How might Open Knowledge help develop a Sustainable Open Society

How might open knowledge help develop a sustainable open society?

@JackTownsend_

Introduction

• The Question I’d like to ask…

– How might open knowledge help develop a sustainable open society?

• “Open society” going to call one with political and economic freedoms

– (Appreciate this is “lumping” political and economic freedom together)

• Whether you think about capitalist economies; whatever you think about democracies

– There are lots of them and they’re spreading

• For such societies to go from exponential growth in resource use to something more sustainable

– Massive changes will be needed

• Can a diverse world change to become environmentally sustainable and maintain it’s openness?

– Not give up on hard won political & economic freedoms

• Sustainability problems are wicked problems

– Can only hope for clumsy solutions

• Negative side effects

• Will be good for some and bad for others

• Not wise to sacrifice too much for such imperfect solutions

• Can open knowledge help with resolving these tensions?

• This is early speculative big picture stuff!! Questions more than answers

Accountability

Institutional

Individual

Accountable institutions and individuals

• (Theoretical bases of)

– Democracy -> citizens

– capitalism _> share-holders, consumers, and governments

• Openness -> accountability by making negative actions

publically visible

– Reducing malpractice, corruption, negligence

• Sustainability

– Institiutional & individual level

• ENERGY EXAMPLES FROM EARLIER

– Public visibility may have opposite effect

• conspicuous consumption

– Privacy…

Well-informed citizens

Inform Develop trust

Well-informed citizens with well-founded trust

• Why

– ….Accountability

• governments and companies driven by public’s priorities

– key to democracy and responsible capitalism

– Will reflect environmental values (or not)

– Citizen Buy-in needed for changes

• Citizens need to trust the science and environmental policies

• Open knowledge could…

– Inform

– Grow trust

• prove trustworthiness of science or policy?

• Open up science and government to public participation?

• Wilfull misuse (Lies, damned lies & statistics)

• False impressions - Lessig

More out for

less in

Rethinking what we want out

Coordination & optimisation

More out for less in

• Major aim of Good governance

• Definition of environmental sustainability?

• Open knowledge could…

– Re-imagine what it is we want out? Vs GDP

• Valuing not just economic but social and environmental progress

• Quantification of everyday life now far beyond financial

• EXAMPLE – YOURTOPIA

• Can it provide real rigour and win trust?

– Coordination & optimisation to deliver efficiency?

• EXAMPLE – BUS MATE

• rebound effect

• Privacy

Freedom through innovation

Develop sustainable tech and strategies

Find new ways to be free

Innovation and Freedom

• Freedom perhaps most challenging area?

– Possible to maintain individual liberty yet deter negative environmental behaviours?

• A major challenge for sustainability

• So what role open knowledge?

– Well, opening up knowledge can accelerate innovation

• INTUITIVELY OBVIOUS

• Perhaps innovation can help?

– Develop new sustainable technologies and strategies

– Find new ways of living freely within environmental constraints

• World is a NON-linear system.

– Not a finite range of human experiences and actions from many of

which we are constrained by sustainability.

• Necessity can perhaps be the mother of invention

– Invention creates whole new possibilities for human experience

» ANALOGY Evolution

– Innovation often degrades the environment

• Cf Industrial revolution

• Constraints such as carbon pricing and environmental regulation are

needed to ensure the innovations that receive most effort are the sustainable

ones

Some challenges…

Can open knowledge help develop a sustainable open society?

Challenges

• Nothing is a panacea!

– “Fairy dust”

• Privacy

– Human

– Environmental Privacy

• Unintended consequences

• Not just releasing the data – it’s what you do with it

– Open knowledge into action

– Stories and images matter more than facts

– Willful misuse/false impressions

– User-focused solutions

• Digital divide

– Who is empowered?

– Western-centric value?

@JackTownsend_

How might open knowledge help develop a sustainable open society?

@JackTownsend_

Web & Sustainability

jack@jacktownsend.net

slideshare.net/JackTownsend