Even during the short time that democracy has existed in practice, it has faced existential threats. The advent of the Digital Era ushers in a new generation of threats that could force a slide towards a digital dystopia if nothing is done. At the same time, there are innovative ways to unleash the beneficent potential of digital technologies to stem this slide and turn things around. Recent encouraging examples will be examined.
Opening keynote speech: ‘Reinventing Democracy in the Digital Era’
Born in Thessaloniki, Greece, in 1945, George Metakides received his Ph.D. in Mathematical Logic from Cornell University in 1971. He pursued an academic career at MIT, Cornell and Rochester University until 1978, when he returned to Greece, after being elected to the Chair of Logic at the University of Patras. Since 1984 he has held senior positions with responsibility for research and development policy, funding and international co-operation in European institutions. He established and headed the department for Basic Research and International Scientific Relations in Information Technologies at the European Commission from 1988 to 1993. He was the Director of the ESPRIT (European Strategic Program for Information Technologies), from 1993 until its completion in 1998, followed by the Information Society Technologies (IST) Program (1998-2002). He has contributed to the establishment of international institutions (including the launch of the World Wide Web consortium in 1993) and is a corresponding member of several National Academies. He is currently Visiting Professor of the University of Southampton, President of the Digital Enlightenment Forum, President of the Scientific Board of the Computer Technology Institute, and advisor to several international organizations. He is involved in the promotion of co-operation in Web Science and its applications in the European Union and other regions and enthusiastically active in the Digital Enlightenment Movement.