Ecb: Created page with 'Category:Memes Since the early 20th century, most representative democracies have seen the rise of mass media as a tool of politics. Politicians advertise themselves to the e…'

Ecb — Mon, 14 Jun 2010 13:39:31 GMT

Created page with 'Category:Memes Since the early 20th century, most representative democracies have seen the rise of mass media as a tool of politics. Politicians advertise themselves to the e…'

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[[Category:Memes]]
Since the early 20th century, most representative democracies
have seen the rise of mass media as a tool of politics.
Politicians advertise themselves to the electorate. Access to
the media costs money, usually far more than an individual
politician can supply for himself. The result has been the rise
of a class of professional politicians, beholden to the wealthy
interests which donate money to election campaigns.

Further, even the best (and most honest) professional
politicians are only human. The sheer complexity of modern
society means that few laws are without unintended consequences,
some of them drastic.

One possible solution to these problems has become
increasingly popular: cyberdemocracy. Cyberdemocracy
incorporates certain political forms that have until now been
used only by small communities. It draws most of its inspiration
from the political constitution of ancient Athens and
the structure of New England “town-meeting” democracy. In
order to make these institutions work at the nation-state level,
cyberdemocracy makes intensive use of AI.

There is a great deal of diversity in cyberdemocratic systems,
but most of them share a few common features.

==Selection of Officials==
Under a cyberdemocratic system, some political offices
are no longer filled by direct popular vote. Instead, citizens
are chosen to fill each office at random from a list of eligible
candidates. Eligibility may be limited to citizens who have
reached a certain age, who can pass minimal education
requirements, who have not been convicted of any crimes, or
who fit other reasonable criteria. The selected citizen holds
office for a fixed term, after which he returns to private life.

Office-holders selected by lot are almost always political
novices. To fill this gap, each official may select a human
staff and a set of advanced AI to advise him. This support
team collects information, provides legal counsel, helps to
draft legislation, and so on. The AI team member is particularly
important, designed to avoid bias and give clear, thorough
advice. Of course, even with cybernetic support some
“amateur politicians” fail as wise and effective officials. For
this reason, selection by lot is usually applied only to large
councils, such as regional or national legislatures. In such
large groups, individuals who are incompetent or politically
extreme will tend to be checked by their colleagues.

One variation on this system is to select candidates for
office at random. For example, if a legislative seat is open, a
fixed number of candidates are selected by lot from among
the eligible citizens. Each candidate is given AI and human
staff support in order to run his campaign, and an equal
amount of funding to spend on the media. Campaigns are
usually quite short, lasting no more than a few weeks. At the
end of this time, the citizens select their legislator through
direct popular vote in the traditional fashion. This system
does not prevent the intrusion of money into politics –
moneyed interests can still use their own funding to influence
the vote. Still, it minimizes the effect of machine politics and
preserves the role of citizen voting in the selection process.

==Lawmaking==

Selection of public officials partially or completely by
lot is the most distinctive (and controversial) aspect of
cyberdemocracy. More fundamental to the system is the
mechanism by which law is made.

Most cyberdemocratic systems require the citizens as a
whole to take on the bulk of law-making duties. All citizens
are permitted to propose new laws. AI trained in the law are
available to help citizens frame sound proposals, and the web
is used to make the citizenry aware of proposals under consideration.
The level of public support for a proposed law is
constantly measured by web-based polling. If a proposal
appears to have sufficient support, it can be voted on by the
whole citizenry, again through the web.

With the primary responsibility for law-making shifted
to the citizens, the formal legislature’s role is reduced. In
most cyberdemocracies, the legislature has only limited
authority to pass laws without citizen involvement. Instead, it
helps review proposed laws, killing some proposals and sending
others back for reformulation. The citizenry can always
override these decisions, given enough public support.

==The Cyberdemocratic Experiment==
Cyberdemocracy has only recently become feasible,
with the appearance of AI sophisticated enough to administer
elections and provide the necessary advisory support. The
system was first tried in Switzerland, where several canton
parliaments were reorganized in the late 2070s. Since then,
cyberdemocracy has been adopted by a number of European
nations. The European Parliament is itself experimenting
with cyberdemocracy; half the delegates are selected by lot,
while all receive extensive AI support.

Cyberdemocracy is not without its critics. Many question
whether the form can be called “democratic” at all, given
the radical change in the way public officials are selected.
The fact that AI is so integral to the system at every level is
also a matter for concern. Some critics call cyberdemocracy
a thin veneer over oligarchic rule by infomorphs. Others
point out that the lawmaking and voting processes can be
subverted by manipulation of the controlling AI systems.

In Europe, cyberdemocracy has generally been adopted
peacefully, as a natural evolution of liberal democracy. In the
Americas, the concept has often served as a trigger for political
violence. This has been particularly true in the United
States, where the growing “People’s Choice” movement
faces stiff resistance from the entrenched political class. The
movement’s supporters include several urban-insurgency
groups, which have fought small but fierce battles against
federal forces.

Cyberdemocracy - Revision history

Ecb: Created page with 'Category:Memes Since the early 20th century, most representative democracies have seen the rise of mass media as a tool of politics. Politicians advertise themselves to the e…'