COORDINATED ACTION NETWORKS
TECHNOLOGY FOR DEMOCRACY
CAN changes people from objects of institutional action into organized agents
capable of authorizing collective power.
YOU SHOW UP
On your community’s CAN platform
YOU SET THE AGENDA
Hear common interests
Make a plan
YOU MAKE IT STICK
TECHNOLOGY FOR DEMOCRACY
RELIABLE INFORMATION
CLEAR OBJECTIVES
COLLECTIVE POWER
UNITY IN DIVERSITY
NEGOTIATED PRIORITIES
ACCESS TO RESOURCES
DURABLE RECORDS
ACCOUNTABLE GOVERNMENT
IF YOU WERE A MACHINE
An algorithm might ping you to check your performance
AND IF YOU ARE HUMAN
UNLESS YOU ARE THE KING
YOUR ABILITY TO GOVERN THE USE OF COLLECTIVE POWER
IS DEMOCRACY
YOUR POWER IN DEMOCRACY
DEPENDS ON WHAT YOU KNOW
PLATO CONCLUDED
WE ARE NOT CAPABLE OF SELF-GOVERNMENT
WE WRITE OUR LAWS TO DEFINE THEIR LIMITS
TO ENJOY FREEDOM UNDER LAW REQUIRES VOLUNTARY OBSERVANCE
RELATIONSHIPS ARE COMPLICATED
WE ARE EMOTIONAL, OBSESSIVE, COMPULSIVE AND SCHIZOPHRENIC
SHARING RESOURCES REQUIRE COOPERATION
COOPERATION REQUIRES A COMMON LANGUAGE
THE GODS ARE UNPREDICTABLE
Democracy made no sense in 348 BC
when few could read, write or vote
Then in Mainz in 1450
Gutenberg’s miniature type began to change this.
WE HAVEN’T CHANGED IN MILLENNIA
BUT TECHNOLOGY EVOLVED FROM CLAY TABLETS
TO CANDY CRUSH, TIKTOK, X, TRUTH SOCIAL
TAYLOR SWIFT
MEDIA NOW CONTINUOUSLY INFORMS YOUR DESIRES
A DIGITAL MEDIUM IS NOW OPTIMIZED TO FEED YOU CONTENT
THAT CAN MAKE YOU FEEL COOL
AND MAKE YOU FEEL DESPAIR
MAINSTREAM MEDIA
PROMOTES A SENSE OF AGENCY
THAT YOU HAVE RIGHTS UNDER LAW AND GOVERNMENT
WE’RE ALL GOD’S CHILDREN
IF YOU BELIEVE
(GODS ARE STILL UNPREDICTABLE)
“THE MEDIUM IS THE MESSAGE”
(Marshall McLuhan predicted that electronic media would shrink the world into a single interconnected “global village,” allowing instant communication across vast distance. (THIS HAS NOT HAPPENED)
AN ALGORITHM
NOW COLLECTS PERSONAL INFORMATION
AND SERVES YOU WITH ADDICTIVE NARRATIVES
TO HOLD YOUR ATTENTION
META, X, TIKTOK, GOOGLE, ETC.
COLLECT INFORMATION ABOUT YOU TO GET YOUR ATTENTION
AN ALGORITHM
IS A SEQUENCE OF NUMBERS
A CODE
THAT PROGRAMS YOU FOR MEDIA
YOUR FEARS
STARVING FAMILIES-PORN-DROUGHT-CELEBRITY-FAMINE-FASHION-GENOCIDE-VIOLENCE-HURRICANES-PANDEMIC–EARTHQUAKE-TORNADO-INFLATION-CORRUPTION-POLITICAL INCOMPETENCE-FLOODS-FREAKS-CARS-AIRPLANES
MEDIA NORMALIZES
VIRTUAL SURROGATE PEERS
INFORM WHAT YOU WANT
DEFINE YOU
DEFINE BEAUTY
DEFINE RIGHT V. WRONG
WHAT CAR/SPOUSE/DOG
WHO YOU LISTEN TO
WHO YOU VOTE FOR
VIRTUAL SURROGATE PEERS
YOUR INVISIBLE COMPANIONS
WHAT IS THERE TO LEARN?
WHAT DO YOU IGNORE?
WHAT IS INVISIBLY CENSORED?
1) THE IMPORTANT MESSAGE IS NONSENSICAL
YOU
ARE
RESPONSIBLE
2) YOU ARE RELATED
MAINSTREAM MEDIA
IS AN INSTITUTIONALLY
PROMOTED
REALITY
A PRESIDENT’S SOCIAL MEDIA POST
ENCODES YOUR EXPECTATIONS
NORMALIZING THE IMPOSSIBLE
Political will is a code name for public authorization of collective power…
Algorithms can effectively produce a statistical proof for practically anything…
DEFINING YOU
You are one of +/- 1,062,000,000 HUMANS
In North America, Central America, Caribbean, and South America
And you are one of +/- 8,314,913,500 HUMAN LIVES
In 2.5 TO 4.3 MILLION GEOGRAPHIC COMMUNITIES
YOU SPEAK ONE OF 7,200 KNOWN LANGUAGES
YOU LIVE IN ONE OF 193 U.N. MEMBER STATES
ON A PLANET IN A GALAXY CALLED, “THE MILKY WAY”
YOUR SHARED PERCEPTIONS
MEDIA SUGGESTS TO YOU THAT YOUR VOTING CONTROLS
THE WEALTH AND POWER
OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
U.S. household wealth: +/- $185.66 trillion (2026)
WHO DECIDES WHICH FACES WE SEE IN MEDIA?
WHO CODES THE MACHINES THAT INFORM OUR DESIRES?
USING MEDIA TO MANIPULATE HOW WE FEEL ABOUT OURSELVES?
THE MEDIUM IS POLITICAL TECHNOLOGY
MARK ZUCKERBERG, META
GLOBAL PLATFORMS
ARE CENTRALLY CONTROLLED
BY ALGORITHMS
NO MORAL CODE
NO ETHICAL STANDARDS
NO COMPASSION
NO PROBLEM
THEY ARE NOT RESPONSIBLE
WHY ARE YOU RESPONSIBLE?
DO YOU CAUSE GLOBAL WARMING
BY USING CARS
DESIRING HIGH ENERGY LIFESTYLES
DEPENDING ON FOSSIL FUELS
AS THE SHINE FADES ON THE TESLA
(THAT YOU CAN ONLY AFFORD TO WANT)
YOU MUST ADAPT
PAY FOR FLOODS
COMMISERATE AT BURNING MAN
SING ALONG AT COACHELLA
IN FASHIONABLE EDINBURGH
MEDIA PRETENDS THERE’S A CHOICE
STREAMING MOVIES
LEAD YOU TO THINK WAR IS NORMAL
YOU HAVE NO HEALTHCARE
YOUR HOME COSTS HALF YOUR EARNINGS
YOUR EDUCATION IS OBSOLETE
YOU DON’T KNOW WHY YOU PAY FOR A GENOCIDE BUT IT’S BETTER THAN A DRAFT
YOU AUTHORIZE NOTHING
YOU’RE RESPONSIBLE FOR CONSEQUENCES
OF MASS COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY
USED FOR ADVERTISING REVENUE
AND THIS IS CALLED, DEMOCRACY
The public is an observer – not the author
POLITICIANS DO NOT ASK
WHAT YOU WANT
IT’S NOT THEIR JOB TO INFORM YOU
IT COULD BE INCONVENIENT FOR THEIR DONORS
THIS IS THE SYSTEM, WORKING NORMALLY
WAR — CLIMATE — FAMINE — PUBLIC DEBT — DEVELOPMENT
DECISIONS ARE CAUSING
CONSEQUENCESWHEN WERE WE INFORMED?
WHAT DID WE AUTHORIZE?
THE GREATER THE CONSEQUENCE OF PUBLIC POWER
THE GREATER THE NEED FOR PUBLIC AUTHORIZATION
POLITICS IS LOCAL
LOCAL DECISIONS
CAUSE GLOBAL PROBLEMS
Local infrastructure and institutional priorities have consequences.
COMMERCIAL TECHNOLOGY MAKES US OBSERVERS
THE MESSAGE IS
WE CAN’T CHANGE OUR CIRCUMSTANCES
A SIMPLE CHANGE IN THE TECHNOLOGY
PUBLIC AUTHORIZATION
TO GIVE THE PUBLIC THE ABILITY TO AUTHORIZE COLLECTIVE POWER
DEMOCRACY NEEDS TECHNOLOGY
COORDINATED ACTION NETWORKS
WAS DESIGNED FOR DEMOCRACY
CAN THROWS AWAY THE DATA COLLECTION BUSINESS MODEL
TO DEPLOY AUTONOMOUS CLOUD NETWORKS FOR EACH COMMUNITY
DEMOCRATIC AUTHORIZATION OF PUBLIC POWER
Requires the ability for a community to govern itself
A COLLECTIVE VOICE ON MATTERS THAT AFFECT THE COMMUNITY
INTENTIONAL DESIGN
CAN IS A RESPONSIBLE POLITICAL MEDIUM
Not merely more and better content in the advertising model
CAN
Personal agency and responsibility make peace possible.
CAN IS OPTIMIZED FOR COMMUNITIES
The power of community is in collective authorization.
CAN REVEALS THE TALENT AND RESOURCES OF THE COMMUNITY
LIFE-SAVING COORDINATION IN EMERGENCIES
CAN helps
coordinate volunteers share vital resources
and facilitate government efforts
COLLECTIVE CAPACITY IS MORE USEFUL THAN CHARITY
THE PARADIGM OF HELP ASSERTS DISABILITY
Historically, philanthropy follows a familiar structure:
Funders identify a problem.
Organizations design an intervention.
Institutions allocate resources.
People receive services.
Success is measured in beneficiaries reached.
Relieving suffering does not change who holds the power to make consequential decisions
CAN is not an intervention delivered to underserved people.
CAN is infrastructure through which people cease to occupy the institutional category of “underserved beneficiaries.”
CAN participants define the problem, establish what is true, determine priorities, make consequential choices, coordinate resources, and hold institutions accountable.
PLAYAS DE TIJUANA
DEVELOPERS WANT TO BUILD 9 HIGHRISE TOWERS WITH 1600 UPSCALE APARTMENTS, AND A HOTEL AND SHOPPING MALL
IN A CONSERVATION AREA
Water & energy outages are already frequent
Traffic is already intolerable
RESIDENTS ARE OBJECTING
THE COMMUNITY ISN’T ORGANIZED
The community remains inside the process the development system already knows how to defeat: hearings, objections, petitions, scattered evidence, procedural delay and exhaustion.
When we have a say in development decisions
Development is sustainable
When communities sustain themselves
GLOBAL COOLING IS INDEPENDENTLY ACTIONABLE
COLONIAL RELATIONSHIPS DON’T BEGIN WITH MALICIOUS INTENTION
“BANALITY OF EVIL” – HANNAH ARENDT
Food, housing, healthcare, education and emergency assistance are essential.
Charity reflects kind intention but is not self-government
A community should not have to be powerless to qualify for help.
CAN makes collective agency itself the infrastructure
Communities must be actors, not waiting for handouts.
Actions that produce or reverse global warming are local
Community consensus can drive action
Homes can be affordable
Communities can be livable
Childcare can support parents
Parks can be preserved
Local economies can thrive
What people agree on—right now, moving the world
CAN’s architecture does not assume that today’s human institutions, today’s internet, or today’s electromagnetic communications represent the final form of intelligent relationship.
THE MEDIUM IS EVOLVING
CAN is not designed around any particular communications technology. CAN is an architecture through which autonomous communities can understand themselves, build consensus, create wealth, carry out plans, create shared identity and document provenance, negotiate relationships and boundaries, establish consent, coordinate consequential action and preserve autonomy.
COORDINATED ACTION NETWORKS
TECHNOLOGY FOR A DEMOCRATIC CIVIC MEDIUM
Communications infrastructure through which people in communities can cooperate, establish legitimate relationships, and coordinate consequential action without surrendering individual autonomy
CAN is beginning with geographically-bounded human communities–not as a limit, but as a way to understand how a medium empowers responsibility