Microsoft Research Lead Glen Weyl on Designing Technology for a Pluralistic World & Fortifying Democratic Co-Creation
Amid a year punctured by record-breaking global elections, political economist and social technologist Glen Weyl and I sat down to reflect on pluralism and the possibilities that emerge when technology, democracy, and human cooperation intersect.
Political economist and social technologist E. Glen Weyl is the Founder and Research Lead of Microsoft Research Special Projects’ Plural Technology Collaboratory, where he focuses on using ideas from political economy to develop social technology – algorithmic designs for social institutions. He is also the Founder of RadicalxChange Foundation, and Founder and Chair of the Plurality Institute.
Glen earned his PhD from Princeton, spent three years at the Harvard Society of Fellows, served as an assistant professor at the University of Chicago, and taught at Yale. In 2018, he co-authored “Radical Markets: Uprooting Capitalism and Democracy for a Just Society” with Eric Posner, introducing an innovative voting mechanism known as quadratic voting. WIRED profiled him as one of 25 leaders shaping the next 25 years of technology and Bloomberg Businessweek as one of the 50 most influential people of 2018.
His latest venture, the ambitious open-source book: “Plurality: The Future of Collaborative Technology and Democracy,” is a collective manifesto for how technology might actually serve democracy rather than undermine it. Leading the project alongside Glen is Taiwan’s First Digital Minister Audrey Tang, together with members of the global Plurality community from all walks of life.
To spread awareness of Plurality, Glen and Audrey have been traveling the world this year, meeting with visionaries and community members inspired by this movement. During Glen's visit to Taiwan this summer, amid a year punctured by record-breaking global elections, we sat down to reflect on the possibilities that emerge when technology, democracy, and human cooperation intersect.
Our conversation begins with Glen's third visit to Taiwan and his experience at the Plurality Summit in Taipei. There, leaders like Audrey Tang and Vitalik Buterin gathered to explore the future of collaborative technology – a discussion that naturally flows into Taiwan's unique role as a meeting place for global democratic innovation and how different communities are embracing these ideas.
From there, we dive into the philosophical underpinnings of pluralistic thinking, drawing inspiration from John Dewey's vision of democracy and moving beyond simple binaries toward a more nuanced understanding of human agency. We also explore how plurality intersects with modern scientific thinking, and Glen’s theory of leadership – one that emphasizes holding contradictions within oneself as a way to build bridges between different worlds.
In the latter half, our discussion takes a more personal turn as Glen reflects on his relationship with Audrey Tang, whom he describes as a guru-like figure whose presence transforms those around her. We discuss the new documentary about Audrey’s impact, the future of the Plurality movement, and Glen’s excitement for expanding these ideas and connecting with people in more regions. Throughout our conversation, embodying the Vulcan philosophy of infinite diversity in infinite combinations, we weave connections between language, understanding, and reconciliation – all elements that shape our collective future.
Original Portrait by Kay Lam.
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