this post was submitted on 21 Sep 2023
1482 points (91.6% liked)
Memes
45899 readers
1611 users here now
Rules:
- Be civil and nice.
- Try not to excessively repost, as a rule of thumb, wait at least 2 months to do it if you have to.
founded 5 years ago
MODERATORS
you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
view the rest of the comments
Sure.
Algocracy uses algorithms to inform societal decisions, while Blockchain is a transparent, decentralized ledger system. People often confuse cryptocurrencies with the underlying Blockchain technology, even though they serve different purposes.
Comparing the challenges of Algocracy to the volatility of cryptocurrencies is like assessing the potential of online commerce based on early internet connectivity issues.
Biases in Algocracy are the result of poor design. With meticulous design and continuous oversight, the potential of Algocracy can be fully realized.
You can't design a neutral algorithm. The algorithm has to be designed to optimize something. What that thing is is a political and philosophical decision. Government by algorithm is indirect government by whoever's values shaped the design of the algorithm.
Algorithms can no doubt assist in regulating systems but they don't resolve any of the deeper political issues about values, goals and what constitutes improvement.
Of course, tech bros will claim they can sell you a neutral algorithm that will run things better than people, but that's just because tech bros' political philosophy is basically "just do it my way because obviously I'm smarter than you." They won't even notice how their algorithms are biased, because they're not even interested in that question.
Yeah I might have oversimplified about ten steps there.
It's an iterative process.
Tech bros 4 life.