Audrey Tang discusses using AI to strengthen democracy, pre-bunking deepfakes, Taiwan's innovative verification systems, AI for fact-checking, enhancing democracy through technology, empowering citizens in AI development.

In 2014 Taiwan was rocked by mass protests against a proposed trade agreement with China that was about to be agreed without the usual Parliamentary hearings. Students invaded and took over the Parliament. But rather than chant slogans, instead they livestreamed their own parliamentary debate over the trade deal, allowing volunteers to speak both in favour and against.Instead of polarising the country more, this so-called 'Sunflower Student Movement' ultimately led to a bipartisan consensus that Taiwan should open up its government. That process has gradually made it one of the most communicative and interactive administrations anywhere in the world.Today's guest — programming prodigy Audrey Tang — initially joined the student protests to help get their streaming infrastructure online. After the students got the official hearings they wanted and went home, she was invited to consult for the government. And when the government later changed hands, she was invited to work in the ministry herself.Links to learn more, summary and full transcript. During six years as the country's 'Digital Minister' she has been helping Taiwan increase the flow of information between institutions and civil society and launched original experiments trying to make democracy itself work better. That includes developing new tools to identify points of consensus between groups that mostly disagree, building social media platforms optimised for discussing policy issues, helping volunteers fight disinformation by making their own memes, and allowing the public to build their own alternatives to government websites whenever they don't like how they currently work. As part of her ministerial role Audrey also sets aside time each week to help online volunteers working on government-related tech projects get the help they need. How does she decide who to help? She doesn't — that decision is made by members of an online community who upvote the projects they think are best. According to Audrey, a more collaborative mentality among the country's leaders has helped increase public trust in government, and taught bureaucrats that they can (usually) trust the public in return. Innovations in Taiwan may offer useful lessons to people who want to improve humanity's ability to make decisions and get along in large groups anywhere in the world. We cover: • Why it makes sense to treat Facebook as a nightclub • The value of having no reply button, and of getting more specific when you disagree • Quadratic voting and funding • Audrey’s experiences with the Sunflower Student Movement • Technologies Audrey is most excited about • Conservative anarchism • What Audrey’s day-to-day work looks like • Whether it’s ethical to eat oysters • And much more Chapters:Rob’s intro (00:00:00)The interview begins (00:02:04)Global crisis of confidence in government (00:07:06)Treating Facebook as a nightclub (00:10:55)Polis (00:13:48)The value of having no reply button (00:24:33)The value of getting more specific (00:26:13)Concerns with Polis (00:30:40)Quadratic voting and funding (00:42:16)Sunflower Student Movement (00:55:24)Promising technologies (01:05:44)Conservative anarchism (01:22:21)What Audrey’s day-to-day work looks like (01:33:54)Taiwanese politics (01:46:03)G0v (01:50:09)Rob’s outro (02:05:09)Producer: Keiran HarrisAudio mastering: Ben CordellTranscriptions: Katy Moore

[This episode originally aired on July 23rd, 2020.] Imagine a world where every country has a digital minister and technologically-enabled legislative bodies. Votes are completely transparent and audio and video of all conversations between lawmakers and lobbyists are available to the public immediately. Conspiracy theories are acted upon within two hours and replaced by humorous videos that clarify the truth. Imagine that expressing outrage about your local political environment turned into a participatory process where you were invited to solve that problem and even entered into a face to face group workshop. Does that sound impossible? It’s ambitious and optimistic, but that's everything that our guest this episode, Audrey Tang, digital minister of Taiwan, has been working on in her own country for many years. Audrey’s path into public service began in 2014 with her participation in the Sunflower Movement, a student-led protest in Taiwan’s parliamentary building, and she’s been building on that experience ever since, leading her country into a future of truly participatory digital democracy. 

Audrey Tang, the world's first digital minister, joins the conversation to explore how technology can enhance democracy rather than undermine it. Discover how Taiwan boosted public trust in politicians by 60% through innovative digital strategies. Tang shares insights into the transformative impact of tech on civic engagement, revealing how online tools foster open discussions and consensus. The discussion also highlights Taiwan's successful COVID-19 response and the importance of diverse perspectives in shaping a resilient democratic landscape.

In this riveting episode, Audrey Tang, Taiwan's Digital Minister, and Meredith Whittaker, President of the Signal Foundation, discuss the limitations of end-to-end encryption in protecting our online privacy. They also explore the open-source world, AI, and their personal connection to the open-source community.

Audrey Tang began reading classical works like the Shūjīng and Tao Te Ching at the age of 5 and learned the programming language Perl at the age of 12. Now, the autodidact and self-described “conservative anarchist” is a software engineer and the first non-binary digital minister of Taiwan. Their work focuses on how social and digital technologies can foster empathy, democracy, and human progress. Audrey joined Tyler to discuss how Taiwan approached regulating Chinese tech companies, the inherent extraterritoriality of data norms, how Finnegans Wake has influenced their approach to technology, the benefits of radical transparency in communication, why they appreciate the laziness of Perl, using “humor over rumor” to combat online disinformation, why Taiwan views democracy as a set of social technologies, how their politics have been influenced by Taiwan’s indigenous communities and their oral culture, what Chinese literature teaches about change, how they view Confucianism as a Daoist, how they would improve Taiwanese education, why they view mistakes in the American experiment as inevitable – but not insurmountable, the role of civic tech in Taiwan’s pandemic response, the most important remnants of Japanese influence remaining in Taiwan, why they love Magic: The Gathering, the transculturalism that makes Taiwan particularly open and accepting of LGBT lifestyles, growing up with parents who were journalists, how being transgender makes them more empathetic, the ways American values still underpin the internet, what they learned from previous Occupy movements, why translation, rotation, and scaling are important skills for becoming a better thinker, and more. Read a full transcript enhanced with helpful links, or watch the full video. Recorded September 24th, 2020 Other ways to connect Follow us on Twitter and Instagram Follow Tyler on Twitter  Follow Audrey on Twitter Email us: cowenconvos@mercatus.gmu.edu Subscribe at our newsletter page to have the latest Conversations with Tyler news sent straight to your inbox. 

Audrey Tang, Taiwan's first transgender Minister of State and currently Ambassador at Large for cyberspace governance, discusses the possibility of overcoming global polarization. She shares insights on leveraging technology for democracy and the importance of education in nurturing agency among youth. Tang reflects on Taiwan's remarkable trust in government transformation and explores the dual nature of AI in society. Emphasizing empathy, she advocates for constructive dialogue to bridge divides and imagines a kinder, more engaged world by 2025.

Taiwan's Digital Minister, Audrey Tang, discusses promoting open-source democracy, radical transparency in government meetings, and using technology to enhance collaboration. They also explore Taiwan's innovative approach to public health during the COVID-19 pandemic, balancing privacy and human rights. Tang emphasizes the importance of neutrality in politics and strong digital infrastructure for advancing democracy globally.

Dr. Audrey Tang, a psychologist and author of 'The Leader’s Guide to Resilience,' shares insights on leadership and burnout. She discusses how effective leaders manage pressure while modeling healthy behaviors. The conversation highlights the necessity of recognizing burnout signs, especially in men, and the importance of support in the workplace. Tang also addresses the unique challenges of remote work and emphasizes the balance between personal resilience and systemic changes for fostering a supportive environment.

Audrey Tang, Plural Capital Allocation expert, discusses Taiwan's digital democracy, open-source potential, and the GovZero Movement. They explore the importance of 'show over tell,' reverse mentorship, and the challenges faced by pluralistic societies. Tang also delves into Taiwan's QF funding rounds and the motivation behind the Plurality.net book. Fun banter and insights about Taiwan's Gold Card round off the engaging conversation.