Future Politics: Living Together in a World Transformed by Tech

“To what extent should our lives be governed by powerful digital systems, and on what terms?”, asks Jamie Susskind in this thought-provoking DLD20 talk. The author and researcher argues that digital technologies should not just be seen through the prism of economic change.

“In the future, the digital is political” Susskind says. “People who write code will increasingly determine what we can and cannot do.” To Susskind, this highlights a need to assess technology based on its effect on democracy, power, freedom, and justice.

To advance the beneficial use of technology, better regulation is needed, Susskind argues. “We wouldn’t let doctors operate on us without some control of quality and regulation,” he points out. “Why do we let tech designers determine these things without control?”