We’re about to reach 500 registered users. It’s nothing. It’s very far from a service that helps people find jobs. But since there’s the antagonism between the words AI and opensource, I get a lot of questions, sometimes well-formulated, sometimes clumsily worded as social media unfortunately conditions us to do.

So I’m taking advantage of my blog medium (here since 2009, on hugo and markdown, pelican before that, I mention it because it matters –see below–) to clarify a few points.

My objective

As I was telling a few days ago Ponos is first and foremost a liberation and an experiment. Liberation: a project I can finally launch on my own without coding, without needing people who code, and therefore without much investment. You’ll note that I asked devs to do it with me for 1 or 2 years. Some said “yes why not, but we need to be paid”. I even went to ask BPI for a budget, but I was already coming with the idea of a European opensource product that isn’t meant to make money, and BPI told me: “oh no, we fund products that can eventually generate revenue”.

A liberation then: I could try to do it all by myself with AI.

An experiment: I know software very well, software design, I’ve been doing nothing but coaching teams on this for several decades. The experiment was: how far can I go? And how far can I go without looking at a single line of code.

Ponos product objectives

The objective of the Ponos product (https://ponos-job.eu) itself is to offer a zen and respectful alternative: back to a web full of small houses (your blogs, your websites) that we point to. So no images, no likes, no notifications, but an RSS feed (which can notify you, but that’s very different), and the famous 140 characters that are enough to point to your resources.

A European, opensource alternative: to provide guarantees of transparency and auditability to anyone who wants it, and to have our autonomy.

In any case, definitely not the dripping American marketing of LinkedIn.

The success criterion: that people find jobs through Ponos. The timing isn’t ideal — for 1 position there are 250 CVs.

Cost and structural funding

For now, a subscription at alwaysdata.net and nothing more. If Ponos is successful I’ll need to increase the subscription cost. And perhaps pay for the email sending service (an American one that I need to move to Europe). For now, no problem covering it myself, tomorrow if Ponos is successful, probably a Framasoft-type association, or shutting down the service if costs are too high. No profit seeking.

Opensource and AI

So, opensource and AI. First, I already talked about it here and I haven’t changed my mind in a week.

For me, AI allows me to build opensource tools and products that I can dedicate to small communities, and this frees me from the yoke of private companies.

If your convictions mean that AI with its eco-responsibility and political threat is a dealbreaker — fine. That’s totally respectable. I just ask you to leave me alone.

There is an alternative to Ponos: exactly the same target, born this summer: https://nolto.social… opensource and AI. Once again by someone who doesn’t code. The same motive. Interesting, isn’t it?

Far too much rigid radicalism in quite a few of the comments I’ve heard.

My background

You can do whatever you want with Ponos, and so can I.

On the opensource front: You can look at my track record and my writings over nearly 20 years. And my professional career, and my positions taken. Etc. Linux forever, nvim, latex, typst, etc. Agility, opensource, sociocracy, holacracy, etc. This text is typed with nvim (and lazyvim), on my Tuxedo computer, my Ubuntu — it’s the profile of the perfect startup nation persona.

On the product front: If I step back from the initial initiative — the experiment — I first want my product to have an impact. If someone finds a job through it, mission accomplished. I know you need convictions that are as much ethical as cultural, and about the product’s usage itself. I have them.

Open conversation

To discuss all of this, within my framework, I’m offering 1 hour Monday February 9th from 6pm to 7pm via video call (on Whereby, a European solution, well how about that). I’ll be happy to clarify any points you’d like clarified. And to hear your suggestions if they’re courteous. Perhaps say yes, perhaps say no, perhaps say I need to think about it. Both about the product and about the organisation around Ponos. There might be 3 or 30 of us on the call. I’ll give you the link… on Ponos (https://ponos-job.eu) (please don’t share it if you get access). At 7pm we cut, I have jazz rehearsal.

Two of my favourite quotes to close these explanations.

• “They did not know it was impossible, so they did it” – Mark Twain
• “Too many midwives, the baby is dead” – Romanian proverb

Game Changer

AI is a total game changer. But you still need to understand why and how. Don’t hesitate to contact me, I’m here to help you.