98
5 Genie Out of the Bottle
principles of assisted self-organization, it is possible to control complex dynamical
system in a distributed way.
In the light of the principles discussed above, can we be confident that we
are currently well prepared to master the digital revolution? Does mass surveillance, combined with armed police, create a resilient society? On the contrary (see
Appendix 5.1)! Sustainable political power requires legitimacy, and this requires
trust. However, undermining privacy reduces trust (see Appendix 5.2). Mass surveillance also promotes fear and self-censorship, thereby obstructing innovation and the
ability of our society to adapt to a changing world.
I personally believe that we must—and can—prepare ourselves much better for
the challenges ahead. To illustrate this, let us discuss the problem of traffic safety. We
know that accidents keep happening and that this is bad. But how would it be to live
in a world without traffic? Our economy would not work, and we would not be able
to live in modern societies. Therefore, we have developed measures to reduce the
number accidents and their severity. How have we done this? We have improved traffic
rules, developed better technology, created emergency services and built hospitals.
We have developed better brakes and driver assistance systems that empower drivers
to do a better job. We provide traffic news to drivers in order to prevent accidents
from messing up the entire traffic system. And we have designed better cars. Decades
ago, whereas the body of a car was scarcely damaged by an accident, the driver and
passengers were often killed. Nowadays, cars are constructed to absorb shocks, so
that even a small accident may damage the entire car, but the risk of injuries and
deaths is dramatically reduced.
This serves as a useful metaphor to guide our thinking about how to deal with
societal challenges. It shows us that trying to protect institutions from changing
is wholly counterproductive and would, in fact, make societies less resilient. Many
institutional structures today are like old cars with a rigid body—they are constructed
to stay the same rather than to flexibly adjust to a changing world. But in order to be
resilient, our institutions must learn to flexibly adapt in ways that serve the citizens
best.
28
It is, therefore, alarming to see so many global crises. Within just a few months,
our world was confronted with several major challenges: worrying epidemics (such
as Ebola and MERS), the crisis in Ukraine endangering world peace, and the raise
of the Islamic State, to mention just a few. While all these problems started locally,
their implications have become globally relevant. The question is how much more
has to happen until we prepare ourselves better and start building a more resilient
society?
A society should be prepared for all eventualities. It should be hedging its risks,
and its capacities to respond. A society should, therefore, have a portfolio of options
28 So, rather than a predictable society we need a flexible one that can cope with surprises and benefit
from them. Therefore, pluralism, diversity, and participation shouldn’t be seen as concessions to
citizens, but as ways to produce innovation and collective intelligence, in other words: to generate
better solutions.
5 Genie Out of the Bottle
principles of assisted self-organization, it is possible to control complex dynamical
system in a distributed way.
In the light of the principles discussed above, can we be confident that we
are currently well prepared to master the digital revolution? Does mass surveillance, combined with armed police, create a resilient society? On the contrary (see
Appendix 5.1)! Sustainable political power requires legitimacy, and this requires
trust. However, undermining privacy reduces trust (see Appendix 5.2). Mass surveillance also promotes fear and self-censorship, thereby obstructing innovation and the
ability of our society to adapt to a changing world.
I personally believe that we must—and can—prepare ourselves much better for
the challenges ahead. To illustrate this, let us discuss the problem of traffic safety. We
know that accidents keep happening and that this is bad. But how would it be to live
in a world without traffic? Our economy would not work, and we would not be able
to live in modern societies. Therefore, we have developed measures to reduce the
number accidents and their severity. How have we done this? We have improved traffic
rules, developed better technology, created emergency services and built hospitals.
We have developed better brakes and driver assistance systems that empower drivers
to do a better job. We provide traffic news to drivers in order to prevent accidents
from messing up the entire traffic system. And we have designed better cars. Decades
ago, whereas the body of a car was scarcely damaged by an accident, the driver and
passengers were often killed. Nowadays, cars are constructed to absorb shocks, so
that even a small accident may damage the entire car, but the risk of injuries and
deaths is dramatically reduced.
This serves as a useful metaphor to guide our thinking about how to deal with
societal challenges. It shows us that trying to protect institutions from changing
is wholly counterproductive and would, in fact, make societies less resilient. Many
institutional structures today are like old cars with a rigid body—they are constructed
to stay the same rather than to flexibly adjust to a changing world. But in order to be
resilient, our institutions must learn to flexibly adapt in ways that serve the citizens
best.
28
It is, therefore, alarming to see so many global crises. Within just a few months,
our world was confronted with several major challenges: worrying epidemics (such
as Ebola and MERS), the crisis in Ukraine endangering world peace, and the raise
of the Islamic State, to mention just a few. While all these problems started locally,
their implications have become globally relevant. The question is how much more
has to happen until we prepare ourselves better and start building a more resilient
society?
A society should be prepared for all eventualities. It should be hedging its risks,
and its capacities to respond. A society should, therefore, have a portfolio of options
28 So, rather than a predictable society we need a flexible one that can cope with surprises and benefit
from them. Therefore, pluralism, diversity, and participation shouldn’t be seen as concessions to
citizens, but as ways to produce innovation and collective intelligence, in other words: to generate
better solutions.