Right Livelihood 192d ago

At the Right Livelihood Annual Lecture recorded at the University of Zurich, 2025 Laureate Audrey Tang shares a powerful vision for democracy in the digital age. Audrey explores how crises — from societal divisions to disinformation and online polarisation — can become “cracks” in which opportunities for renewal emerge. She explains how imperfect, open, collaborative digital dialogue builds trust, civic agency, and collective intelligence. Using real-world examples from Taiwan, she introduces participatory tools like Pol.is and “Alignment Assembly,” where people worldwide co-create policy through civic engagement, not by passive consumption. Tang challenges the dominant “Max OS” logic of optimisation, algorithms and engagement-maximising social media. Instead, she calls for an Ethic of Care and “Freedom Architecture” — a digital infrastructure rooted in human dignity, freedom, and community, where AI becomes a tool for building relationships, not a tool for division. 🔷 What You’ll Hear in This Lecture 🔹 Why imperfections and “cracks” in society are invitations to co-create. 🔹 How civic-tech tools turn polarisation into productive consensus and shared governance. 🔹 The risks of “optimisation-obsessed” social media algorithms — and how to reclaim digital spaces. 🔹 A vision for AI and tech as assistive intelligence, aligned with human values. 🔹 Tang’s proposal for a digitally democratic future: participatory policy-making, intergenerational civic education, and “Techno-communitarianism.” Read the full transcript: English: https://sayit.archive.tw/2025-12-04-right-livelihood-lecture Chinese: https://sayit.archive.tw/2025-12-04-%E6%AD%A3%E5%91%BD%E8%AC%9B%E5%BA%A7 Learn more about Audrey Tang: English: https://rightlivelihood.org/the-change-makers/find-a-laureate/audrey-tang/ Chinese: https://rightlivelihood.org/zh-hant/the-change-makers/find-a-laureate/audrey-tang/