This talk is very close to my heart, quite literally. Many people rely on technology to keep them alive, and that technology runs software. When your life depends on code you can’t see and control, software freedom becomes something very personal.
In this session, I’ll share the story of how I came to care deeply about Free Software, not just as a developer, but as a person directly affected by the limitations of non-free medical systems. What happens when the software behind critical devices can’t be audited, fixed, or even questioned? What does “user control” mean when the user is also the patient and when the consequences of a software bug can be felt in your own body?
We’ll explore the landscape of medical technology: How decisions made by manufacturers and regulators impact real people, how non-free systems can lead to harm or helplessness, and how Free Software principles are at the core of not just transparency, but dignity and autonomy.
This isn’t a technical deep dive, nor a policy lecture. It’s a personal story, a perspective from the inside (sometimes very literally), and a reflection on what it means to live with, and sometimes fight against , the software that runs our most essential systems. Free Software might just belong in places most people never think to look.
