Given the naming similarity and the overlap in community and interests, we wanted to clarify a few things:
We obviously have community members who identify with e/acc and welcome more, just as we welcome anyone else who wants to accelerate Europe.
e/acc popularised the concept of Accelerationism in tech circles, having inspired us and many others ( oss/acc , def/acc , etc.) to pick this name, to the point that it became a meme on the Internet.
They are also a source of inspiration on how we want to build this movement – decentralised and focused on impact, to name a few aspects.
We also share a sense of techno-optimism with them.
But ultimately, eu/acc is not e/acc. The two are different movements and communities.
- Our definition of accelerationism is different:
- While accelerationism is a term with a long history in political theory, encompassing many, often contradicting movements, we use a simple, unifying definition: speeding up technological advancements for societal improvement.
- Importantly, our focus is distinct from AI accelerationism, which in essence means the rapid development and deployment of artificial intelligence technologies under the assumption that this reduces existential risk or that there is no existential risk in doing so.
- While we recognise the importance of AI and technology, and make common cause against de-growth/decelerationism, our approach is rooted in a broader evidence-based agenda aimed at comprehensive societal progress in Europe.
- We are intentionally apolitical on the left-vs-right spectrum:
- We want to stay away from any culture-war-like discussions.
- You can be "woke" or "anti-woke". As long as you believe in individual freedom and in pushing Europe forward through technological innovation, you are welcome to be part of eu/acc.
- We take a pragmatic approach and work collaboratively with anyone who is aligned with our initiatives
- Many of our approaches are about policy, working with EU and European politicians on existing platforms
- We focus on being Europe and being Europe-positive
- We use data in our discussions, regardless if it is about positive success stories or negative problem areas, but our focus is on Europe and driving a positive narrative where there is reason to do so.
- We are not anon
- Many of our community members put their name on the line for this decentralised movement and push for a general acceleration of European progress
We believe Accelerationism for Europe is a way bigger topic than any small group could cover. There are millions of people who want to help pushing Europe forward. And we welcome them all.