Cyber Republic

July 1, 2020
Systems engineer and entrepreneur Zarkadakis proposes a novel, hybrid approach to a system of governance that is increasingly entrusted to machines. "More than half the people living in liberal democracies are disillusioned with their political system," writes the author in this clear-minded critique of the present state of democratic rule, adding that 54% believe that "their voice does not have an impact on political decisions" and nearly two-thirds "think their government does not act in their interest." That takes democracy far past the point of dysfunction into the critical-care unit, but the technocrats will not be moved. Zarkadakis opens his narrative by relating the collapse of one of his businesses after the Greek government accepted the harsh austerity measures of the EU, adding impossible debt to the economy even as Greek citizens rejected these draconian restrictions. Zarkadakis provocatively writes that the conduct of government and economies by artificial intelligence, by which 500 traders in a leading bank are replaced by computers and three staffers, might well flourish better under communism than capitalism, since citizens of communist states would have social protections that their counterparts in democratic states do not, leaving them to face "poverty and destitution." But this isn't a zero-sum game. As the author writes, the better course is to develop a hybrid system of governance that sends some decisions to local communities, erasing "knowledge asymmetries" in the interest of problem-solving that better engages the will and consent of the electorate. This entails restoring the checks and balances that prevent the exercise of the "tyranny of the majority" and the indifferent rule of an entrenched political class. Some decisions can even be made by AI, but the key consideration is to undo a conundrum--namely, that "liberal democracy abhors the direct involvement of citizens in government. A worthy study in politics, technology, and the possibilities of remaking democracy in order to save it.

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