Transparency is becoming an easy go to as a solution to almost any problem of the algorithmic era. Given the phrase “black box society” this is understandable, as so much of our world is opaque or secretive, that there is a natural desire for more access and scrutiny.

Yet in this rush to champion transparency, are we using a broad brush when greater nuance is necessary?

For example, personal privacy is essential, but what about corporate privacy or secrecy? Privacy for the individual and transparency for the corporation seems like a sensible balance. Unfortunately we currently have the opposite.

What about government however? Should we afford our governments and politicians similar nuance?

James G D’Angelo thinks so. He argues that the impact of transparency on politics has been disastrous. That much of the polarization and sensationalism of politics can be traced back to laws that force greater scrutiny of the minutiae of policy development and politicking.

A Metaviews salon from January 2021 on the topic of responsible innovation. What is it, and why should we be encouraging it? Led by Vasiliki Bednar, this salon looks at how the pandemic provides an opportunity for innovation.

Competition law is increasingly in the news as antitrust and regulatory actions come for Big Tech. In this salon from January 2021, we discuss competition law in general, and particularly in Canada. Robin Shaban from Vivic Research led this discussion.

Paris Marx is a writer, researcher, and host of the podcast “Tech Won’t Save Us”. We had him on the show to talk about the political economy of innovative technology policies.