Democracy 2.0: Ensuring Unheard Voices are Accounted for
Democratic Exclusion
Our current ‘democracy’ isn’t enough — not until every individual is included, considered, and accounted for.
In his article, “The Dynamics of Democratic Exclusion,” John W. Kluge Prize for Achievement in the Study of Humanity grantee Charles Taylor wrote, “To form a decision-making unit of the type demanded here [self-government], its members must not only decide together but deliberate together.”
Taylor also points out influence and control as one of the downfalls of democracy, “It is not ‘democratic’ for some citizens to be under the control of others,” he wrote.
At their current state, politicians and governments can sway populations through communications. Whether the intentions are good or bad is an entirely different matter.
Blind Sides and Fatal Guesses
Governance in democratic countries, even with the most brilliant minds and the most genuine intentions, can be daunting and flawed. None of us know exactly what difficulties others go through, nor the gravity of their circumstances. Proposed solutions to problems, as well as their consequences, are not always clear for those who will be affected, or sometimes, even to those who are deciding on them.
Those governing certainly cannot grasp a situation by sitting behind a desk all day, yet they can’t be everywhere at once either. Understandably, organizations — and people in general — will typically have ‘blind sides.’
But these days, it’s possible to have every voice heard and as a result, gain a better vantage point over situations even when we’re not directly involved in them. Taiwan, for example, had recently launched vTaiwan, a platform through which government bodies can brainstorm, collaborate with, and consult citizens and experts on projects for the betterment of their society. Citizens can learn, contribute, and get compensated for their efforts.
This is a big improvement over traditional governance which is restricted to those who are in positions of power and those they choose to contact. Through this new infrastructure, governments can gain access to a substantially wider pool of talent and solutions.
The integration of AI and machine learning to such a system can further improve governance and implementation; it’s a promising emerging field that even China is pledging to turn it into a $150 billion industry in its bid to gain global economic dominance by 2030.
With AI, solutions can be rigorously tested through simulations before real-world execution. We are building Consensus AI so regulators won’t have to keep guessing or endlessly deliberating opinions and assumptions — especially in a field where the costs of making a wrong move could be unduly detrimental for some.
Blockchain technology holds immense benefits for a platform like this. Apart from making it easy to collaborate with, identify and include individuals, and allow them to cast their votes for any given issue, it enables a network of distributed users to pool computing power together. When we fully realize the Sentient network roadmap it will be possible to combine the world’s computing power to run complex simulations that would otherwise be limited to facilities with massive amounts of resources — and money. We will be able to test-run possible solutions to problems — all without risking anybody’s welfare; this would bring the global governance-citizen collaboration to a full circle, bringing governance to entirely new heights of efficiency.
Through this, we can present a more accurate understanding of data and make well-informed decisions based on hard facts. With Consensus AI, we can make calculated decisions and generate solutions that pose minimal to no risk to those involved. Additionally, opinions and prejudices can no longer run the show — decisions are anchored to real consequences, whether they side with the majority or not.
