07-14, 16:00–16:50 (US/Eastern), Little Theatre
Large groups of people are using open-source software to clarify their internal signal from noise, and by doing so, are bringing about a revolution in representation the world over. The simple idea of having a direct say over one's own future can feel very remote in today's democracies, but it's become possible in the last decade with technological innovation. Polis (OSS AGPLv3) is one such technology - a deliberation system - that is increasingly used by diverse, participatory pro-democracy movements around the world. Social movements and Indigenous nations have implemented Polis to augment their ability to understand their internal diversity and identify their shared goals en route to more effectively determining their own futures. Governments have implemented Polis to listen to their citizens and help their citizens hear each other, towards strengthening democratic processes and institutions - vTaiwan anyone? This talk will cover the basics of the technology and share stories of its impact.
Elizabeth Barry serves as chief operating officer and head of partnerships at the Computational Democracy Project, the 501(c)3 organization she established with the creators of the Polis technology to steward its open-source code and methods. She works with facilitators, social movements, civil society organizations, journalists, indigenous nations, governments, and peacebuilders to implement "listening at scale" - Polis's tagline since 2014. Her prior work involved listening to 100,000 strangers in New York City and across the United States using a sign that said "Talk To Me." Elizabeth's work is most often characterized as collective intelligence.
