Bailey Flanigan, a postdoctoral fellow at Harvard heading to MIT, and Andrew Hall, a Stanford political science professor, explore the revival of sortition—selecting representatives by lottery. They discuss its ancient roots in Athenian democracy and its relevance today, especially for governance in technology and crypto. The conversation dives into improving democratic legitimacy, balancing expert authority with citizen input, and the role of technology in decision-making. With a touch of humor, they also highlight the balance between accountability and participant anonymity.
Sortition, a method of selecting representatives by lottery, can enhance legitimacy in governance by reducing political motivations of elected officials.
Involving non-expert citizens in policy decisions can better represent public interests when they are supported by accurate information and deliberation.
The integration of sortition within Web3 technologies presents challenges, particularly in balancing citizen input with technical measures for effective governance.
Deep dives
Understanding Sortition
Sortition, an ancient practice of selecting representatives by lottery, is discussed as a viable method for governance. Initially used in Athenian democracy, this approach involves random selection from the general population, allowing everyday citizens to participate in governmental decision-making. The discussion emphasizes how this method can lend legitimacy to governance as it diminishes political motivations typically present in elected officials. By bringing diverse perspectives together, citizens can learn from a balanced set of experts and contribute to policy suggestions based on their values.
The Legitimacy of Everyday People
The podcast highlights the potential benefits of having non-expert citizens make policy decisions, as they often lack political motives or career incentives. This system posits that citizens can better represent public interests and concerns when provided with accurate information and a supportive deliberative environment. There's deliberation on how traditional political systems may empower those who seek power for its own sake, leading to unrepresentative governance. The legitimacy gained through ordinary citizens' involvement may also enhance public trust in the decision-making process.
Rethinking Governance in the Digital Age
Sortition is presented as a tool for addressing complex governance issues in modern technology, such as AI regulation, by involving ordinary people in the decision-making processes. The podcast discusses various applications for this approach, especially where technical expertise and human values intersect, notably in contentious areas like environmental policy or algorithmic governance. It becomes critical for citizens assemblies to balance input from experts while ensuring they don’t overshadow the public's voice in value-laden decisions. The historical skepticism towards pure direct democracy brings attention to the need for combining sortition with existing political processes in a constructive manner.
Challenges of Representation
The implementation of sortition faces challenges, particularly in ensuring that selected participants represent a diverse cross-section of society. Low participation rates in citizens assemblies are mentioned, with only a small percentage of invited individuals engaging, often skewing the demographic and belief spectrum. Solutions are explored, such as mandating participation, akin to jury duty, although this raises concerns about self-selection bias influencing outcomes. The discussion suggests that building public trust and ensuring accountability in the assembly processes are essential for enhancing the effectiveness of sortition.
Future Applications in Web3 Governance
The podcast explores potential applications of sortition within Web3 technologies, particularly in decentralized governance systems. It discusses how companies like Meta are utilizing sortition-inspired approaches to gather user input on pivotal issues such as climate misinformation, thereby engaging communities in values-based discussions. However, the integration of citizen input with technical measures remains complex, requiring careful design to avoid unwarranted influence from either side. Future developments could harness elements of zero-knowledge cryptography to enhance participant anonymity while ensuring sufficient transparency and accountability in decision-making.
Today we’re dusting off an ancient practice that has become trendy once again: the old-but-new idea of “sortition,” or selecting representatives by lottery.
Sortition was used in ancient Athenian democracy to elect public officials. It’s also been lately revived by tech companies like Meta and AI startups like OpenAI and Anthropic to tackle some of their thorniest policymaking challenges.
Our guests today are experts on sortition, including Bailey Flanigan, a postdoctoral fellow at Harvard who is joining MIT as an assistant professor next year, and who has helped develop selection algorithms for sortition that are in use today. Also joining is Andrew Hall, Stanford University poli sci professor, advisor to Meta, and consultant to a16z crypto research.
In this episode, we discuss why not to rely exclusively on expert authority, how the process of deliberation changes people’s minds, and how sortition can apply everywhere from the governance of countries to the governance of crypto projects, and more.
As a reminder, none of the content should be taken as investment, business, legal, or tax advice. Please see a16z.com/disclosures for more important information, including a link to a list of our investments.
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