Freedom-Focused Communities 38:45 - Exciting Developments from the Hackathon 40:54 - Privacy-First AI Solutions 42:49 - Introducing Onyx: A New Productivity Tool 46:43 - The Future of AI in Task Management 51:46 - The Role of Human Oversight in AI Projects 56:42 - Geocaching Adventures and Community Engagement --- Main Topics AI Hack for Freedom Hackathon - Attendees from Soapbox: Derek Ross, Alex Gleason, MK Fain, Chad Chadwick - Additional team members: elsat (Damus team), Hazard (Applesauce/Nostrudel) - Format: ~24-30 developers building apps for 8 activists seeking freedom tech solutions - Result: Second place finish Pathos App for Venezuelan Activists - Built for Leopoldo Lopez, exiled Venezuelan political leader and World Liberty Congress member - Key features: - Built-in wallet (Breeze SDK, no KYC, self-custodial) - Country-based activist feeds using geo hashtags (e.g., geo:VE) - Challenge system for organizing on-the-ground activism - Zaps for rewarding participants - AI chatbot with contextual summaries - BitChat Bluetooth mesh integration (built by Hazard using Claude) - Launch stats: ~100 activists using it live on day one - Twitter has been banned in Venezuela for 3 years—this provides an alternative to WhatsApp Following.party - New follow pack management tool built by Chad at the hackathon - Allows editing and manipulation of follow packs - Used by activists as a web-of-trust verification system for on-the-ground freedom fighters Maple AI Integration - Shakespeare now supports Maple AI as a provider - End-to-end encrypted from keyboard to GPU - Privacy-first AI option for activists Onyx - Derek's Productivity Tool - Open-source productivity app with OpenCode built in - Import customizable "skills" (content writer, researcher, executive assistant, etc.) - Integrates with Google Calendar, GitHub, GitLab, task managers - Used to automatically create and assign GitLab issues to developers based on their skill sets - Comparison to Claude Cowork: Onyx is open, allows model choice, no tracking Treasures.to Geocaching - Heather dropped 4 treasures on Piestewa Peak in Phoenix - Open-source, free alternative to geocaching.com - Over 100 treasures now hidden worldwide Geyser Fund Update - Nostr-based fundraising platform got banned from Instagram - Reminder to build audiences on Nostr in parallel with legacy platforms --- Hackathon Honorable Mentions - First Place: App focused on protecting journalists' lives on front lines - Maple Team (Tony, Paul, Mark): Built "Open CCP" - an app to expose CCP members, working with a -1989 Tiananmen Square student organizer --- Hosts - Derek Ross - Soapbox - Heather Larson - Soapbox Follow us on Nostr! Npub1xxzpxp4xvueh8836reda2jyx674tuwvtla927837nuarqh375kqsw4dm62 Submit a news tip or ask a question: https://soapbox.pub/soapbox-sessions/ Find tools on the website: https://soapbox.pub/ Follow on X: https://x.com/SoapboxTech Follow on Nostr: https://primal.net/p/nprofile1qqs8sxs4yuz47axp7uprpugrs3sfkdz5379tdg9xe2n5qfvz070a4egc9mrhy ⭐ Support the podcast on Podcast 2.0 open networks: The one we built, Podstr: https://sessions.soapbox.pub/ Listen on Fountain: https://fountain.fm/show/aq7IaS6bdQ6kF6NWDzzc Become a fan on True Fans: https://truefans.fm/soapbox-sessions Podverse: https://podverse.fm/podcast/hPdQ-otsG Podcast Guru: https://app.podcastguru.io/podcast/1837576097 Podcast Index: https://podcastindex.org/podcast/7473968 🔵 Listen on closed networks/walled gardens: Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/1uBFCX46GH0npKB46stxAO Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/soapbox-sessions/id1837576097