The Digital Republic is the definitive guide to the great political question of our time: how can freedom and democracy survive in a world of powerful digital technologies?
Not long ago, the tech industry was widely admired and the internet was regarded as a tonic for freedom and democracy. Not anymore. Every day, the headlines blaze with reports of racist algorithms, data leaks, and social media platforms festering with falsehood and hate. In The Digital Republic, acclaimed author Jamie Susskind argues that these problems are not the fault of a few bad apples at the top of the industry. They are the result of our failure to govern technology properly, a failure derived from decades of muddled ideas and wishful thinking.
The Digital Republic charts a new course, with new legal standards, new public bodies and institutions, new duties on platforms, new rights and regulators, and new codes of conduct for people in the tech industry. Inspired by the great political essays of the past, and steeped in the traditions of republican thought, it offers a vision of a different type of society: a digital republic in which human and technological flourishing go hand in hand.
Jamie Susskind's big book is a welcome arrival on the scene... The most refreshing thing about this fine book is its ideological stance... It's time for a change, and 'The Digital Republic' is a good place to start. The Observer
Jamie Susskind has established himself as one of the foremost thinkers on the transformative impact of the technology revolution. 'The Digital Republic' is as innovative in its ideas as it is sharp with its analysis, offering an important contribution to the future of technology regulation while bridging the gap between changemakers and policymakers. Tony Blair
A deeply engaging and thought-provoking book which should be read by everyone (including those with no technical knowledge) who wants to understand how AI can affect our lives, and how we could rise to the challenges this presents. Lord Neuberger of Abbotsbury, President of the UK Supreme Court (2012-2017)
In the shadow of algorithmic discrimination, Big Tech's overarching power, and menacing cyberwarfare, Susskind offers an alternative, enticing and convincing in equal parts: digital republicanism. I am sold. Read this book. Viktor Mayer-Schoenberger, co-author of BIG DATA and FRAMERS
The sprawling power of tech giants is one of the biggest, most complex and urgent challenges facing modern democracy. It takes rare clarity, focus and intellectual discipline to address the issue as lucidly and practically as Jamie Susskind has done in 'The Digital Republic'. Rafael Behr
What to do with Big Tech is one of the enduring questions of today. In 'The Digital Republic', Jamie Susskind argues that it is time to deal with 'the unaccountable power of digital technology' and offers a primer of how law and governance could be harnessed to reshape Big Tech. The Financial Times
This is the book America needs now. Susskind thinks deeply, and writes with powerful clarity, about how technology is reshaping society and what we should do about it. Bruce Schneier, author of CLICK HERE TO KILL EVERYBODY
'The Digital Republic' highlights what is at stake amidst digital disruption: the very foundations of our open, rules-based democracies. By focusing back on core principles such as legitimacy, accountability and countervailing powers, Susskind finds inspiration to secure what should not be disrupted, and reimagines the role of laws in a digitized, global context. Marietje Schaake, international policy director at Stanford University's Cyber Policy Center
The digital revolution threatens to overturn democracy. But we can still do something about it. This book is the blueprint, philosophical and practical, on how to remake our online society to make sure democracy prevails. Peter Pomerantsev, author of THIS IS NOT PROPAGANDA
An important, well-written and well-timed book. The extraordinary power held by a handful of vast digital companies affects everything from the dynamics of markets to the health of democracy. But political theorists have struggled to understand the technologies while the technologists have often been blind to the implications of their own actions. After a flood of books offering diagnosis and hand-wringing, we badly needed ideas about what to do: here Jamie Susskind does just that, linking vivid examples, thoughtful principles and, crucially, practical prescriptions to guide us in ensuring that powerful technologies really do serve us well. Sir Geoff Mulgan CBE, CBE is Professor of Collective Intelligence, Public Policy and Social Innovation at University College London
Susskind does a sophisticated job diagnosing the core problem of how many technologies affect our lives today: unaccountable power. And while there is no magical solution, he provides a compelling roadmap for taking that power back so we can reshape our digital world to better serve the public. Yael Eisenstat, Future of Democracy Fellow at the Berggruen Institute
In focussing on the potential solutions available to govern and regulate the digital realm, [Susskind's] book makes a truly novel contribution to the existing body of literature on the now well-documented harms and pitfalls of the existing data economy. This readable primer will appeal to policymakers, law students and lawyers, and technologists alike, and act as a roadmap for anyone wondering how law and governance can reshape Big Tech, harness platform power, end extractive data practices, and ground an ecosystem of new technologies that empowers, rather than exploits, people Carly Kind, director of the Ada Lovelace Institute
More valuable and more attractive than a mere invitation to emulate the plans of foreign bureaucrats... This visionary yet practical book conveys its message with clarity and panache. Active and intellectually curious citizens everywhere should read it. The Literary Review
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