While Silicon Valley Builds AI to sell Ads, Taiwan Builds AI to save Democracy - with Augmented Collective Intelligence.
A very interesting new episode on Reid Hoffman's Possible Podcast (https://www.possible.fm/) with Taiwan's former digital minister Audrey Tang and Divya Siddarth from The Collective Intelligence Project on how to use #AI to make democracy stronger instead of letting it erode.
Crazy. I know.
Tang and Siddarth explain how AI gets used as a democratic facilitator that moderates citizen discussions, identifies "bridging" ideas that build consensus across political divides, and amplifies collaborative solutions instead of extreme voices. And helps writing laws!
When Taiwan faced deepfake investment scams, AI helped 450 citizens create effective legislation in months by surfacing nuanced compromises that humans alone might miss. The result: people feel genuinely heard while producing better democratic outcomes.
🔮 The Vision: Moving the focus from "Artificial General Intelligence" to "Augmented Collective Intelligence"—where AI amplifies human wisdom rather than replacing it.
Here is how AI is being used to realize it:
⚡ Change the Algorithm: Instead of social media's "enragement algorithms" that reward extreme voices, use AI to facilitate structured dialogue where bridging ideas go viral.
🤖 Leverage Existing Trust: People already trust chatbots more than elected representatives (1 in 3 use AI for emotional support weekly)—channel that trust toward democratic participation.
🌉 Surface Nuanced Solutions: AI breaks citizens into small groups (like Taiwan's 45 groups of 10 people), then identifies and amplifies "bridging" statements—ideas that people from opposing sides actually agree on. For example, with deepfake scams, one group suggested requiring digital signatures on ads, another proposed slowing server connections to platforms without local offices. AI cross-pollinated these complementary solutions in real-time, creating comprehensive legislation that 85% of participants supported across all demographics.
Key Message: Democracy isn't broken, it's just using outdated tools. When we combine human insight with AI facilitation, we get better decisions AND higher trust.
The contrast is striking: while #SiliconValley builds AI to capture attention, sell ads and drive market cap, #Taiwan builds AI to bridge divides and strengthen democracy. Different incentives, radically different outcomes.
What if we, too, would start to optimize for collective wisdom instead of quarterly profits?
