Title: RE-INVENTING DEMOCRACY Will citizens societies being overflown by artificial intelligence and global players?

Abstract:

Industrial massproduction is no longer the main source of  economic value creation. Industrial companies have disappeared from the list of the world’s largest companies, and so we have left the industrial society. Many of the largest companies are Big Tech companies such as Google, Meta, Amazon, Apple and Microsoft. These companies have grown larger and richer than most countries in the world, which makes them more powerful than most countries.
Big Tech companies are not only larger, richer and more powerful than countries, they are also on pole position to implement the currently most powerful digital technology: Artificial Intelligence (AI). Technology experts (such as Google’s CTO Ray Kurzweil) expect that AI will surpass ‘human level intelligence’ by 2030. Big Tech companies are preparing to combine AI with robots – creating ‘humanoids’ – and combine AI with human brains – creating cyborgs. The consequence of these developments will be that humans will no longer be the most intelligent organisms on earth.
The key question is, Who will decide on the adoption of these intelligent artificial creations in societies? Big Tech companies, together with Non Governmental Organisations (Ngo’s) such as WHO and WEF, are preparing to exploit their monopoly positions, and change governance systems around the globe to form a ‘New World Order’. This World Order is meant to serve the interests of the global players: companies and NGOs. Yet, the interests of citizens are not yet represented in the World Order governance system.
Many of the world’s nation states are democracies, with citizens having influence on public issues and on choosing their public leaders. Yet, the nation state is no longer the ‘dominant economic scale’. Globalisation has become the main arena for public issues and commercial interests, while democracy has not been developed to represent citizens at the global scale. Democracy needs to be re-invented.
In ‘Democracy 4.0’ (De Wit, VMN, 2023) it is argued that global leaders need to pass two tests (Karl Popper, 1933): the Integrity Test and the Competence Test. The Integrity Test is a measure of integrity to decide on behalf of citizens and supported by citizens, and the Competence Test is a measure the level of relevant knowledge and skills. High scores on both dimensions lead to a high Public Merit Score (PM Score). A high PM Score is a prerequisite for any delegate to qualify for becoming a candidate member of a Global Citizens Forum – a newly established democratic leadership forum – and a democratic process will choose the Integer and Competent Citizens Representatives.

Biography:

Bob de Wit is Professor of Strategic Leadership at Nyenrode Business University, The Netherlands, and Chairman of Cooperative Society 4.0. His book ‘Strategy: An international perspective’ (8° edition, 2023) is being used as the main strategy text at universities and business schools in over 75 countries at all continents. Bob’s research is focused on the current societal revolution towards a society dominated by Artificial Intelligence and by global companies that are larger and richer than most countries in the world. His recent books are ‘Society 4.0: Resolving eight key issues to build a citizens society (VMN, 2021) and Democracy 4.0: Reinventing democracy to serve citizens in Society 4.0 (VMN, 2023).