Talk is Cheap. Where’s the Beef?

Writers under the World Economic Forum banner have been peppering Medium (and assume elsewhere) with handwringing pronouncements about the zeitgeist and future risks. But generally these are half-baked assessments lacking serious, albeit well-intentioned, prescriptions and absent any concrete action.

For example, “We need…a positive…comprehensive narrative about how we can shape the fourth industrial revolution. Human rights should be the foundation.” Duh! Problem with this is that human rights, as stated in founding of the UN, has yet to be implemented for most of humanity. The situation is not new, so clothing it as a technological concern circumvents the real problem.

Stating that, “Power is shifting from state actors to non-state [private] actors ,” is inaccurate hyperbole. Nothing has change in this respect over the last couple of centuries. Ultimately, sovereign states have the power if they want to act jointly, which apparently they do not.

Since the states do not want to act jointly to advance human rights you correctly say, “[role] human rights should play…heavily depends on…expanding reach, updating meaning, enlarging scope and leveraging technology.” To wit, you make two important related comments without any follow through: “We need more communication and interaction between these groups [i.e., activists and scientists]” and “[The]asymmetries of information will determine asymmetries of power.”

Let us be clear: you are now messaging everyone on the planet who has access to the Internet. This reflects a communication revolution. Why is it then that the World Economic Forum is not aggressively and tangibly acting to ameliorate these asymmetries, instead of merely parroting the obvious?

Doc Huston