[kictanet] Do social media threaten democracy? - Scandal, outrage and politics

Wed Nov 8 15:10:01 EAT 2017

Good afternoon!
Barrack, I suspect your MPESA is not yet so good as to have some accidental algorithms that push some loose currency $$$$ arbitrarily to you and not to others as the new media is said to do in its business model.
The goodness or otherwise of the new media especially discussed in relation to governance is that it is a new form of (cyber) government that projects itself to be driven by the human people while at the hindsight and in reality, it is driven by business motives. The famed algorithms come here - perhaps may be said to define the governance system, at times reflecting society and other times normalising some ways by promoting them. An area that elected human Governments and citizens will continue to grapple with. 

We have instances of the enterprises calling on to Governments and at times the citizenry - this is taken very positively. However normally when the Governments initiate for policy dialogue, it is viewed as infringing, stifling innovation etc. Thus the onus is on Governments building the enabling environment while clear that its mandate is to its citizens and national interests even to future generations.

While, it is clear that the algorithm is human programmed, thus what is the interest of this "Super Programmer" whom the rest of the world must rely on. 

In light of internet democracy,  with the expansiveness of the internet and relevance to the whole world, this must be the call for greater accountability with more people (nations) sitting on the table determining what this"Super Programmer" does - for the interests of all. Even as this is compounded by the consideration that this is private enterprise in a "free market". At what point do you become public interest?
This scenario is not unique but a global push to business in its value system.

Have a blessed day.
Regards/Wangari ---
Pray God Bless. 2013Wangari circa - "Being of the Light, We are Restored Through Faith in Mind, Body and Spirit; We Manifest The Kingdom of God on Earth".

    On Wednesday, 8 November 2017, 11:11, esther kamande via kictanet <kictanet at lists.kictanet.or.ke> wrote:

 I agree Ali; the election period has raised a lot ofquestions especially of the exercise of freedom of speech (especially on fake news and hate speech) on social media to boost different political agendas. This also brought to light some of the issuesdeeply dividing our society which can be a positive thing should we choose to learn and positively engageon the same as opposed to burying our heads on the sand hoping the issues will disappear.
In an ideal society we would use such platforms only for good but that is not always the case.  I do not blame the social media companies and further do not expect them to provide the solution as they are really not the problem, we are. At some point and for sustainabilitypurposes, we will have to look into filing the policy gaps resulting from newtechnology, as Barrack suggested; for purposes of not only safeguarding them from wouldbe abusers but to secure them as opposed to hoping there will be less users inthe future or people will be less interested/will not believe what is online. At the end of the day, we are what we feed ourselves on whether we believeit or not. 
Kind regards,
Esther Kamande

On Wed, Nov 8, 2017 at 7:33 AM, Barrack Otieno via kictanet <kictanet at lists.kictanet.or.ke> wrote:

To add,

Technology platforms simply exponse gaps in Policy. It is upon the Citizenry through legislative Institutions to decide whether they want to fix the gaps or not. When mpesa (which i am yet to resist ) started there was no legal framework to support it. It was allowed to thrive based on Public Interest.

Regards

On Wed, Nov 8, 2017 at 7:29 AM, Barrack Otieno <otieno.barrack at gmail.com> wrote:

Hi Ali,

Are you suggesting that we blame the printing press for propaganda and mwakenya's? , the answer is no, people are always the problem, technology is just a medium. History is never complete without  tells of people who solved puzzles and cracked codes to secure victory over their competitors. As Frenchman Jean Baptise Alphonse Karr The more things change the more they remain the same (plus ca change, plus c'est la meme chose :-))

On Wed, Nov 8, 2017 at 4:01 AM, Ali Hussein via kictanet <kictanet at lists.kictanet.or.ke > wrote:

Listers
An interesting article from the economist. 
Facebook, Google and Twitter were supposed to save politics as good information drove out prejudice and falsehood. Something has gone very wrong
Read on:-
https://www.economist.com/news /leaders/21730871-facebook-goo gle-and-twitter-were-supposed- save-politics-good-information -drove-out
What are your thoughts from a local perspective? 
After one of the most highly contentious electioneering periods in Kenya’s history some hard questions need to be asked. 

1. Is Ezekiel Mutua after all a visionary in his assertions about Social Media? 2. Have we allowed ourselves to be further divided by these platforms instead of using them to bring us closer together?3, Have we allowed politicians and other influencers to literally take our freedoms to do what’s right?4, Shouldn’t the whole world - State and Non-State Players - have taken Internet Governance (especially the Third Party Liability conversation) more seriously?5. Is it too late to redeem ourselves?
These and more are important issues to ponder.
Regards 
Ali HusseinPrincipalHussein & Associates+254 0713 601113 
Twitter: @AliHKassimSkype: abu-jomoLinkedIn: http://ke.linkedin.c om/in/alihkassim
"We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, therefore, is not an act but a habit."  ~ Aristotle

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