Cyber Republic
Non-fiction
MIT Press 2020
In the past half century, nothing has transformed our world quite as much as the internet. But for all
its benefits, there is the alarming negative: political turmoil, shocking wealth inequality, and anti-
immigrant nationalism, all of which can be attributed—at least partially—to the web. In his new
book CYBER REPUBLIC: Reinventing Democracy in the Age of Intelligent Machines (MIT Press),
George Zarkadakis, a senior fellow at the Atlantic Council’s Geo Tech Center, offers a bold vision for
a different and more equitable future, one in which we create a new internet underpinned by
burgeoning technologies in order to create a fairer capitalism and to reinvent liberal democracy.
Leveraging his deep expertise as an AI and blockchain engineer, Zarkadakis lays out a compelling
vision for a future in which control is neither held by corporations nor central governments, but by
the citizens themselves. It’s a future in which intelligent machines enable citizen assemblies and
expanded personal rights, blockchains allow peer-to-peer commerce and eliminate third parties, and
our personal information is held by collectives which profit the masses, rather than the tech
oligarchs that currently collect the spoils.
While the ideas in this sweeping and original book may seem radical and even frightening to those
unfamiliar with the technology, Zarkadakis envisions a way forward that would be anything but
scary: a fairer, more equitable future, one in which new technology is used to empower people,
narrow our growing chasms, and stem the tide of global anger.
Please let me know if I can send you a copy or if you would like to speak with Zarkadakis about how
we can—and must—rethink AI and data so that citizens become the principal stakeholders in their
common future and the emerging AI economy.
CYBER REPUBLIC’S MAIN PROPOSITIONS:
- Work automation should be embraced, as long as we democratize wealth creation in the digital economy
- AI systems must return to their cybernetic roots and become less autonomous and more coupled with human goals and human society
- Citizen assemblies should become a new liberal institution for citizens to participate more actively and meaningfully in political decision-making at local, national and international level
- The AI economy needs to be more inclusive by transforming the dominant business model of digital platforms using distributed ledger technologies and cryptoeconomics
- Data Property Rights are key to democratizing the AI economy; together with Digital Identities they are the foundations of a Fair Data Economy
- Data Trusts and Data Cooperatives should be adopted by worker’s unions, professional associations, cities and national governments in order to protect citizen Data Property Rights and govern citizen data in a way that protects civil liberties, returns value to citizens, and enables innovation in AI systems
- Web 3.0 technologies can be used to implement Elinor Ostrom’s ideas on grassroots management of the commons. Crypto governance systems can be a more efficient and effective way to reverse environmental degradation and deal with the climate crisis – but can also be applied to managing the data and knowledge commons of the AI economy for the benefit of communities and citizens.
- Web 3.0 technologies should be leveraged to deliver fundable mutual ownership digital platforms (e.g. cooperatives, credit unions, etc.) with democratic governance