The Tech We Need for 21st Century Democracy with Divya Siddarth

Democracy in action has looked the same for generations.
Constituents might go to a library or school every one or two
years and cast their vote for people who don't actually represent
everything that they care about. Our technology is rapidly
increasing in sophistication, yet our forms of democracy have
largely remained unchanged. What would an upgrade look like - not
just for democracy, but for all the different places that
democratic decision-making happens?


On this episode of Your Undivided Attention, we’re joined
by political economist and social technologist Divya Siddarth,
one of the world's leading experts in collective intelligence.
Together we explore how new kinds of governance can be supported
through better technology, and how collective decision-making is
key to unlocking everything from more effective elections to
better ways of responding to global problems like climate change.


Correction:


Tristan mentions Elon Musk’s attempt to manufacture ventilators
early on in the COVID-19 pandemic. Musk ended up buying over
1,200 ventilators that were delivered to California.


RECOMMENDED MEDIA


Against Democracy by Jason Brennan


A provocative challenge to one of our most cherished institutions


Ledger of Harms


Technology platforms have created a race for human attention
that’s unleashed invisible harms to society. Here are some of the
costs that aren't showing up on their balance sheets


The Wisdom Gap


This blog post from the Center for Humane Technology describes
the gap between the rising interconnected complexity of our
problems and our ability to make sense of them


DemocracyNext


DemocracyNext is working to design and establish new institutions
for government and transform the governance of organizations that
influence public life


CIP.org


An incubator for new governance models for transformative
technology


Ethelo


Transform community engagement through consensus


Kazm’s Living Room Conversations


Living Room Conversations works to heal society by connecting
people across divides through guided conversations proven to
build understanding and transform communities


The Citizens Dialogue


A model for citizen participation in Ostbelgien, which was
brought to life by the parliament of the German-speaking
community


Asamblea Ciudadana Para El Clima


Spain’s national citizens’ assembly on climate change


Climate Assembly UK


The UK’s national citizens’ assembly on climate change


Citizens’ Convention for the Climate


France’s national citizens’ assembly on climate change


Polis


Polis is a real-time system for gathering, analyzing and
understanding what large groups of people think in their own
words, enabled by advanced statistics and machine learning


RECOMMENDED YUA EPISODES


Digital Democracy is Within Reach with Audrey Tang 


They Don’t Represent Us with Larry Lessig


A Renegade Solution to Extractive Economics with Kate Raworth


Your Undivided Attention is produced by the Center for
Humane Technology. Follow us on Twitter: @HumaneTech_