“We thought the Internet, when it was born, would create democracy and wisdom and freedom”, author Andrew Keen observes in his DLD20 talk. “The opposite is true.” The world is experiencing a rise in digital neo-authoritarianism, Keen argues in his presentation as well as his book, Tomorrows vs. Yesterdays.
A new kind of populism strategically utilises digital technology for disinformation, Keen explains. He reaches a dramatic conclusion: “The problem we are seeing unfold over the last 10 to 15 years is that the more digital and successful we become, the more neo-authoritarianism grows.”