Don't remember if it was "Age of Spiritual Machines" or "Singularity is Near", but Kurzweil spoke of a future with an actual literal democracy - forums where everyone who wants can discuss the laws (as in formal Congressional discussions), systems where every citizen can vote on the laws (as in Congressional yes/no votes).
One point was that representative democracy was designed when it could take weeks for information about an issue to get back to the represented area, and so someone was needed to speak for the folks back home. This is no longer the case.
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Don't remember if it was "Age of Spiritual Machines" or "Singularity is Near", but Kurzweil spoke of a future with an actual literal democracy - forums where everyone who wants can discuss the laws (as in formal Congressional discussions), systems where every citizen can vote on the laws (as in Congressional yes/no votes).
One point was that representative democracy was designed when it could take weeks for information about an issue to get back to the represented area, and so someone was needed to speak for the folks back home. This is no longer the case.