The day after the recent US elections, where the world’s richest man spent over $200 million on a single US Senate race in Texas to no avail, it is worth reflecting on how technology interacts with corporate or state corruption.
What role does technology play in either enhancing or fighting against corruption? The OECD has argued that technology such as ML can offer important tools in the fight against corruption. On the other hand, there are many examples of technology as an enabler of state corruption, most recently, North Korean hackers (allegedly) perpetrated a $6 billion theft from Binance, which would amount to almost 20% of North Korea’s nominal GDP.
The Basel Institute has a very informative primer on the many ways cryptocurrencies can enable political corruption. More broadly, Transparency International has warned about AI‘s potential implications for corruption since at least 2022.
Corruption has existed for millennia, so it is obviously not simply a 21st-century phenomenon; nevertheless, one can still ask:
- Do you think the potential for corruption has changed qualitatively over the past few years? Why or why not?
- In either case, which technologies or sources of corruption do you find particularly concerning?
- Although there can be considerable overlap among these actors, are you more worried about the role played by states, organised crime, or more traditional firms?
- What opportunities are there to reduce corruption in society? Can technological and/or insitutional solutions help mitigate at least some of the potential harms that may emerge?