The technological advancements that have enabled us to connect, share and solve global problems on an unprecedented scale are also being misused to convert our attention to profit, leading to addictive digital behaviour, memory and attention issues, loneliness and disconnection. The abstraction and anonymity provided by algorithmically governed digital spaces breed hate, cyberbullying, and constant social comparison.

In a world where information moves at the speed of light with no respect for borders, we must create new expectations and norms to protect informational integrity and democratic values. Algorithmic echo chambers and auto-generated fabricated stories direct the ways we vote, share, discuss and decide. Although we have the technological potential to build utopian direct democracies, predatory business models direct us to be more disconnected and polarized than ever before, with the lines between truth and fabrication becoming increasingly blurred.

With modern technology enabling us to accelerate all social processes, we are also accelerating the pace of all global risks. We must urgently react to threats posed by unregulated artificial intelligence, increased automation and algorithmic bias, human impact on the biosphere, and growing economic inequality. Furthermore, the growing power inequality between people with access to exponential technologies exacerbate risks of weaponization of novel technologies such as artificial intelligence and biotechnology.