The Algorithm Architect

What if the systems that tell us what to buy, what to read, even what to care about - could be redesigned to reflect our values rather than override them?

That’s the question Lincoln Bauer has built Spendwell to explore. A political economist turned technical founder, Bauer is challenging the core assumption that markets must be value-less, that convenience always trumps consequence, and that ethical consumption is destined to remain niche.

Spendwell is not just a product. It’s a systemic intervention. At its core is an open algorithm - a counterweight to the opaque, profit-maximizing systems that currently dominate our search engines, newsfeeds, and e-commerce platforms. Instead of ranking based on popularity and ad dollars, Spendwell helps individuals search for products and companies aligned with their ethical priorities: climate action, equity, transparency, anti-corruption, tax justice.

It’s a simple idea. But the implications are profound.

A Mirror Held Up to Market Logic

Bauer’s work reveals a critical truth: our economic system is not just failing because of bad actors or insufficient policy. It's structurally set up to reward short-term gains, reinforce self-interest, and erode our ethical imagination.

In Spendwell’s Theory of Change, he writes:

“You are not an inherently self-interested being. But you live in a system that conditions you to act like one, every day.”

This insight is at the heart of Spendwell. It doesn’t ask us to be perfect consumers. It simply asks: what if our everyday searches didn’t just show us the fastest, cheapest, or most addictive choice - but the one most aligned with what matters?

Using the System to Change the System

Where traditional activism has often stood outside the system, trying to pressure it from the edges, Spendwell moves differently. It steps inside the algorithmic heart of consumer culture and rewrites its logic.

This isn’t about tweaking capitalism. It’s about reclaiming the basic infrastructure of decision-making.

Just like other system-shifting pioneers featured in Weave, Bauer isn’t waiting for regulation to catch up. He’s building the tools now, offering a glimpse of what a values-driven digital economy could look like. In this sense, Spendwell echoes the ethos of regenerative design: not just minimizing harm, but actively reimagining how systems operate.

A New Kind of Consumer Power

Bauer’s work also reframes consumer power. Not as a shallow slogan (“vote with your wallet!”), but as a structural lever. When the majority of market interactions are driven by algorithms trained on profit, changing those algorithms becomes a form of economic protest - and regeneration.

If successful, Spendwell won’t just shift individual choices. It could create ripple effects across industries, rewarding companies who align with deeper societal goals and rendering extractive practices less viable.

In a time when disillusionment with both politics and markets is growing, Bauer offers a third space: the reprogramming of the infrastructures that mediate between the two.

And in doing so, he invites us to ask: What if ethics weren’t the add-on - but the default?