Unlearning Regulation
Should we rethink how governments regulate innovation, or does deregulation risk chaos and exploitation? Can communities and decentralized networks create better forms of self-regulation, or do we still need centralized oversight?
This debate explores the necessity of unlearning traditional regulatory models to make way for new approaches that reflect rapidly evolving technologies, shifting power structures, and alternative ways of governance.
From AI ethics to financial systems, from platform governance to environmental policies, we question whether regulation should always mean control—or if it can be reimagined as something more dynamic, participatory, and adaptive.
Originally recorded November 8th, 2025
Speakers Featured
Audrey Tang
Audrey Tang, a TIME100 “Most Influential People in AI” honoree (2023), is Taiwan’s Cyber Ambassador and served as Taiwan's 1st digital minister and the world’s 1st nonbinary cabinet minister (2016-2024). Tang played a crucial role in shaping g0v (gov-zero), one of the most prominent civic tech movements worldwide. In 2014, she helped broadcast the demands of Sunflower Movement activists, and worked to resolve conflicts during a three-week occupation of Taiwan’s Legislature. Tang became a reverse mentor to the minister for digital participation, before holding the role in 2016.
Tang helped develop participatory democracy platforms such as vTaiwan and Join, bringing civic innovation into the public sector through initiatives like the Presidential Hackathon and Ideathon. Other accomplishments for Tang include shaping Taiwan’s internationally acclaimed COVID-19 response, as well as safeguarding the country’s 2024 presidential and legislative elections from cyber interference.
Francesca Bria
Francesca Bria is a leading innovation economist working at the intersection of technology, geopolitics, and society. She is Honorary Professor at the Institute for Innovation and Public Purpose (IIPP) at University College London, and a Senior Fellow at Stiftung Mercator in Berlin, where she leads the EuroStack Initiative on Europe’s digital sovereignty.
Francesca serves as an advisor to the European Commission and is Chair of the New European Bauhaus Facility, launched by Commission President Ursula von der Leyen to accelerate the EU Green Deal by bridging science, technology, architecture, the arts, and ecology. She is a member of the Spanish International Council on Artificial Intelligence, established by Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez, and serves on the Committee of External Scientific Review of the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA).
Julie Brill
Julie Brill is a globally recognized authority in the fields of technology, regulation, and governance, with more than three decades of leadership shaping how businesses and governments navigate complex digital and AI challenges.
Her career spans senior executive roles in multinational corporations, top government regulatory agencies, and leading global law firms. Julie has been consistently recognized as one of the foremost voices in privacy, data protection, cybersecurity, AI governance, antitrust, and consumer protection. As Corporate Vice President and Chief Privacy Officer at Microsoft, Julie directed the company’s global privacy, safety, and regulatory affairs strategy during a period of unprecedented technological and regulatory change. She led worldwide adoption of the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), championed responsible and efficient approaches to AI, and advanced global governance and policy frameworks.