Sat, 15 Oct 2022 | 11:00 - 12:00

Harnessing Web3 for Good

Despite all its financial speculation and accumulation, web3 still attracts many civic-minded people. This panel will discuss their journeys into web3 and what they have learned about its pitfalls and possibilities.

Sat, 15 Oct 2022 | 12:15 - 12:45

Citizens’ Assemblies and DemocracyNext

In recent years, Europe has increasingly embraced citizens’ assemblies. As a democratic and deliberative model, these bodies have proven adaptable, legitimate, and effective. Could they go further, exercising more vital political authority, and even unseating elections as the heart of power?

Sat, 15 Oct 2022 | 12:45 - 13:15

Technology for Democracy in Ukraine

Hear from Alona Shevchenko, the co-founder of UkraineDAO, which has raised and distributed millions of dollars to aid Ukraine, and organizer of the Kyiv Tech Summit, which convenes local technologists to solve on-the-ground problems in the Ukrainian people’s fight for freedom. Both initiatives are supported by the Ministry of Digital Transformation of Ukraine.

Sat, 15 Oct 2022 | 13:30 - 14:30

Plural Money

We often accept money as a fact of life. In fact, it is an institution whose design empowers some actors and shapes society. Cryptocurrencies have reminded us of the possibility that money could work differently; yet it is not clear that the most well-known cryptocurrencies set money on a more democratic path. This panel explores unexpected possible futures for money.

Sat, 15 Oct 2022 | 14:30 - 15:30

Lunch

Sat, 15 Oct 2022 | 15:30 - 16:30

Network Society

Social thinkers like John Dewey have long imagined the proliferation of “new publics” that could serve the roles nation-states are no longer able to fulfill in a globalized world. New technologies have led to unprecedented public problems, but they also yield new opportunities. Imagine the cascading benefits of digital public spaces that algorithmically highlight points of consensus and encourage conversation across lines of difference. This panel will discuss the relationship between technology and new publics.

Sat, 15 Oct 2022 | 16:45 - 17:45

Deliberation Technology

When people think of democracy narrowly as voting -- on candidates, referenda, etc. -- we end up with superficial citizenship, dubious decision-making. Citizens think democracy is broken. But democracy is so much more than voting. It embraces citizen deliberation and action: rich, exploratory spaces where we share our views, listen and learn from each other, and creatively bridge our differences to co-create visions, solutions, and activities that promote broad benefit. This panel will discuss new spaces, institutions, and technologies for engaged deliberative democracy.

Sat, 15 Oct 2022 | 18:00 - 18:45

The Future of Jurisprudence

In a sense, the promise of network technology, and the hope of democracy, is to distribute authority. And perhaps no institution is in more obvious tension with this ambition than courts: a centralized and technocratic institution that plays a vital role in every democratic society. In Europe, a system of plural constitutional orders underpins the most successful political project of the last half century; yet is now encountering serious difficulty. On digital networks, efforts to democratize the judicial function have been similarly halting, from Facebook’s oversight board to web3. What is the future of jurisprudence?

Sat, 15 Oct 2022 | 19:00 - 19:45

Information Flows and Data Trusts

A person’s data contains deep, predictive insights about other people with whom they associate, so whenever one person discloses or withholds it, countless others are affected in important ways. Indeed if anyone has absolute control over “their own” data, no one does. Democratically and mutually accountable consortia for data governance are the most promising direction for our institutions to evolve in to grapple with this fundamental issue. This panel will discuss the emerging legal, regulatory, and technological landscape that could enable these new institutions to thrive.

Sat, 15 Oct 2022 | 20:00 - 21:15

Plurality

In this wide-ranging conversation, Audrey and Cory discuss aspects of their work that are not well understood; their concerns with escapist ideologies and the promise of connecting across difference; the importance of increasing the bandwidth of democracy; what plurality means to them and how it can be a guide for steering the future of technology; how Taiwan sits at the triangular intersection of American capitalism, European values-based democracy, and Chinese centralized or AI-driven governance; the elements of pluralism inherent to the European project; the media ecosystem; the role of science fiction; and much more. Cory has just released a new book, Chokepoint Capitalism, and Audrey is currently writing her first book, Plurality, with Glen Weyl.

Sun, 16 Oct 2022 | 11:00 - 11:30

The Future of the European Union After Crises

For a long time, European politics has been a top-down affair. But in recent crises, it was the European public at large which asked for joint action — bottom-up. During the Covid-19 pandemic, calls for solidarity and help by Italian and Spanish citizens triggered far-reaching decisions, such as the joint purchase of vaccines and the massive EU recovery fund. The brutal war in Ukraine likewise strengthens a sentiment of continental belonging. Drawing on the work of John Dewey and Hannah Arendt, Luuk van Middelaar will speak about the new and unexpected interplay between the European public and its political leaders.

Sun, 16 Oct 2022 | 11:30 - 12:00

Cities and Democracy

Stav Shaffir helped lead the Israeli social movement that brought hundreds of thousands of Israelis into the streets in 2011. At age 27, she became the youngest woman ever elected as a Member of Parliament in Israel. Now Shaffir is focused on global collaborations building the future of democracy. In her eyes, cities are at the heart of democracy and pluralism, and they are the most compelling level of society to foster democratic innovations. Hear why Shaffir sees the most likely paths to a flourishing future for democracy running through our cities.