Does Politics Improve Technology?

In this Slogging post, the team at Hackernoon discuss how politics is impacting technology and how political affairs may impact tech far into the future. Politics and technology are intertwined. This slogging post talks about this in more detail.

This Slogging thread by Jack Boreham, Mónica Freitas, Daniel, Amy Shah, Ellen Stevens and Limarc Ambalina occurred in slogging's official #technology channel, and has been edited for readability.

Technology has always had an impact on politics. How do you think tech will impact politics in the future? For context and ideas, check out this article

Jack Boreham: Hey, great topic. Speaking for my own country, I've seen how technology in general and social media in particular have made a difference in public opinion. For example, extreme right or left-wing parties are growing because they now have access to a broader platform to spread their ideologies, not just TV or newspapers and rallies as before. Twitter, for instance, is the centerpiece for a lot of political discussions to show support or discontent.

Plus, the pandemic brought forth the question of e-vote, the perks, and possible dangers behind it. It will be interesting to see how politics will evolve to welcome tech into everyday tasks and significant events like elections.

Hey! In my country, some old-fashioned politicians are trying to reach young folks by using new platforms like Tiktok or Instagram; creating content, etc. Also, most politicians manage their Twitter accounts, so they share whatever they think in real-time without double-evaluating if the things they're saying will carry positive or negative repercussions to society.

On the other hand, someday, maybe the elections would be completely virtual; that could help the environment (like reducing the usage of paper, pens, etc.) and reduce expenses that every election event carries.

Either way, I think that is a huge phenomenon that needs more study and research. The way politics and tech are related is mind-blowing!

Daniel Same in Portugal. Because politics are getting into social platforms like TikTok and Twitter, and as you said, they say whatever they want, opinions get very polarized. I feel like the extremes are getting leverage precisely because of this new reach to people. They now can get to those voters that before would be too hard to access or those who would shy away from expressing opinions for fear of judgment as they have found their community online. Not sure if you're feeling the same in your country.

Mónica Freitas, I agree; social media and the internet have contributed to polarising the left and right even more. I'm a political science graduate, so I've studied this a bit. For example, in the US, polarisation is staggering. Social media, especially during the Trump presidency, created huge divides and pockets of society that can not tolerate one another. Even here in the UK, social media has become a haven for political grudge matches; I can't see this getting any better? Can You?

In terms of e-voting, it's an interesting new way politics can function. It can increase voter turnout and reach minority groups who might have felt less inclined to vote. However, many people argue that voter turnout may benefit one particular part or side of the right-left spectrum. In the US, many believe postal votes and e votes help the Dems. In your country, Mónica Freitas, was e votes a thing or is it starting to become a thing? Has there been any backlash?

Daniel, that is very interesting. It does seem; politicians are trying to get on all the hip platforms to be cool with the kids. But it might help them in the long run to galvanise voters. We will see a significant change in how political campaigns will be structured and carried out and what platforms are used. We might get to a point where it might be better to launch a campaign event on TikTok rather than in person. It is fascinating. AOC, a Democrat candidate for New York, went on Twitch to play Among Us and promote her campaign; that's mad when you think about it. We are truly seeing a shift in how politicians behave and how they campaign.

Jack Boreham Nope, I think the division will get bigger over time. People distrust politics more and more. The discontent makes them go for the extremes in hopes for more meaningful changes though what many don't see is the dangers that come with polarization. Here, because of covid, the voting period was extended, and vulnerable people were allowed to vote in advance. Curiously, e-vote wasn't even a real option, possibly because our population is aged and wouldn't vote in those terms.

Mónica Freitas, that's interesting. I guess when more young people get older, they will be more used to technology and thus e votes might become more of a thing. Yeah, I agree; going to the extremes is a way to attract attention and offer what isn't feasibly possible. At least in the UK, such proposals won't happen; the political system is far too rigid. Actable progressive politics doesn't exist. Limarc Ambalina, what do you think about tech and politics? What do you think, Ellen Stevens Blake Cram Amy Shah?

In 2019, I watched this documentary (trailer below) called Capital in the 21st Century.

And based on that and my observations, I think the wealth gap and political polarization will widen in tandem with each other.

No matter what the technology is, proponents of different political agendas will try and mould this technology to work in their favour. It's the responsibility of citizens and the legal system in a democracy to make sure that this is done in a democratically-sound and fair way. I hope that progress with AI will contribute to a flourishing of platforms where the intelligent and truly balanced discussion will be filtered through to reach larger audiences and that global citizens will embrace discussions that are inspiring for their search for truth, progress, and reason. I hope that greed, skewed agendas, and misinformation aren't perpetuated, but at this point, it's anyone's guess. Humans and tech have generally progressed pretty far, at least in some parts of the world, so I think we may find a way to move in a positive direction.

To answer this more directly, I think the decentralization movement is a great balancer. What it does is offer an alternate realm for when people in centralized communities take things in a direction where it could compromise security in a dramatic way. Hopefully, this leads to a behaviour and maturity change in those who choose to go into politics. That being said, I'm unclear about how well distributed governance will work. People have an opportunity to participate in many different community decision-making boards, and frequently there is a lot of work associated with that. It's a big responsibility. 'Half of the people in governments are too lazy to read the legislation they are voting on. What will the quality of decisions in decentralized circles be? I think there is room for trying out different governance structures, and there is a lot of nuance for what will work in what context.

Maybe with brain implants, reasoning and information processing will ensure a much better outcome in decision making, and thus the nature of politics. After all, if we are cyborgs with AI, problems that seem complex now may be addressed much better and quicker but will get that much more complex as we enter space as cyborgs. I guess overall. There is a decent chance that it will be more strange than we can imagine. So, from a curiosity standpoint, I'm down.

For me, I think that tech influences everything. Remember, tech means tools, and politicians are free to use the tools everyone else uses. Some tech give people a greater ability to deceive others, like deepfakes, synthetic voices. Online blogs and social media make it easier to spread disinformation, etc.

At the same time, advanced tools in the hands of good people give them a greater ability to do good.

Amy Shah, that's an interesting documentary. Do you think the wealth gap and polarisation will be aided by tech? Or do you think it can reduce the wealth gap through greater connectivity for more disadvantaged people etc. Limarc Ambalina, those are some great points. So would you say politics has a net-zero impact on gaming? It can benefit narratives but, at the same time, can be used poorly. Or would you say it's purely negative or positive?

I would say net-zero. I remember we had a chat about politics in gaming, but for the most part (keyword most), I don't see it seep into the essence of a game.

Ellen Stevens, I love these ideas. You mentioned decentralisation. Do you think decentralisation through tech could create even more polarisation if people are given the tools to make more decisions? Or do you think it will kick people into gear to make logical decisions based on proper discourse? I hope AI enhances our ability to reason. It can't get any worse, can it? 😂

Technology and help shorten the gap or widen the wealth gap. It's a tool meant to be in the right hands.

Jack Boreham, haha, well, we can hope for the best and prepare for the worst. Also, I'm not entirely sure. The thing about decision-making is not everyone wants to be responsible for that, and the wisdom of crowds can be questionable and manipulated. That being said, I think there are nuanced situations where different governance styles and decision-making processes work, and I hope that with the possibilities of both, there will be more balance. Further to that, I hope AI can help us match whatever the best decision-making strategy is for whatever process. I like to maintain some hope at the end of the day.

In regards to polarization, honestly, it's possible. If you have a person belonging to a certain internet subgroup, for example, participating with certain crypto, ingesting only a certain type of literature, it will no doubt create bubbles. But is that so different from what already exists? Except now, each group will have more power potential. I think ultimately, the groups that provide the most collective value will probably be a point of unification. I'm not sure. I don't know exactly how decentralization will be organized (aside from what is suggested by definition). There are so many different ideas and groups, and companies, and projects. There's a lot of literature to evaluate before making predictions, I think.