Toward a Brave New World

Technology platforms are changing not only daily habits but also the way people think, the editorial argues. It presents this shift as part of the advance of what it calls the “Dark Enlightenment,” a vision in which democracy becomes obsolete and large-company oligarchs dominate political life through devotion to technology.

The editorial points to discussions by writers Carlos Fernández Liria and Eudald Espluga in La Vanguardia’s culture supplement. Their arguments, it says, deserve close attention as technology becomes increasingly embedded in everyday life.

The piece takes a bleak view of current electoral trends. Citizens around the world, it argues, continue to support far-right parties, with little sign that this political movement will soon reverse. It adds that some of these parties’ success has rested on financial assistance and social-media support from major technology groups.

Donald Trump is described as the leading force behind a movement seeking a new international order. In that order, traditional law and institutions such as the United Nations and the International Court of Justice would no longer carry their previous authority. The editorial says Trump’s alliance with technology oligarchs helps spread his ideas through their algorithms.

Artificial intelligence, it concludes, could further speed the transformation. People born in wealthy parts of the world may live in a “happy world,” but under the rule of technology oligarchs, while those born in poorer regions face a very different prospect. The editorial presents reflection and public debate as necessary responses.