Algorithmic Sabotage Research Group - Our Collaborative Tools
Drawing inspiration from the Luddites of the Industrial Revolution, the ASRG advocates for "sabotage" not necessarily as physical destruction, but as a tactical injection of noise into the data stream. By making oneself "uncomputable," the individual regains a degree of autonomy that the frictionless digital world seeks to eliminate. Tactics of Resistance The group’s research typically spans three main areas:
: Cutting through ideological structures that utilize algorithms to automate "thoughtlessness" and social classification.
The group has published (in whitepapers, not peer-reviewed journals, to avoid giving roadmaps to script kiddies) an internal taxonomy: algorithmic sabotage research group asrg
Feeding AI crawlers irrelevant, fabricated, or nonsensical text (e.g., serving the script of Bee Movie ) to reduce the value of the collected information.
The rapid normalization of machine learning, automated surveillance, and generative systems has sparked an equally aggressive counter-movement. Standing at the forefront of this conceptual and active resistance is the . Operating as a decentralized, practice-led, and highly collaborative framework, the group analyzes the systemic harms of commercial artificial intelligence. Crucially, they move beyond traditional tech criticism to advocate for a radical posture of active algorithmic sabotage .
The ASRG’s toolkit would borrow from adversarial machine learning, critical infrastructure studies, and artistic activism. Key research vectors would include: The group has published (in whitepapers, not peer-reviewed
The ASRG defines itself as an "aesthetico-political" framework. This means they treat the layout, publication, and presentation of their ideas with the same disruptive energy as the theories themselves. "Theorizing Algorithmic Sabotage" Zines
At its heart, the ASRG's theory of change is a radical one. It posits that traditional methods of technology critique—such as policy advocacy, consumer choice, and academic deconstruction—are insufficient to counter the deeply embedded structural injustices, supremacist perspectives, and necropolitical authoritarian power layered into what it calls the "algorithmic empire". Instead, it champions a turn towards direct action: sabotage. This is not an atavistic fear of technology, but a calculated . The ultimate objective is to strengthen, promote, and defend human rights and fundamental freedoms by actively undermining the systems that threaten them.
After years of sabotage research, the ASRG has also developed a defensive playbook: The ultimate objective is to strengthen
: Rather than a Luddite-style aversion to computing, ASRG treats algorithmic sabotage as a community-driven counter-power.
Major AI labs are investing heavily in .