WHAT IS DEMOCRACY?
IF YOU’RE A MACHINE
Democracy means informing you about things and polling you about how they affect your network.
ASSUMING YOU’RE NOT A MACHINE
IN HUMAN COMMUNITIES
DEMOCRACY IS YOUR ABILITY TO CONSCIOUSLY GOVERN USE OF COLLECTIVE POWER AND WEALTH
DEMOCRACY DEPENDS ON MEDIA
MEDIA INFORMS YOUR VALUES, DESIRES AND AMBITIONS
MEDIA AND THE MEDIUM EVOLVE
THE MEDIUM YOU ARE USING NOW
IS DESIGNED TO MOTIVATE YOUR DESIRES – PUBLIC CONSCIOUSNESS
“THE MEDIUM IS THE MESSAGE”
(Marshall McLuhan)
ADVERTISING PLATFORMS INFORM
META, TIKTOK ETC. DO NOT SUPPORT DEMOCRACY
YOU SEE COMPLAINTS: POVERTY-HUNGRY CHILDREN-STARVING FAMILIES-DROUGHT-FAMIN-GENOCIDE-UNSUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT-CLIMATE CHANGE EFFECTS-WAR-PANDEMIC–EARTHQUAKE-TORNADO-INFLATION-CORRUPTION-INCOMPETENCE-FASHION-CELEBRITIES=AND CARS
YOUR OPTIONS ARE LIMITED
THE MESSAGE- YOU CAN DO NOTHING
IN CONTRAST
THE MESSAGE OF ENTERTAINMENT MEDIUM
ASPIRE TO BE HOPEFUL LOVING LOVED INSPIRED
ALL GOD’S CHILDREN
MEDIA CREATES YOUR SOCIETAL NORMS
WHO AND WHAT IS IMPORTANT
WHAT YOU SHOULD WANT
WHO RUNS FOR OFFICE
WHAT DEFINES A MAN/WOMAN
WHAT’S NOT TOLERATED
WHAT’S BEAUTIFUL/REPULSIVE
THE RIGHT/WRONG CAR/SPOUSE/DOG
GOOD TASTE/BAD TASTE
COOL(SICK)/UNCOOL(GNARLY)
WHO IS CENSORED OR DENOUNCED
THE ALGORITHM OF YOUR NEWS FEED
TRENDING MELODRAMA
THE IRREFUTABLE NONSENSICAL IDEA
THAT YOU ARE RESPONSIBLE
YOU ARE
The current population of the Americas—North America, Central America, the Caribbean, and South America—approximately 1,062,000,000 HUMANS
AVAILABLE TO YOU ONLY THROUGH YOUR IMAGINATION
YOU ARE 8,314,913,500 DIVERSE HUMAN LIVES
YOU LIVE IN 2.5 TO 4.3 MILLION GEOGRAPHIC COMMUNITIES
YOU SPEAK MORE THAN 7,200 KNOWN LANGUAGES
THE UB RECOGNIZES 193 OF YOUR NATION STATES
YOU SHARE ONE PLANET IN A GALAXY YOU CALL, THE MILKY WAY
MEDIA INFORMS THESE BELIEFS
SHAPES YOUR PERCEPTIONS
WHAT YOU BELIEVE IS POSSIBLE FOR YOU – AND IT IS ALL MADE UP
MEDIA CREATES ILLUSIONS
*PAY TO PLAY*
THE POLITICAL WILL OF YOUR REPUBLIC
MEDIA IS
AN INSTITUTIONALLY CREATED REALITY
Why are some rewarded?
Whom do we listen to-why?
The assumption that posts on social media are evidence of public authorization.is a costly mistake.
THIS MISTAKE IS CORRECTABLE
Political will is by definition the conscious expression of a community about collective authorization of its public power.
WHEN YOU DON’T AUTHORIZE COLLECTIVE POWER
THE WEALTH AND POWER
OF A REPUBLIC
DEFAULTS TO OWNERS OF THE MEDIA
(WHO REALLY OWNS THE PRESS – THE OCEAN – THE STARS)
WHO DECIDES FACES WE SEE IN MEDIA?
ELON MUSK-PETER THEIL-HARVEY WEINSTEIN-BIBI NETENYAHU-RICHARD NIXON
J.D. VANCE-JOE BIDEN, KAMALA HARRIS, BRUCE ARNOLD, JEFF BEZOS,
WHY ARE MACHINES INFORMING YOUR DESIRE?
WHO MANIPULATES YOUR FEELINGS?
WHY CALL THESE ALGORITHMS ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE?
THE MESSAGE OF ENTERTAINMENT MEDIUM
IS AN ADDICTIVE NARRATIVE
CODED BY AN ALGORITHM
THAT ANALYZES YOUR PERSONAL INFORMATION
THE MACHINE DOESN’T KNOW YOU
DOESN’T CARE ABOUT YOU OR YOUR LIFE
NOR YOUR HAPPINESS
THE ALGORITHM ISN’T CONSCIOUS
THE MACHINE IS NOT INTELLIGENT
THE ALGORITHM IS CODE
MARK ZUCKERBERG, META
GLOBAL PLATFORMS
ARE CENTRALLY CONTROLLED
ALGORITHMS
NO MORAL CODE
NO ETHICS
NO PROBLEM
(FOR TECHNOLOGY COMPANIES)
BUT THE MEDIUM IS POLITICAL
BECAUSE IT SHAPES YOUR PERCEPTIONS
By selecting, arranging, and representing yourr reality
MEDIA YOU EXPERIENCE SHAPES YOUR PERCEPTIONS
MEDIA TELLS YOU THAT YOU CAUSED CLIMATE CHANGE
YOU ARE TO BLAME!
BUT REALLY, YOU ARE SOLD CARS
YOU ARE CONDITIONED TO DESIRE A HIGH ENERGY LIFESTYLE
ALTERNATIVES ARE DEMEANING
MEDIA TELLS YOU THAT IT WILL MAKE YOUR LIFE WORK
MEDIA INFORMS YOU ABOUT FOSSIL FUEL EMISSIONS
AND BEFORE THE SHINE ON THE SHINY NEW CAR
YOU LEARN THAT YOU MUST ADAPT
(PAY FOR THE DAMAGE)
BURNING MAN
COACHELLA
EDINBURGH
STREAMING MEDIA
LEADS YOU TO SUPPORT WAR
DO WITHOUT HEALTHCARE
PAY UNAFFORDBLE RENT
ACCEPT POOR EDUCATION
TACITLY CONDONE GENOCIDE
YOU ARE NOT TO BLAME!
MEDIA CREATES ILLUSIONS
MEDIA SUGGESTS DIFFERENCES BETWEEN POLITICAL PARTIES
LEADERS OF THE GLOBAL COMMERCIAL MEDIUM
DESIGNED FOR ADVERTISING
HAVING NO RESPONSIBILITY FOR THEIR PROMOTIONS
LOBBIED CONGRESS
TO DEREGULATE COMMUNICATIONS
WHICH THEY SAID THEY ARE BAD FOR BUSINESS
Circumstances that are presented as reality in “official” media are produced through human institutions and decisions, with the public in the role of observer and reactor rather than author.
What do you know about the national debt?
THE U.S. NATIONAL DEBT EXCEEDS $40 TRILLION
TAXPAYERS PAY ABOUT A TRILLION DOLLARS
INTEREST ON THE NATIONAL DEBT
TO WHOM?
When did the public authorize bombing Palestine?
Did we chooose to increase our risk of nuclear proliferation?
POLITICIANS DON’T FORGET TO ASK
WHAT YOU WANT
THEY ARE NOT REQUIRED TO ASK YOU
IT’S NOT IN THEIR JOB DESCRIPTION
AND COULD BE INCONVENIENT FOR DONORS
THIS IS THE SYSTEM, WORKING NORMALLY
WAR — CLIMATE — FAMINE — PUBLIC DEBT — DEVELOPMENT
DECISIONS ARE BEING MADE
CONSEQUENCES ARE BEING PRODUCEDWHAT HAVE WE UNDERSTOOD?
WHAT HAVE WE AUTHORIZED?
YOU ARE NOT TO BLAME FOR THIS
BUT YOU CAN DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT
GLOBAL CONDITIONS EMERGE FROM LOCAL DECISIONS
GLOBAL PROBLEMS ARE CREATED
BY LOCAL DECISIONS
ALL POLITICS IS LOCAL
Local land use policy, investment, regulation, development,
infrastructure and institutional priorities have consequences.
COMMERCIAL MEDIA HAS MADE US OBSERVERS AND REACTORS,
RATHER THAN AUTHORS OF OUR LIVES
THE MESSAGE OF COMMERCIAL MEDIA
IS THAT WE CAN’T CHANGE OUR CIRCUMSTANCES
HOWEVER
CHANGING THE MEDIUM
NEVER BEFORE IN HUMAN HISTORY
have people been inclusively engaged with guiding their government…
Never before was it possible
Plato gave up on democracy because it couldn’t be done
NOW WITH TECHNOLOGY
WE CAN HAVE DEMOCRACY
NOT A MOMENT TOO SOON
Democracy is a community’s capacity
to consciously
exercise its collective power.
DEMOCRACY REQUIRES LOCAL INFRASTRUCTURE
*POLITICS IS LOCAL*
COORDINATED ACTION NETWORKS
*CAN*
CAN is infrastructure for communication through which a community can become conscious of itself, people can exercise agency and responsibility, and together consciously nurture and care for life within, around, and affected by it.
A BREAKTHROUGH WITH CLOUD TECHNOLOGY
DEMOCRATIC AUTHORIZATION OF PUBLIC POWER
The measure of a community is not how efficiently it governs itself,
but how well it cares for people generally
and nurtures its children specifically.
ON THE CUSP OF INTENTIONAL DESIGN
AN INTENTIONALLY POLITICAL MEDIUM
Not merely more and better content
CAN
Communication makes agency and responsibility possible.
Agency and responsibility make intentional care possible.
The legacy commercial medium was optimized for ads to manipulate consumers and incite public reaction.
CAN IS OPTIMIZED FOR ITS USERS
CAN serves its community by providing a medium through which the community can see and understand circumstances, form judgments about them, establish authentic political will, authorize action, and coordinate power.
Politically, the power of community appears as collective authorization.
Spiritually, its power appears when separate lives become meaningful in relation to one another.
COORDINATED ACTION NETWORKS
INFRASTRUCTURE FOR DEMOCRACY
CAN changes people from objects ofå institutional action into organized agents
capable of authorizing collective power.
THE PEOPLE SET THE AGENDA
YOU SHOW UP
On your community’s platform
YOU LISTEN
Problems, ideas, concerns
Personal experience
YOU SPEAK
Find common interests
Challenge assumptions
QUESTION
Find out what holds up
PROPOSE/DISCUSS
Negotiate
Challenge
Propose
BUILD CONSENSUS
A collective voice
AUTHORIZE
Coordinate resources
PRESERVE PLURALITY
CAN HELPS DEVELOP RESOURCES AND TALENT
COORDINATED ACTION NETWORKS
TECHNOLOGY FOR DEMOCRATIC INFRASTRUCTURE
A process through which people
share reliable information;
trade experiences and goods
identify uncertainties;
examine objectives, alternatives, risks, and consequences;
aggregate power
hear different points of view;
make agreements; define differences; create boundaries;
authorize common priorities, and set limits;
Coordinate resources and action;
preserve commitments and public records; and
hold institutions and representatives accountable
LIFE-SAVING COORDINATION IN EMERGENCIES
maintain communication
coordinate volunteers
communities support others
share vital resources
facilitate government efforts
CAN EMPOWERS COLLECTIVE ACTION
HELP IMPLIES 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 principally 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 can 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 intentnion 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 and fund coordinated action
Homes can be affordable
Communities can be livable
Childcare can support parents
Parks can be preserved
Local economies can thrive
Government decisions must serve the governed
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