Techno-Authoritarians believe that technology—artificial intelligence, big data, algorithmic decision-making—can solve governance problems better than democratic deliberation. Human judgment is biased, emotional, and short-sighted; machines can optimize for collective welfare without the distortions of politics. The future belongs to those who harness this capability.
This strain sees China's approach as pioneering: social credit systems that incentivize good behavior, surveillance networks that reduce crime, algorithmic resource allocation that improves efficiency. What looks dystopian to Western liberals looks rational and effective to Techno-Authoritarians—a society actually optimizing for outcomes rather than deferring to individual whims.
The intellectual roots include technocracy movements of the early 20th century, cybernetic theories of governance, and contemporary enthusiasm for AI and big data. The core insight is that governance is an optimization problem: given defined objectives (prosperity, stability, health), algorithms can find better solutions than human deliberation.
Privacy is reconceptualized in this view: not a right to hide but an obstacle to optimization. With full information, systems can provide better services, prevent crime, and allocate resources efficiently. Transparency is demanded of citizens (for their own good) while system architects maintain necessary operational discretion.
At roughly 1% of the population, Techno-Authoritarians are rare but influential in certain tech and policy circles. They're found among some Silicon Valley figures, effective altruists focused on AI governance, admirers of Chinese tech policy, and academics studying digital authoritarianism. Most people find the vision disturbing; proponents see it as facing reality about where technology is headed.