Don't Miss the Bus! What Open Data Can Do for a City
Every autumn, Sofia starts choking on the traffic of hundreds of thousands of cars it was never built for, and we all ask whether it really has to be this way. Google Maps helps us plan a route, but it rarely knows when the next bus will actually come, or whether it will be packed to the doors. Open data could help the city breathe again, as the fascinating story of my fellow programmers at Codexio shows.
02Can AI Make Elections Fairer?
The day after tomorrow we will once again head to the ballot box, however old-fashioned that may sound (and essentially be). Yes, we live in strange times, but with all the possibilities technology gives us today, can we really not take measures so that the next elections are fairer, more impartial and free of obvious violations? This is not about politics but about technology. Not propaganda and campaigning, but data science and artificial intelligence, and how they can be of direct use in a matter so important to all of us.
03Strazha: Young People Standing Guard Over Democracy
Strazha.bg is a meaningful venture by young people unburdened by prejudice. In just a year the platform has drawn serious interest and keeps offering more and more possibilities—reminders that politics is not just the people on television, but all of us. Thanks to the project, we can see what the person we ourselves sent (or plan to send) to the National Assembly, Bulgaria's parliament, said and how they voted at any moment. We can check whether they keep their word and deserve our trust. We can search a vast database of payments made by every state institution over the past 16 years. “Democracy is not just a slogan!” reads the motto of this venture. Not only its existence, but also how effectively it works depends on all of us. And now we have a valuable weapon with which anyone can put it into practice. We meet the platform's creator, Blagoslav Mihaylov, to talk about the meaning of democracy and the way young people see it, and to look for what we need to build a meaningful and competent political class.
04“People Don’t Trust Politicians. And Nothing Good Comes of That…”
What place do social networks have in today’s politics? When do they help the process, and when do they turn toxic? Does artificial intelligence help or harm politics? What kind of people should take up this calling? And why… do you need to start renovating your home so you don’t lose all hope in politics? Ivo Bozhkov is the man who brought social networks into Bulgarian politics. Here is what he has to tell us after several years in a field that matters enormously to all our lives.
