Episode Summary
Oto sits down with Hakeem Anwar — founder of #TakeBackOurTech and Above, a privacy-first phone, laptop, and communications company — to map out exactly how the surveillance system works and what people can actually do about it.
They trace Hakeem’s path from a decade-deep conspiracy rabbit hole through a big-tech career to founding Above after COVID convinced him he was “coding his own prison.”
From there the conversation covers the AI data center boom (and the free tool Hakeem built, aidatacentermap.org, to track its water and power use), Palantir’s “unified surveillance” model, the push toward digital ID, why he’s grown wary of Bitcoin’s transparency, and a live demo of de-Googled phones, offline maps, and the F-Droid app store.
They close on Hakeem’s long-term vision: small communities running their own local servers and mesh networks, fully independent of Big Tech.
Chapters / Timestamps
(Shifted +1:05 to account for the trailer at the top of the episode)
00:00 – Trailer
01:05 – Intro & Hakeem’s Red Pill Moment
03:05 – Rabbit Holes: From Conspiracy to Big Tech
04:05 – COVID, Freedom Cells & the Pivot to Above
08:05 – Why Privacy Matters: From Snowden to Data Brokers
10:05 – Brainwaves, EEGs & Where the Surveillance Line Stops
11:05 – The Data Center Boom: Four Theories on Why
13:05 – Inside AIDataCenterMap.org: Mapping Power & Water Use
16:05 – The Hidden Cost: Heat Islands & Water Wars
17:05 – San Marcos, Texas: How One Town Pushed Back
19:05 – Arizona’s Data Center Gold Rush
21:05 – Wi-Fi Sensing, EMF & the Surveillance Feedback Loop
26:05 – Palantir & Unified Surveillance
28:05 – Digital ID: Why Nigeria Is Getting $200M to Build It
29:05 – Terms & Conditions: What Are You Really Agreeing To?
31:05 – Going Private: Why Oto Is Ready to Ditch His iPhone
32:05 – Inside F-Droid: The Open-Source App Store
34:05 – Is Bitcoin Compromised? A Privacy Maximalist’s Take
38:05 – Forking Bitcoin: 35,000 Versions & What That Means
41:05 – Demo: Reading the “Nutrition Facts” on Your Apps
43:05 – Offline Maps & Passive GPS: How It Actually Works
45:05 – Wi-Fi Sensing & Seeing Through Walls
47:05 – Above’s Movement: Hundreds of Thousands Going Private
49:05 – Layer Zero: Mesh Networks & Replacing the Internet
52:05 – Encrypted Chat, Phone-Over-Internet & Video Conferencing
54:05 – The Power of Taking the First Step in Your Community
58:05 – Sourcing, Repairability & Above Protect Insurance
59:05 – Vision: Community Server Farms & Sovereign Computing
1:01:05 – People Power: The Antidote to Centralized Control
1:02:05 – Re-Internalizing Self-Worth in a Tech-Dependent World
1:04:05 – Building an “Autobot”: Oto’s AI Assistant Plans
1:05:05 – Local AI Hardware: The Above Quantum 15
1:10:05 – Free Support: Above’s White-Glove Onboarding
1:12:05 – Final Words: Have Faith & Invest in Your Health
1:14:05 – Closing & Where to Find Hakeem
Key Takeaways
Above builds de-Googled phones and laptops running open-source software (like GrapheneOS) that show users exactly which companies are tracking them inside any app, with no ads and no logging on Above’s own services.
Hakeem’s aidatacentermap.org tracks hyperscale data centers’ estimated water and power draw, and includes case studies like San Marcos, TX, where a local group blocked a data center by showing up 100-strong to a rezoning hearing.
By 2030, data centers are projected to use 40–50% of current total US power consumption, according to the map’s estimates.
Hakeem describes Palantir’s model as “unified surveillance” — pulling disparate data (library check-ins, traffic cameras, police records) into one investigative platform — and ties it to the broader push toward digital ID.
Offline tools like the F-Droid app store and OpenStreetMap let phones navigate and function fully without an internet connection or Google/Apple location services.
Hakeem’s long-term vision is community-run mesh networks and local server farms (8–30 households pooling resources) replacing reliance on Big Tech infrastructure entirely.
Learn More / Get Started
Data Center Impact Map — https://aidatacentermap.org
Above Phone & Laptop — https://abovephone.com (use code OTO50 for $50 off any device)
Hakeem’s Writing — https://tbot.substack.com
CONNECT WITH OTO:
Instagram – https://instagram.com/otogomes
Website – https://otogomes.live
