Navigating Covid-19 in a Digital Republic (with President of Estonia Kersti Kaljulaid)

04/20/20 • 38 min

In Estonia, the only public service not available online is marriage. Dubbed the “digital republic”, Estonia has the most advanced e-government in the world and nurtures a vibrant start-up community. Kersti Kaljulaid, President of Estonia, joins Azeem Azhar to explore how legal and technological innovations have helped to build e-Estonia, and how this digital republic is navigating the Covid-19 pandemic.

They explore:

How Covid-19 could accelerate technology development and implementation.
How Estonia has achieved astonishing transparency and privacy in digital government.
How Estonia combats constant cyber threats.

Further reading:

“Estonia, the Digital Republic” (New Yorker, 2017)
“Why Estonia Was Poised to Handle How a Pandemic Would Change Everything” (New Yorker, 2020)
“Can AI Be a Fair Judge in Court? Estonia Thinks So” (Wired, 2019)
The Official Website for E-Estonia

@KerstiKaljulaid
@azeem
@exponentialview

Exponential View newsletter

They explore:

How Covid-19 could accelerate technology development and implementation.
How Estonia has achieved astonishing transparency and privacy in digital government.
How Estonia combats constant cyber threats.

Further reading:

“Estonia, the Digital Republic” (New Yorker, 2017)
“Why Estonia Was Poised to Handle How a Pandemic Would Change Everything” (New Yorker, 2020)
“Can AI Be a Fair Judge in Court? Estonia Thinks So” (Wired, 2019)
The Official Website for E-Estonia

@KerstiKaljulaid
@azeem
@exponentialview

Exponential View newsletter

Previous Episode

The Drive to Decarbonize

Clean energy is now cheaper than coal, and its uptake is accelerating. But can we get to zero emissions in time? Investor and technologist Ramez Naam joins Azeem Azhar to discuss how technological innovation and economies of scale are accelerating us towards a zero-carbon future, as well as the major challenges that remain.

They also cover:

The virtuous cycle that drove the falling price of clean energy.
How the Covid-19 pandemic could be an opportunity for massive government investment in clean energy infrastructure.
Three strategies to overcome the renewable energy storage problem.
Why industrial production of steel, concrete, and plastics remains the biggest challenge.

Further reading:

“The Third Phase of Clean Energy Will Be the Most Disruptive Yet” (Rameez Naam, 2019)
“Solar Power Is Sustainable for the Economy, Too” (Wired, 2020)
“How Germany helped make renewable energy cheap for the rest of the world” (Vox, 2020)
“How industry can move toward a low-carbon future” (McKinsey, 2018)

@ramez
@azeem
@exponentialview

Exponential View newsletter

Next Episode

The New Science of Aging

We have long assumed aging is inevitable, but is it? Professor David Sinclair, founder of the Sinclair Lab at Harvard’s Medical School and author of the bestselling “Lifespan: Why We Age — and Why We Don’t Have To,” joins Azeem Azhar to discuss emerging research that promises to radically slow down aging.

Their conversation covers:

What the Information Theory of Aging is and how it shifts the paradigm on biomarkers of aging.
Why periodically stressing your body can promote health and longevity.
Which supplements might arrest the three biochemical pathways implicated in aging.

Further reading: