Slides used by David Wood in his opening remarks at Transpolitica 2016, 3rd December 2016. Without better political processes, all our hopes for technology improving the world are at high risk. Collabtech – technology for better collaboration – is, therefore, probably the most important technology of all to get right. See https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0fTC644nWuU for a video recording of these opening remarks. For more information about the event Transpolitica 2016, see https://www.meetup.com/London-Futurists/events/233996384/. For more information about Transpolitica, see https://transpolitica.org/.

1. David Wood
@dw2
Chair, London Futurists
londonfuturists.com
Principal, Delta Wisdom
deltawisdom.com
What prospects for
better politics?
Transpolitica 2016
Real world policy changes
for a radically better future
#LonFut glsr.it/tp01

2. @dw2 Page 2
9.15: Doors open
9.45: Chair’s opening remarks: What prospects for better politics?
10.00-12:00: Regulations, health, and transformation
12.00: Break for lunch and networking (lunch is not supplied)
13:00: Tea and coffee available, for post-lunch networking
13:30-15:10: Politics, tools, and transformation
15:10: Break for tea/coffee networking
15.40-17.30: Society, data, and transformation
17.30: Room empty.
Optional continuation of discussion in nearby pub.
Transpolitica 2016
glsr.it/tp02, glsr.it/tp03, glsr.it/tp04, glsr.it/tp05, glsr.it/tp06
glsr.it/tp01
glsr.it/tp07,
glsr.it/tp08,
glsr.it/tp09
glsr.it/tp10,
glsr.it/tp11,
glsr.it/tp12,
glsr.it/tp13

3. @dw2 Page 3http://www.snopes.com/mike-pences-gay-past/
What
prospects
for better
politics?
“…keeping gays from marrying
is not discrimination, but an
enforcement of God’s idea”
http://time.com/4406337/
mike-pence-gay-rights-
lgbt-religious-freedom/

4. @dw2 Page 4
https://www.facebook.com/photo
.php?fbid=10154654817645871
I have not verified
this, but wouldn't
be surprised....
Sharing just
because even if
fake it would piss
this fucker off.
FAKE!
http://www.snopes.com/mike-pences-gay-past/

5. @dw2 Page 5
25,689 shares

6. @dw2 Page 6
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/election-us-2016-37987306
http://www.snopes.com/george-soros-bring-down-us/
“If I were to run, I’d run as a Republican. They’re
the dumbest group of voters in the country.
They believe anything on Fox News. I could lie
and they'd still eat it up. I bet my numbers
would be terrific.” – Donald Trump, 1998
http://www.snopes.com/1998-trump-people-quote/
FAKE!
FAKE!
FAKE!

7. @dw2 Page 7
FBI AGENT SUSPECTED IN HILLARY
EMAIL LEAKS FOUND DEAD IN
APPARENT MURDER-SUICIDE
https://web.archive.org/web/20161105221744/http://denverguardian.com/2016/11
/05/fbi-agent-suspected-hillary-email-leaks-found-dead-apparent-murder-suicide/
Walkerville, MD — An FBI agent
believed to be responsible for the latest
email leaks “pertinent to the
investigation” into Hillary Clinton’s
private email server while she was
Secretary of State, was found dead in an
apparent murder-suicide early Saturday
morning, according to police.
Investigators believe FBI agent,
Michael Brown, 45, shot and killed his
33-year-old wife, Susan Brown, late
Friday night before setting the couple’s
home on fire and then turning the gun
on himself. Brown was a 12 year veteran
of the Washington D.C. Metropolitan
Police Department before spending the
last six years in the FBI.
FAKE!
568,000 shares

8. @dw2 Page 8
FAKE!
568,000 shares
NPR: We Tracked Down A Fake-News
Creator In The Suburbs
• Jestin Coler (40), registered Democrat
• Makes money from the ads on his
websites… $10k-$30k per month
• He has between 20-25 writers
• His writers have tried to write fake
news for liberals, but they don’t take
the bait
• “Really the financial part of it isn’t the
only motivator. I enjoy making a mess
of the people that share the content
that comes out of our site.”
• He doesn’t think fake news swayed
the election
http://www.npr.org/sections/alltechconsidered/2016/11/23/503146770/
npr-finds-the-head-of-a-covert-fake-news-operation-in-the-suburbs

9. @dw2 Page 9
http://thelittlelowerlayer.weebly.com/upton-sinclair.html
https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Upton_Sinclair
“It is difficult to get a
man to understand
something when his
salary depends upon his
not understanding it”
Upton Sinclair
1935
The advertising industry thinks
stories do have influence!
• Jestin Coler (40), registered Democrat
• Makes money from the ads on his
websites… $10k-$30k per month
• He has between 20-25 writers
• His writers have tried to write fake
news for liberals, but they don’t take
the bait
• “Really the financial part of it isn’t the
only motivator. I enjoy making a mess
of the people that share the content
that comes out of our site.”
• He doesn’t think fake news swayed
the election

10. @dw2 Page 10
SWEDEN BANS CHRISTMAS
LIGHTS IN PUBLIC TO AVOID
ANGERING MUSLIM REFUGEES
https://milo.yiannopoulos.net/2016/
10/sweden-ban-christmas-lights/
http://www.snopes.com/sweden-
bans-christmas-lights/
https://www.facebook.com/theincitement/videos/1451715818191603/
Think before you share!
Don’t ‘incite’ things
without fact checking

11. @dw2 Page 11https://www.facebook.com/theincitement/videos/1451715818191603/
Think before you share!
Don’t ‘incite’ things
without fact checking https://www.facebook.com/photo
.php?fbid=10154654817645871
I have not verified
this, but wouldn't
be surprised....
Sharing just
because even if
fake it would piss
this fucker off.

12. @dw2 Page 12
Challenges facing “wisdom of the crowd”
• “Falsehood flies, and the Truth comes limping after it”
– Jonathan Swift (1710)
• Online media magnifies the speed of spread of falsehood
• Great ingenuity goes into encouraging people to click on news
stories and to share them – the evil genius of ad tech
• Anger prevents cool thinking
– “When your heart’s on fire, smoke gets in your eyes”
• Anger reinforces feelings of “us and them”, and prompts us to
signal our connections to the tribes we identify with
• To reinforce our standing within our own tribes, we are ready
to deceive ourselves (lowering our standards of reasoning)
• An escalating divisive negative feedback cycle awaits
Madness of the crowd!
Better angels of our nature?Inner demons

13. @dw2 Page 13
To regain “wisdom of the crowd”?
• How can we collectively decide the best restrictions,
regulations, subsidies, incentives?
1. Automated, trustworthy real-time fact checkers
2. Prosecutions / fines for misleading political articles?
3. Reasoning coaches (AI reviewing how we argued)
4. Tech to help us think coolly (nootropics, tDCS…)
5. An inspiring, credible, integrative, uplifting vision
– Technology enhancing human experience (for all)
– Sustainable abundance for all
glsr.it/tp01
Technoprogressive
transhumanist vision

14. @dw2 Page 14
9.15: Doors open
9.45: Chair’s opening remarks: What prospects for better politics?
10.00-12:00: Regulations, health, and transformation
12.00: Break for lunch and networking (lunch is not supplied)
13:00: Tea and coffee available, for post-lunch networking
13:30-15:10: Politics, tools, and transformation
15:10: Break for tea/coffee networking
15.40-17.30: Society, data, and transformation
17.30: Room empty.
Optional continuation of discussion in nearby pub.
Transpolitica 2016
glsr.it/tp02, glsr.it/tp03, glsr.it/tp04, glsr.it/tp05, glsr.it/tp06
glsr.it/tp01
glsr.it/tp07,
glsr.it/tp08,
glsr.it/tp09
glsr.it/tp10,
glsr.it/tp11,
glsr.it/tp12,
glsr.it/tp13