Twitteretter

I am reading a very informative book, which I recommend to anyone interested in our society and the choices facing it. It’s titled ‘How to fix the future’, by Andrew Keen. Right now, a third of the way through, I am learning a lot about Estonia, to this point not precisely my Mastermind speciality subject. This tiny Baltic state are trailblazing what they call a trust based model, an implementation of democracy built on maximum transparency, on all public actions of all agents being firstly, online, and secondly, fully transparent. Citizens get notified the very moment a government agency opens their file, to review their tax return, check their number plate or use their data. Conversely, citizens are identified by a fool proof digital ID card system, making them accountable for all their online actions and comments. Transparency and accountability over privacy. The result seems to be a functional digital democracy with high trust in government, and some hope for the rest of us Length:...

A debate is raging about personal data, their value and their protection. Businesses earn staggering profits by selling or exploiting personal data which does not belong to them and which they have not been given explicit informed consent by the rightful owners to use in such way. The result is often exploitative marketing and political misdirection. This is a serious issue most citizens do not take seriously. The right use of data can have huge social value. For example, in the understanding of disease and the development of treatments or diagnostics which fundamentally change the outcomes for patients. But consent must be considered, reflective and explicit, given carefully and taken solemnly. This is one of the great modern challenges. If we can solve it successfully, if we can educate citizens to grant and withhold this consent on the basis of the real value they and society will derive from their data, we will build a better society. If we don’t, our dystopic journey will continue...

I’m reading Edward Snowden’s ‘Permanent Record’, his autobiographical account of the experiences that led him to exposing the Intelligence Community’s security abuses in the US in the aftermath of 9/11, only partially mitigated lately by a few court rulings and policy changes that may likely be only partially stemming the tide. I’m not even halfway through, but in his account, Snowden states how that date is ground zero in the evolution of the US from a liberal democracy to a security state. I don’t know the US well enough to have a founded opinion on this statement, and I certainly did not know it well enough before 2001. However, if he is right, then it could be argued that the War on Terror was a US defeat in a war in which its declared foe, Al Qaeda, succeeded at destroying what they loath most, liberal democracy. But it does not have to be that way. Security and democracy are not necessary antagonists. With the initial shock overcome, they can be reconciled, and victory reclaimed...