[liberationtech] Can Technology Support Democracy?

[Raymond Saner]

Dear Doug,

 

thanks for drawing our attention to your article “Can Technology support Democracy”, a very timely article, well arguments and well sourced. 

 

we are involved in the SDG implementation (http://www.csend.org/publications/agenda-2030) and technology plays a very important part in the implementation process or better stated- could play an important part if designed well. 

 

for instance, the monitoring process could be much more developed. The SDGs have a 4 year cycle of reviews but the ongoing monitoring often is either “forgotten” or turned into a mini-evaluation with heavy use of IT data, data experts and complex data analytics which are not easily understood by the citizens.

 

our article describes some of the difficulties of citizen based monitoring of the SDGs: http://www.csend.org/publications/agenda-2030/497-monitoring-the-sdgs-digital-and-social-technologies-to-ensure-citizen-participation-inclusiveness-and-transparency

 

how could the SDG monitoring process be based on the SDG principles of inclusiveness, participation and transparency? 

 

looking forward to your thoughts

best regards

Raymond 

 

From: LT [mailto:lt-bounces at lists.liberationtech.org] On Behalf Of Doug Schuler
Sent: 02 May 2020 19:33
To: LT <lt at lists.liberationtech.org>
Subject: [liberationtech] Can Technology Support Democracy?

 

Just found this in my drafts folder... Maybe I sent this out earlier and maybe it's less relevant given the pandemic but here it is ... Thanks!

 

------

 

I thought I'd share my new article. It came out yesterday in Volume 1, issue 1 of the journal 
Digital Government: Research and Practice (DGOV).  Just so you could get the gist I included the abstract below. Here's the url just in case... https://dl.acm.org/doi/abs/10.1145/3352462

 

Thanks!!!

 

 

Can Technology Support Democracy?

 

The utopian optimism about democracy and the internet has given way to disillusionment. At the same time, given the complexity of today's wicked problems, the need for democracy is critical. Unfortunately democracy is under attack around the world, and there are ominous signs of its retreat. How does democracy fare when digital technology is added to the picture? Weaving technology and democracy together is risky, and technologists who begin any digital project with the conviction that technology can and will solve “problems” of democracy are likely to be disappointed. Technology can be a boon to democracy if it is informed technology. The goal in writing this essay was to encourage people to help develop and cultivate a rich democratic sphere. Democracy has great potential that it rarely achieves. It is radical, critical, complex, and fragile. It takes different forms in different contexts. These forms are complex and the solutionism promoted by the computer industry and others is not appropriate in the case of democracies. The primary aim of technology in the service of democracy is not merely to make it easier or more convenient but to improve society's civic intelligence, its ability to address the problems it faces effectively and equitably.




-- 

Douglas Schuler

 <mailto:douglas at publicsphereproject.org> douglas at publicsphereproject.org

Twitter: @doug_schuler

 

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Mailing list ~ Collective Intelligence for the Common Good

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Creating the World Citizen Parliament

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Liberating Voices!  A Pattern Language for Communication Revolution (project) 

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