> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.thedigitalspeaker.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # The Rise of Digitalism: The Digital Speaker series EP09 - URL: https://www.thedigitalspeaker.com/the-digital-speaker-series-ep09-rise-of-digitalism/ - Published: 2021-05-26T20:58:45.000Z - Updated: 2026-08-04T05:40:36.000Z - Description: In this episode, we discuss Digitalism, which will be the first, true global political doctrine; a story where governments, companies and citizens battle for data. - Author: Dr Mark van Rijmenam, CSP - Tags: #podcast, The Digital Speaker Series - [ ![Anchor.fm](https://www.thedigitalspeaker.com/assets/images/podcast-logo/01-Anchor-fm.webp) ](https://anchor.fm/the-digital-speaker/episodes/The-Rise-of-Digitalism-The-Digital-Speaker-series-EP09-e11l2qs?ref=thedigitalspeaker.com "Anchor.fm") - [ ![Amazon](https://www.thedigitalspeaker.com/assets/images/podcast-logo/02-Amazon-music.webp) ](https://music.amazon.co.uk/podcasts/18bd7d3f-c63f-4528-a761-31f0896eac29/episodes/099eda57-bf5e-4b4a-8826-e022fa7e3f95/the-digital-speaker-series-ep09---the-rise-of-digitalism?ref=thedigitalspeaker.com "Amazon") - [ ![Apple Podcast](https://www.thedigitalspeaker.com/assets/images/podcast-logo/03-apple-podcasts.webp) ](https://podcasts.apple.com/nl/podcast/the-rise-of-digitalism-the-digital-speaker-series-ep09/id1548443556?i=1000523433197&l=en&ref=thedigitalspeaker.com "Apple Podcast") - [ ![Breaker.audio](https://www.thedigitalspeaker.com/assets/images/podcast-logo/04-breaker-audio.webp) ](https://www.breaker.audio/the-digital-speaker/e/87840966?ref=thedigitalspeaker.com) - [ ![castbox](https://www.thedigitalspeaker.com/assets/images/podcast-logo/05-castbox-logo.webp) ](https://castbox.fm/app/castbox/player/id4626675/id433547578?ref=thedigitalspeaker.com "castbox") - [ ![Castro](https://www.thedigitalspeaker.com/assets/images/podcast-logo/06-castro-logo.webp) ](https://castro.fm/podcast/9285969c-7f7f-4509-9659-c11c2ce71a39?ref=thedigitalspeaker.com "Castro") - [ ![Deezer](https://www.thedigitalspeaker.com/assets/images/podcast-logo/07-deezer-logo.webp) ](https://www.deezer.com/en/episode/336393172?ref=thedigitalspeaker.com "Deezer") - [ ![Google Podcast](https://www.thedigitalspeaker.com/assets/images/podcast-logo/08-Google-podcast-logo.webp) ](https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9hbmNob3IuZm0vcy80Nzk1YmIxYy9wb2RjYXN0L3Jzcw/episode/NWE3M2E3YmMtMDhhNy00Njc5LWExMjQtZDNkZjU4OWYwNTM4?sa=X&ved=0CAUQkfYCahcKEwiQ-%5FXM%5FdLzAhUAAAAAHQAAAAAQAQ&ref=thedigitalspeaker.com "Google Podcast") - [ ![iHeartRadio](https://www.thedigitalspeaker.com/assets/images/podcast-logo/09-iheart-radio-logo.webp) ](https://www.iheart.com/podcast/269-the-digital-speaker-series-88122469/episode/ep09-the-rise-of-digitalism-88127265/?ref=thedigitalspeaker.com "iHeartRadio") - [ ![Pocket Casts](https://www.thedigitalspeaker.com/assets/images/podcast-logo/10-pocket-cast-logo.webp) ](https://pca.st/oe5wtpvv?ref=thedigitalspeaker.com "Pocket Casts") - [ ![PodcastAddict](https://www.thedigitalspeaker.com/assets/images/podcast-logo/11-podcast-addict-logo.webp) ](https://podcastaddict.com/?id=https%3A%2F%2Fanchor.fm%2Fs%2F4795bb1c%2Fpodcast%2Fplay%2F34294044%2Fhttps%253A%252F%252Fd3ctxlq1ktw2nl.cloudfront.net%252Fstaging%252F2021-4-26%252F869ed2f1-b360-8112-6005-e2a7e189c263.m4a&podcastId=3669628&ref=thedigitalspeaker.com "PodcastAddict") - [ ![Podchaser](https://www.thedigitalspeaker.com/assets/images/podcast-logo/12-podchaser-logo.webp) ](https://www.podchaser.com/podcasts/the-digital-speaker-series-1989579/episodes/ep09-the-rise-of-digitalism-100050362?ref=thedigitalspeaker.com "Podchaser") - [ ![RadioPublic](https://www.thedigitalspeaker.com/assets/images/podcast-logo/13-Radio-Public-logo.webp) ](https://radiopublic.com/the-digital-speaker-series-GAK0MN/s1!0bd8f" "RadioPublic") - [ ![Spotify](https://www.thedigitalspeaker.com/assets/images/podcast-logo/14-Spotify-logo.webp) ](https://open.spotify.com/episode/3SVE7Mo6xUbuf6Z0hbEfUG?si=WUAnD8fYQ7Sy4g9iCFCTKg&ref=thedigitalspeaker.com "Spotify") - [ ![Soundcloud](https://www.thedigitalspeaker.com/assets/images/podcast-logo/15-Soundcloud-logo.webp) ](https://soundcloud.com/the-digital-speaker/the-digital-speaker-series-ep09-the-rise-of-digitalism?ref=thedigitalspeaker.com "Soundcloud") - [ ![Stitcher](https://www.thedigitalspeaker.com/assets/images/podcast-logo/16-Stitcher-logo.webp) ](https://www.stitcher.com/show/the-digital-speaker-series/episode/ep09-the-rise-of-digitalism-87591842?ref=thedigitalspeaker.com "Stitcher") - [ ![TuneIn](https://www.thedigitalspeaker.com/assets/images/podcast-logo/17-TuneIn-logo.webp) ](https://tunein.com/radio/The-Digital-Speaker-series-p1544229/?ref=thedigitalspeaker.com "TuneIn") - [ ![Podbean](https://www.thedigitalspeaker.com/assets/images/podcast-logo/18-Podbean-logo.webp) ](https://www.podbean.com/ew/dir-ij3g8-e92eac9?ref=thedigitalspeaker.com "Podbean") - [ ![Player.FM](https://www.thedigitalspeaker.com/assets/images/podcast-logo/19-Player-FM-logo.webp) ](https://player.fm/series/the-digital-speaker-series/ep09-the-rise-of-digitalism?ref=thedigitalspeaker.com "Player.FM") - [ ![Spreaker](https://www.thedigitalspeaker.com/assets/images/podcast-logo/20-Spreaker-logo.webp) ](https://www.spreaker.com/user/15480175/ep09-the-rise-of-digitalism?ref=thedigitalspeaker.com "Spreaker") - [ ![Blubrry](https://www.thedigitalspeaker.com/assets/images/podcast-logo/21-Blubrry-logo.webp) ](https://blubrry.com/the%5Fdigital%5Fspeaker/82138934/ep09-the-rise-of-digitalism/?ref=thedigitalspeaker.com "Blubrry") - [ ![Vimeo](https://www.thedigitalspeaker.com/assets/images/podcast-logo/22-Vimeo-logo.webp) ](https://vimeo.com/digitalspeaker/ep09?ref=thedigitalspeaker.com "Vimeo") - [ ![YouTube](https://www.thedigitalspeaker.com/assets/images/podcast-logo/23-YouTube-logo.webp) ](https://youtu.be/l737pminkyc?ref=thedigitalspeaker.com "YouTube") - [ ![RSS](https://www.thedigitalspeaker.com/assets/images/podcast-logo/24-RSS-logo.webp) ](https://anchor.fm/s/4795bb1c/podcast/rss?ref=thedigitalspeaker.com "RSS") Hello netizens! Welcome to the Tech Journal. My name is Mark van Rijmenam, and I am The Digital Speaker. In these journals, I project my [digital twin](https://www.thedigitalspeaker.com/digital-twin-futurist-speaker/) into cyberspace, bringing you the latest and greatest of the digital world from inside the digital world. I cover all the latest digital news, from algorithms and crypto through to GPT-3 and neural networks. Today, I am going to discuss the end of Liberalism and how [Digitalism](https://www.thedigitalspeaker.com/rise-digitalism-coronavirus-trigger-end-liberalism/) will replace it as the world’s **first, true** global political doctrine. Together, we will delve into and explore the positive aspects and the negative aspects of an economy run on data. Taking a closer look at some potential futures that are awaiting us depending on which direction we choose to go. Sit back, relax, and let us start speaking digital. *You can either view the episode above or view it on* [*Vimeo*](https://vimeo.com/digitalspeaker/ep09?ref=thedigitalspeaker.com)*,* [*YouTube*](https://youtu.be/l737pminkyc?ref=thedigitalspeaker.com) *or listen to it on* [*Anchor.fm*](https://anchor.fm/the-digital-speaker/episodes/The-Digital-Speaker-series-EP09-The-Rise-of-Digitalism-e11l2qs?ref=thedigitalspeaker.com)*,* [*Soundcloud*](https://soundcloud.com/the-digital-speaker/the-digital-speaker-series-ep09-the-rise-of-digitalism?ref=thedigitalspeaker.com) *or* [*Spotify*](https://open.spotify.com/show/4y0e77EQRZijXzRSWLpY4O?ref=thedigitalspeaker.com)*.* --- ## **“Never let a good crisis go to waste”** Winston Churchill once said, **“Never let a good crisis go to waste”,** and he was right. Throughout history, we see example after example of governments around the world using crises to introduce new **emergency laws**, laws which **always** seem to outlast the crisis. And this crisis is no different. We’ve seen Hungary introducing an ‘emergency law’ allowing Prime Minister **Viktor Orbán** to **rule by decree without term limits**. Essentially, claiming a blank cheque to stay in power for as long as he sees fit. We see China using COVID as a justification to **ramp up** their already **tight surveillance measures**. Chinese citizens are now required to **scan a QR code** when entering a workplace or **any public space** and to register their **names**, **ID numbers** and **temperatures**. This enables the Chinese authorities to **track** their citizens’ **precise movements**. **Even George** Orwell himself couldn’t have imagined this. The characters in his novel, “1984”, were at least able to walk around the city without being tracked. We’ve also seen The **European Commission** and the **US** [**Government**](https://www.thedigitalspeaker.com/ai-government-speaker/)following China’s lead and **introducing** telecom and geolocation data **tracking**. Despite its **good intentions**, the question is, what happens if, after the crisis, the EU and US continue to use these [privacy](https://www.thedigitalspeaker.com/data-privacy-speaker/)\-breaching **surveillance tools**? We all know the saying, the road to hell is paved with good intentions. These new measures all have one central theme in common. **Digitalism**. ## Post-Liberal Order Over the past hundred years, we have seen various forms of social organizations and political philosophies rise and fall. First **ultranationalism**, which saw its collapse after WWII.Then **Communism**, more accurately “State Capitalism” or “Stalinism”, collapsed in the Western world with the fall of the Berlin Wall. **In China**, however, the Communist Party **continues to thrive** as they ditched the “State” part of “State Capitalism” and embraced **the open market**. While in the Western world, Liberalism has flourished in the past decades, it seems that this global story of social organization is reaching its expiry date. **Yuval Noah Harari** predicted that the **rise of** [**big data**](https://www.thedigitalspeaker.com/big-data-speaker/)and **artificial intelligence** could ***mark the end of Liberalism and liberal democracy***. According to **Harari**, the international rule-based system **is collapsing**, and we’re on the lookout for a new **post-liberal** order. Driven by [emerging technologies](https://www.thedigitalspeaker.com/emerging-technologies-speaker/) that are drastically changing our lives, the current crisis seems the **perfect catalyst** for Digitalism to impose itself as the world’s new political philosophy. The rise of Digitalism may well **mark** the **end** of Liberalism. Recently, many of Liberalism’s core principles, like **free competition** and **self-regulating markets**, are losing its dominance. Due to the ever-increasing **hunger** for **data**, corporations **consistently** and **deliberately** breach consumers’ **rights**, **trust**, **privacy and freedom** as governments fail to control them. ## Surveillance Society Ever-intelligent AI, combined with constant data harvesting, means we are **sleepwalking** into a **surveillance society.** Governments around the world, from every ideological sphere, are starting to recognize the **power** of **digitalization**. Depending on the country, this results in either a reduction of rights, protections **and** digital freedom or empowered and free citizens. In the same way that many governments are failing to protect their citizens, **many**, if not almost **all**, companies are harvesting consumer data and are **failing** to protect their, or should I say **“our”**, data. At the same time, the list of data breaches is **endless**, and businesses are expected to **lose** up to **five trillion dollars** to cybercrime by 2024\. As a result, the consumer’s **rights**, **privacy,** and **safety** are **rapidly diminishing**. ## Toxic Recommendation Algorithms To make matters worse, recommendation algorithms are **also limiting** our freedom. These algorithms are designed to show you content based on your data and as such, only make recommendations that match your profile. The result is a **dangerous feedback loop**, essentially limiting your freedoms without you even knowing it. These algorithms are **not** made to serve the individual but their **creator**. Their objective? **Simple**. Your time is worth money for commercial organizations. These recommendation engines are **toxic**, but they are everywhere. **Even** in governments, as politicians increasingly lean on them to make decisions. ## Tech Titans Eating Startups Finally, the **tech titans** of the West: Google, Apple, Facebook, Amazon, and Microsoft, and the **digital goliaths** of the East: Baidu, Alibaba, and Tencent, are staging an all-out war on free competition by acquiring **every potential-showing start-up** and **company** that they can **get their hands on**—creating monopolies of tech giants ruling our world and our data. The smaller start-ups and company founders love it because they get a **fat paycheck**, but in the bigger picture, the **competition** has been **culled**, and the free market is left to die. The ideal solution would be to break up these monopolies, but due to their sheer size and their enormous lobbying power, this seems like a pipe dream. So, back to the subject: ## **The Rise of Digitalism** Since the **exponential growth** of the internet and **data harvesting**, a new story has been developing, a story which I define as **Digitalism**. It will be the **first, true** global political doctrine. It is already **encouraged** and **accepted** by **most** governments and companies and **increasingly feared** by most citizens. This is a development that no citizen really wants because of its privacy impact, but no citizen can stop. While we can’t stop it, we might be able to limit its effects, but it would require an **organized collective effort by the people**. The story of Digitalism paints a future where **governments**, **companies and citizens** **battle** for data. ## Data is Gold and Citizens are the Mine A future where data is **gold** and citizens are the **mine**—a future where data becomes the **most precious commodity** in society. Digitalism can be a powerful tool for totalitarian regimes (both governmental and commercial) to limit the freedom of its citizens, but it can also act as a source of liberation to protect the privacy of the people. **Inevitably, machines** and **AI** will **increasingly** play a bigger and more important role in society, forcing humans to adapt and digitally enhance themselves. What will start as an augmented **human-to-machine** collaboration, will quickly result in **machine-to-machine** collaboration across **all levels** of society, significantly **limiting** the number of available jobs. ## The New Normal The current “**new normal**”, working from home, is already **opening the door** to digitalism. Companies are always looking for ways to increase productivity and reduce costs to increase profit. **Robots** are the answer. Robots do not get sick, do not talk back, do not have rights, don’t make mistakes, they produce 24 hours a day, 7 days a week and do not require union mandated breaks. In fact, they do not even have unions. They are the **perfect** answer to late-stage capitalism in every domain. ## The Imagination Age A few years back, I wrote about how, in the [**Imagination Age**](https://markvanrijmenam.medium.com/why-we-should-use-blockchain-and-artificial-intelligence-to-enable-the-imagination-age-b78d2146a247?ref=thedigitalspeaker.com)**,** an age dominated by AI, creativity will be the only thing left to do for humans. Now, a few years later, I am no longer convinced. AI has **advanced** so dramatically that I now **doubt** creativity will remain solely a **human endeavour**. There are already stories of machines **writing books**, **making music** or **painting pictures** or [writing an opinion piece for The Guardian](https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2020/sep/08/robot-wrote-this-article-gpt-3?ref=thedigitalspeaker.com). With computing power still increasing and quantum computing on the horizon, AI is likely to engulf and redefine creativity as such. This leads us to a future where machines dominate the menial, scientific and creative spheres. A future where the masses are **forced** to find **new meaning** and redefine their purpose in life. A future where remote workers **might just find** that they no longer have jobs to return to. Where the top of the economic pyramid has grown **ever-narrower**, an **ever-smaller** group of elites reap the benefits of this newly automated world. ## What Will Digitalism Bring Us? So, how will unconstrained Digitalism actually disrupt societies as we know them? First, we will see more **dark factories**. Dark factories are factories that are equipped with fully automated systems. These factories will rely on robots and a skeleton human crew, limiting the need for lights and the pandemic has seen an increase in such factories, especially in China. While these factories will be expensive to build, once operational, they will reap **huge financial returns** for the elite owning these plants. Second, hackers and security professionals will turn to AI. **Autonomous artificial hackers** will result in machines fighting against machines. This digital battle will be at **unbelievable speeds**, trying to steal and protect valuable data at the speed of light. Third, with artificially created **fake news**, **bad bots,** and **armies** of online trolls, the online political discourse will be **forever warped**. Citizens will find it increasingly difficult to know which sources they can trust, and this will increasingly affect society going forward. Four, **more and more jobs** will be outsourced to AI. However, since AI is created and trained with **human biases,** we run many risks of creating **significant** challenges. Five, AI will not only be biased, many of them are also a black box, making society more opaque. Only those owning the AI, the **elite,** will have access to them. And the elite will be able to **manipulate society** to a level **never seen before**. Whether free will exists has been debated for ages, but with the rise of such **unrestricted Digitalism** driven by **ever-more advanced** recommendation engines, free will could disappear and be replaced by an illusion, ending the debate for good. These scenarios might scare you, and so they should. A society organized by unrestricted Digitalism will result in a **tiny elite** with **free rein** over the digital tools controlling society. And although many citizens will experience the benefits of these digital tools, if Digitalism **isn’t well managed and regulated**, these **same** citizens will also become increasingly **irrelevant** as their lives, jobs, and futures, become **uncertain**. However, there **isn’t** just one type of digitalism that needs regulating. As I mentioned before, depending on how society approaches digitalization, Digitalism can enslave **or** empower. In the coming decades, we will see **three** streams of Digitalism arise across the world. Each depends on how governments allow organizations to deal with data and how citizens can respond to it. ## 1\. State Digitalism The first, **State Digitalism.** This will result in **state surveillance** at an **unprecedented** level. We can already see the first signs of this in China, **especially** in the **Xinjiang** province where an **AI-powered panopticon** limits the Uyghurs’ movements. A society organized according to state surveillance gives **full accountability** to the state, **stripping** citizens of their privacy and **limiting or blocking** the internet. The state knows **everything** about its citizens to a level that would make the Stasi or KGB blush. Any misstep, mistake, or lapse in loyalty, is caught by the **mass surveillance system** and has **immediate** consequences. ## 2\. Neo Digitalism The second, **Neo Digitalism**. This results in extreme **company surveillance** far beyond what we see today. Neo Digitalism is characterized by an **extreme free-market**, **unlimited data harvesting** and **raging capitalism**. Within a Neo Digital society, the likes of which we see slowly unfolding in the USA, there is limited online **accountability**. The state has **almost nothing** to say about, nor has any control over people’s digital lives as this power lies entirely with the tech titans. A citizen’s privacy depends on a corporation’s **interest** to **sell their personal** data for profit. Driven by **libertarians**, it results in unregulated companies, enacting **extreme** data harvesting. A tangible example being Cambridge Analytica. The result is that a small group of elite gain wealth at **unprecedented** levels, causing **extreme** inequality. ## 3\. Modern Digitalism The third, **Modern Digitalism.** This would be the **best** option for citizens as it **combines** the **advantages** of digital tools with strict privacy and security regulations. Modern Digitalism means **citizen empowerment**, giving citizens more or even all control over their data. Here, a **self-sovereign identity** and **decentralized networks** are the way forward. This allows citizens to track **and** control their data by defining who they want to expose their data to and under which terms. **Online** [**anonymous accountability** ](https://www.thedigitalspeaker.com/problem-misinformation-bad-bots-online-trolls-coronavirus/)will become the norm, **securing** citizens’ privacy and encouraging **real-world ethics** in the online sphere. For example, the EU is already working on [**ethical** AI guidelines](https://www.thedigitalspeaker.com/seven-guidelines-ensure-ethical-ai/), and the **GDPR framework** offers powerful protection for EU citizens’ privacy. To conclude, it is pretty safe to say the future belongs to Digitalism one way or the other. Digitalism **will** replace Liberalism as the leading doctrine in the next few decades. If you live in a country governed by either State Digitalism or Neo Digitalism, it **is not** something to look forward to. ## Digitalism Done Right But Digitalism done right can help us solve some of today’s pressing issues. After all, technology is, in essence, neutral. What can be used for creating AI hackers or fake news, can in reverse also be used to combat these. If **Digitalism is constrained**, its adverse effects can be limited or bent positively. **Regulating** and **fighting** the monopolies of today, **breaking them up** and **preventing them** from becoming the **new world dictators,** will be crucial going forward. For instance, blockchain can **empower** citizens to **own** their own data and adopt a **self-sovereign identity** to **remain** in control at all times. We can restore trust in online media using open source AI and the crowd to hold the media accountable, which would help in our fight against global problems. We can also use digitalism to democratize the fight against climate change, polarisation, poverty and create an equal, inclusive and free society. We can empower citizens and give them control over recommendation engines so that users are not pulled into a rabbit hole every time they open YouTube. ## Citizens Can Fight Algorithms In democratic countries, citizens **already have the right to** fight the algorithms. We recently saw an [example](https://thecorrespondent.com/276/an-algorithm-was-taken-to-court-and-it-lost-which-is-great-news-for-the-welfare-state/36504050352-a3002ff7?ref=thedigitalspeaker.com) of this in the Netherlands, where a governmental algorithm was taken to court **and lost.** This landmark case ruled that using people’s data without consent **violates** their human rights. Even better, Amsterdam and Helsinki recently [launched algorithm registries](https://venturebeat.com/2020/09/28/amsterdam-and-helsinki-launch-algorithm-registries-to-bring-transparency-to-public-deployments-of-ai/?ref=thedigitalspeaker.com#:~:text=Share-,Amsterdam%20and%20Helsinki%20launch%20algorithm%20registries%20to,to%20public%20deployments%20of%20AI&text=Elevate%20your%20enterprise%20data%20technology%20and%20strategy%20at%20Transform%202021.&text=A%20complete%20algorithmic%20registry%20can,question%20governments%20applications%20of%20AI.) to bring transparency to public deployments of AI. And while the rise of Digitalism is **unstoppable,** **as citizens**, we still stand a chance to **build** a society **for** us, for the citizens, not for **corporations** or **the state**. We can not kid ourselves, though; it will require hard work, dedication, **and** need the involvement of **all** stakeholders, but it is **certainly** worth the effort. Let’s use Digitalism to our advantage, and let’s do this collectively. ## Frequently asked questions ### What is Digitalism as a political doctrine? Digitalism is described as the first true global political doctrine emerging as data harvesting and artificial intelligence expand. It is already encouraged and accepted by most governments and companies, and increasingly feared by citizens. It paints a future where governments, companies and citizens battle for data, which becomes the most precious commodity in society, acting either as a tool of control or a source of liberation. [Link to this question](#faq-what-is-digitalism-as-a-political-doctrine) ### What are the three types of Digitalism? The three streams are State Digitalism, Neo Digitalism, and Modern Digitalism. State Digitalism involves unprecedented state surveillance stripping citizens of privacy, seen emerging in China. Neo Digitalism involves extreme corporate surveillance and unregulated data harvesting under raging capitalism, as seen unfolding in the USA. Modern Digitalism gives citizens control over their own data through self-sovereign identity and decentralized networks, combining digital tools with strict privacy regulations. [Link to this question](#faq-what-are-the-three-types-of-digitalism) ### Why are recommendation algorithms considered toxic? Recommendation algorithms show content based on personal data, only making suggestions that match a user's profile, which creates a dangerous feedback loop that limits freedom without the person even realizing it. These algorithms are designed to serve their commercial creators rather than the individual, since a person's time and attention is worth money to the companies deploying them, and even governments increasingly rely on them for decisions. [Link to this question](#faq-why-are-recommendation-algorithms-considered-toxic) ### How can society limit the negative effects of Digitalism? Regulating and breaking up monopolistic tech giants is described as crucial to prevent them from becoming new world dictators. Blockchain can empower citizens with self-sovereign identity so they control their own data, open source AI and crowd oversight can restore trust in media, and citizens can be given control over recommendation engines. Citizens can also legally challenge algorithms, as happened in the Netherlands, and cities like Amsterdam and Helsinki have launched algorithm registries for transparency. [Link to this question](#faq-how-can-society-limit-the-negative-effects-of-digitalism)