“Decisions automatically made by algorithms are not transparent but are learning from data and therefore changing over time; this creates a huge challenge for auditing and oversight. ”

“The element of digital taxation could spur change among big tech companies that bill themselves as forces for good. ”

“New designs to boost democracy might look to the experience of populous nations like India and Kenya, rather than North America and Europe, to include those who live in the Global South. ”

“What people are motivated to do matters more than what technology is being used when we talk about its role and uses in society. ”

“Managing both the upsides and inevitable downsides of technology must include coming to terms with the enormous amount of personal data that is collected. ”

“The advent of digital technologies is a double-edged sword: they have the power to help fight injustice, and yet hold the potential to be misused as a tool of repression. ”

“When designing digital technologies that might come to the aid of democracy, the traditional checks and balances of liberal democratic institutions don’t match with new technologies – like artificial intelligence – that assign traditional societal decisions to the realm of algorithms. ”

“The goal of efforts like GESDA’s should be to build new institutions, norms, behaviours and international laws. ”

“GESDA could build a platform to facilitate citizens’ greater digital participation in public affairs modelled after Switzerland’s decentralised governance and tradition of direct democracy. ”