Plurality(2022)

Plurality(2022)

There is also a Japanese translation.

but it was only half translated.

It says CC0. Let's put it here directly from the English text at DeepL

organization of chapters

The following is an outline divided into parts and chapters. Each chapter is followed by an approximate number of pages, and a summary of the argument of the chapter concerned, at the rate of about one sentence every five pages. These are all first draft sketches.

Preface: see multiple (5 pages):

I will open the book with a poetic and spiritual reflection on the omnipresence of plurality at all scales of reality and what it feels like to extend this into the technological future.

Introduction The War Between Democracy and Technology (p. 10):

The conflict between technology and democracy both reflects and conceals a deeper tension between the direction of technological development and the principles of democratic societies. certain technologies from the AI and Web3 traditions have great potential, but they are not so much technologies as fundamentally anti-democratic political ideologies, committed to the centralization of power and extreme individualism, respectively.

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For example, AI technology has contributed to automation and more efficient decision-making, but it has also caused job loss, the growth of a surveillance society, the exploitation of personal information, and increased inequality.

Web3 technology, on the other hand, aims to decentralize the Internet and protect privacy, but in the process it risks overemphasizing individualism and marginalizing communal values and social solidarity.

Regulations and policies based on democratic principles are needed to address the potential risks and problems of these technologies. It is important to find the right balance so that the development of technology benefits society as a whole.

plurality

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Henry George, Georg Simmel, and John Dewey were sociologists, economists, and philosophers active in the 19th and 20th centuries who made important contributions in different fields.

Henry George (Henry George):

American economist and political philosopher. He advocated a "single tax" (land tax theory). This is the idea that a sole tax based on the value of land would reduce the gap between the rich and the poor and promote economic development. He also argued that natural resources and land values should benefit society as a whole.

Georg Simmel:

German sociologist and philosopher. He studied concepts such as modern urban life, fashion, individualism, and social interaction. His theory proposes the idea that the interaction between individuals and society gives rise to social forms and structures. He also focused on the "form" of social relations, arguing that the patterns and structures of people's interactions influence social structure.

John Dewey:

American philosopher and educator. He was a leading figure in pragmatist philosophy and advocated a "learner-centered" approach to education. He argued that learning is part of life and that children should learn through their own interests and experiences. He also believed that education plays an important role in a democratic society and argued that democratic values that put the public interest first should be incorporated into education.

The ideas of these scholars proposed and developed concepts such as individual and social interaction, democracy, and economic fairness, and laid the foundation for the idea of a networked society. Their theories focused on the interaction and interdependence of individuals and society, even before the advent of the Internet.

Henry George's single tax and land tax theories were proposed as a way to address economic equity and the gap between rich and poor. Meanwhile, Georg Simmel's forms of social relations and social interaction offered new perspectives for understanding the relationship between individuals and society. And John Dewey's pragmatism and educational theory emphasized the importance of education in a democratic society.

The ideas of these scholars became the foundation for the emergence of the Internet and the concept of a networked society. However, their lack of philosophical clarity led them to be supplanted by other philosophies. This led to the rise of philosophies that focused on the imitation of human intelligence and the liberation of the individual from social constraints.

In The Lost Road, the goal is to revive the idea of a networked society based on the interaction of individuals and society by re-evaluating the ideas of scholars such as Henry George, Georg Simmel, and John Dewey. In doing so, it is hoped to address the problems of the modern Internet and technology and to point the way to a better future.

View from Yuanshan (page 20) Taiwan sits at the intersection of the Eurasian and American continental plates, where China's centralized AI ideology, America's ultra-capitalist ideology, and Europe's value-based regulatory state ideology meet. Just as physical fault lines have pushed Taiwan's highest point, Yuanshan, higher, these ideological tensions have developed a pluralistic synthesis that has enabled Taiwan to become the most technologically advanced and most actively democratic country in the world. This chapter presents a lively and emotional portrait of Taiwan's digital democracy from multiple perspectives, including those of ministers, civic activists, digitally illiterate ordinary citizens, and businesspeople. It also provides a brief history of how Taiwan's digital democracy came to be and draws parallels and contrasts with the situation in other liberal democracies today.

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Title: View from Jade Mountain (20 pages)

Taiwan is located at the intersection of the Eurasian and American continental plates, and also at the intersection of different ideologies: the centralized AI ideology of China, the hypercapitalist ideology of the United States, and the values-based regulatory state of Europe. Just as geographic fault lines push up Taiwan's highest peak, Jade Mountain, these ideological tensions also drive the creation of a pluralistic fusion that makes Taiwan the most technologically advanced country in the world and the most actively practicing democracy.

This chapter presents a vivid and emotional portrait of life in Taiwan's digital democracy from a variety of perspectives. Those perspectives include politicians, civic activists, ordinary citizens not digitally involved, and business people. It also provides a brief history of how digital democracy came to be in Taiwan and draws parallels and contrasts with the situation in contemporary liberal democracies.

Summary:

The "View from Yushan" provides the background that creates the pluralistic fusion that makes Taiwan a technologically advanced country and one of the most actively practicing democracies. Taiwan's location at a geographic and ideological crossroads presents a variety of perspectives on the life of digital democracy. The chapter also examines the history of digital democracy in Taiwan and its similarities and contrasts with other liberal democracies.

freedom

Human Rights as an Operating System (page 5) Just as industrial democracy is built on a foundation of universal human rights, digital democracy depends on the universal defense of human rights in the digital realm. Access to these capacities is currently limited and proprietary, undermining the potential of Plurality. The chapters in this section begin with a short sketch of the interactions that the realization of this right makes possible.

Personhood Rights (p. 10) The rights to life, travel, and personal recognition are the most fundamental rights, yet the identity systems that make these possible online are controlled by a few proprietary platforms. The decentralized and pluralistic identity systems now emerging from the web3 space can enable a variety of new features that will take the Internet far beyond its current state, just as the Internet has taken away previous means of communication.

Associations (page 10) Social networks map associations in the digital age, and blockchains provide the digital equivalent of public squares. If these can be augmented by public interest investments to enrich the reputations and social relationships they convey, they have the potential to extend the range of social relations much more broadly than they do today and to replace many of the functions traditionally assigned to anonymous market transactions.

Commerce (page 5) With the participation of legitimate institutions (central banks, governments, banks, etc.), digital currencies have a network structure that allows for both sovereignty and privacy benefits and international interoperability, freeing payments from both cryptocurrency confusion and the inefficient monopolies that currently dominate payments The following is a brief overview of the project.

Property (page 10) The basic assets of the digital world (data, computation, memory) are created in a distributed manner, but the lack of open standards for securely sharing them has concentrated power in the hands of a few large tech companies. Public investment in developing open standards for secure sharing in these areas will enable civil society and business groups to achieve much more ambitious collaborations more efficiently, with greater trust, privacy, and sovereignty.

Access and Education (page 5) Online human rights are relevant only to those who can access and navigate cyberspace. Therefore, high-speed broadband access, digital competence as well as literacy, and education must be universal human rights.

democracy

Democracy as an Application (page 10) Democratic institutions are applications that can run on these foundations, with three basic elements: deliberation, compromise, and pluralism. These institutions can transform the public as well as the private sector, democratize business, and as such can rely on democratized funding models. The chapters provide examples of how technology is being used today to achieve digital democracy.

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Title: Democracy and Applications (10 pages)

Democratic institutions are applications that operate on these foundations and have three basic elements. They are deliberation, compromise, and pluralism. These institutions can transform not only the public sector but also the private sector and promote the democratization of business. They also rely on democratized funding models. Each chapter will provide examples of technologies currently being used to achieve digital democracy.

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Discussion (5 pages total):

Advances in statistics (often associated with AI) have made "extensive listening" possible. This allows millions of people to hear the essence of the distribution of opinions of their peers, enabling democratic deliberation on a large scale.

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Compromise (page 5) Advances in mechanism design (often associated with Web3) allow for compromise and horse trading at scale, allowing for direct democracy that does not fall into the trap of tyranny of the majority.

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Compromise (5 pages total):

Advances in mechanism design (often associated with Web3) allow for massive compromise and horse trading, and direct democracy without the tyranny of the majority.

Pluralism (p. 5) Social networks allow for the tracking of social cleavages and divisions, empowering "local" communities with autonomy and actively creating incentives to bridge these divisions.

Finance (page 5) New forms of social organization emerging from the Web3 community can transcend the market/state divide by creating an emerging social sector that can provide democratic services on a large scale.

Pluralism (5 pages total):

Social networks can be used to identify social fissures and divisions, allowing communities to self-govern and actively create incentives to bridge these divides.

Finances (5 pages in total):

The new forms of social organization that emerge from the Web3 community will create new social sectors that can transcend the market and state divisions and provide democratic services on a large scale.

Summary:

Democracy and Applications explains that democratic institutions have three basic elements: deliberation, compromise, and pluralism, and that applications operate on these foundations. Digital Democracy is a realization of statistics, mechanism design, and social

User

continue

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Network, Web3 Comm.

Impact (intro p. 5):

Democracy has a bad reputation in many parts of the world for its inability to solve important global challenges. This is because democracy has not kept pace with technology, and when it does, Taiwan's experience shows that it can outperform authoritarian regimes. The chapters present statistics that show success in countries that have achieved digital democracy, such as Taiwan and Estonia.

Media (page 5) Algorithms that display content with surprising consensus and the active participation of civil society groups with a sense of humor can curb misinformation while maintaining vibrant free speech.

Health (page 5) Pandemics and other public health crises can be identified and responded to with agility and minimal economic cost if civil society can allocate scarce health resources and rapidly design systems that target the chain of infection.

Environment (page 5) If citizens can form horizontal "data coalitions" to negotiate with governments to hold them accountable, and get local residents to do the same, we will be able to quickly identify environmental damage, from local to global, without invading privacy.

Employment (page 5) By using digital technology for human engagement rather than substitution, digital technology creates better jobs than it eats away, leading naturally to widely shared prosperity and participation.

Previous

Institutions (page 20) The large-scale investments needed to achieve Plurality must combine and transcend motives of national interest, profit, and charity, blending funding sources from various sectors and countries. Experimentation in geographically diverse communities must be closely coupled with standardization to achieve international scale, leveraging digital meister networks such as Taiwan's. Private companies, academic institutions, philanthropic organizations, and activists must all be attracted to and contribute to the prestige and vision of the future that comes with contributing to the future of open standards. While ambitious, this plan is a significant extension of the Internet's history, stimulated by the network of user laboratories funded by the Advanced Research Projects Agency (ARPANET), into the multipolar world of today.

Action (page 10) Success requires coordination at the highest levels, but all citizens have a role to play in building momentum to make this possible. Hackers, investors, businesspeople, activists, artists, and voters can all be part of the movement to make tools useful to values rather than dictated by them.

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