Consensus and respect are hard to monetise – but perhaps we can take back the power to redefine our world from the algorithms
Before our eyes, a political and media ecosystem algorithmically programmed to seek out and amplify conflict is gifting the no campaign something it has neither earned nor deserves: false equivalence.
We know how this movie ends. Bellicose outliers and DIY experts are elevated in the name of “balance”, daily points of conflict are orchestrated in the name of “newsworthiness”, all combining to cruel the national consensus required to face up to big systemic challenges.
Last December, I wrote about the opportunity for Australians to tap the post-Albanese calm to listen and reflect on reconciliation, but I underestimated how hard this quiet space would be to occupy in our current environment.
Since then, the Hard Nos have brewed up an ungodly gumbo of fear and loathing: Dutton’s disingenuous demands for detail, alarmist accusations of apartheid, the “look what you are made me do” Stan Grant pile-on, anything to shift focus away from what the upcoming referendum is actually about: recognition and respect….
After the truth-shower 