“Freedom, even in the most libertarian societies, has never been absolute. Nowhere is it legitimate, for example, to harm others in pursuit of freedom – except in the context of war.” ~~ Martin Moore (Book: Democracy Hacked)
“Even the best survey data is far from ideal. It relies on people’s perception of their behavior rather than their actual behavior. People also have a tendency to embellish some aspects of their character and forget or disguise others. On the basis of questionnaire alone it is hard – if not impossible – to put person’s personality in the context of their social network, in order to understand the dynamics between the two.” ~~ Martin Moore (Book: Democracy Hacked)
“Like money data can give a candidate or political faction power.” ~~ Martin Moore (Book: Democracy Hacked)
“Thanks to the galumphing digital footprints we all now leave, gathering personal data to predict someone’s personality is no longer expensive or exhausting. Indeed, it had become frighteningly easy.” ~~ Martin Moore (Book: Democracy Hacked)
“Personal data can be collected, brought, combined, analyzed, modeled, used and sold like a commodity. Companies can, if they choose, take advantage of differential laws and regulations worldwide, offshore data in the same way they offshore money. Indeed, the best way to think about personal data, especially in politics, is as a virtual – and parallel – currency.” ~~ Martin Moore (Book: Democracy Hacked)
“The platform will emphasize their belief in democracy and democratic values, but will not themselves behave democratically.” ~~ Martin Moore (Book: Democracy Hacked)
“Liberal democracy is also premised on the idea that the citizen is protected from the state and – for the most part – can live their life free from intrusion by the state.” ~~ Martin Moore (Book: Democracy Hacked)
“The ultimate sign of success was when someone comes to believe what you wanted them to believe, but thought they had come to the conclusion themselves.” ~~ Martin Moore (Book: Democracy Hacked)
“Political messaging is most effective, communication theory tells us, when the recipient does not realize they are being targeted.” ~~ Martin Moore (Book: Democracy Hacked)
“Though, everyone may have a voice on social media, we have lost – and continue to lose – the collective voice of poor, marginalized or remote communities, the powerless people most in need of society’s attention.” ~~ Martin Moore (Book: Democracy Hacked)
“Intimate and unrestrictive knowledge of the citizen by the state jeopardize individual autonomy, compromises privacy, and gives authorities much greater power over the citizens.” ~~ Martin Moore (Book: Democracy Hacked)
“In India, where the political and religions, dimensions are closely intertwined there is a good reason to be anxious about new opportunities for group identification.” ~~ Martin Moore (Book: Democracy Hacked)
“Once the state has defined and datafied it’s citizens, this enable and encourages official discrimination and a harsh and unforgiving meritocracy.” ~~ Martin Moore (Book: Democracy Hacked)
“Once the state’s primary relationship with its citizens is through its digital platform, then its executive powers will be immeasurably enhanced, and those of the citizens – particularly in regards of their autonomy and agency – diminished.” ~~ Martin Moore (Book: Democracy Hacked)
“The state and private companies are in the partnership to track citizens constantly and gather as much data as they can on them – data they can then use for commercial and political purposes.” ~~ Martin Moore (Book: Democracy Hacked)
“Immigrants and other non-citizens are liable to suffer most in the datafied state, lacking any data history, any earned reputation or any social credit. They will be unpersons. Yet even those who do have richer digital identities will be subject to official discrimination.” ~~ Martin Moore (Book: Democracy Hacked)
“Most citizens ignore politics most of the time. when they do pay attention, at elections, they tend to base their vote not on an informed retrospective analysis of the performance of the party in power, but on a combination of what is happening at the time of election (however, irrelevant it is), past loyalties and social identity.” ~~ Martin Moore (Book: Democracy Hacked)
“We should stop treating software engineers like priesthood. Just because someone can write an algorithm does not mean they get how politics works.” ~~ Martin Moore (Book: Democracy Hacked)
“There’s no technologically pre-determined platform future for democratic societies, no matter what the sages of the Silicon Valley says. Neither it is inevitable that smart technology and personal data will enhance state power.” ~~ Martin Moore (Book: Democracy Hacked)
Hope you enjoyed reading this collection of quotes.
