...It had underestimated countries' proclivity to compete for power. It had neglected the voice of grassroots citizens."

"In the twenty-first century, the decisive rift is becoming that between humans and machines. To what extent should our lives be subject to powerful digital systems - and on what conditions?"

"Rather than artificial intelligence, AI is actually a form of authoritarian intelligence, centralizing data and transforming it into power."

...those imposed by the platforms. Consequently, the fate of our democracies is being played out increasingly in a sort of digital Somalia, a bankrupt state the size of the planet, at the mercy of the overlords of online warfare and their militias."

"When political competition took place in the real world, in public squares and on traditional media, each country's customs and regulations could determine its limits, but now that it has moved online, public debate has become a free-for-all where everything is permitted and the only rules are...

Are you sure about that? Witkoff sounds more likely than Bannon.

"Of course, if Hegseth took the warrior ethos to the extreme that bushido requires, he would have committed seppuku over signalgate but that has yet to occur."