The world is in flux. The entire political class knows things must change and is struggling to work out how. Friends of liberty and democracy need to help them navigate this world.
This blog will continue to drive discussion about the positive side of the digital state, how we do digital well and constitutionally and delivery for our citizens. But it must also start addressing some of these bigger questions.
I thought I would chuck down some of the things that I think we need to talk about, in no particular order:
the disastrous impact of the Delaware Corporation and the cult of the founder that grants perpetual control of public companies to minority shareholders (looking at you Musk and Zuck)
the need for new institutions to govern the internet, following the ongoing suicide of the <benign hegemon> - and yes these need to be based on the European Union - the last man standing in the free, democratic world (bye-bye Brexit, ya won’t be missed ya fannie)
the need for a data bill of rights
the long overdue cultural and political moment where we all agree that digital is just an industry, coders are not supermen or people endowed with magical skills, they work in just companies like other companies…
the return of free markets, markets that are free of information asymmetries, abuse of market power, lies and deceit - yes Google Ads, and Amazon and Apple’s iPhone cut this means you
coup-proofing - the concentration of power that digital technology enables puts us all at risk, lets fix it
the return of the non-screen state, not everyone can use phones and computers you know. The state is on your screens because it has to go where the citizens go, but not everyone can go there…
AI, yes its super useful, no its not a new life form, yes, it comes from the same hype stable as the metaverse and crypto, no, we shouldn’t bet the entire farm on it, yes I believe in technology, no, nobody is going to Mars anytime soon, yes it will be used in government, no its not going to fix broken Britain. Pill o’chill, Bill, FFS
Killer robots are the dum-dum bullets and mustard gas of the modern age
Needless to say, and much, much more…
Lets hear your thoughts, what’s on the table?