On January 27, 2023, the Boston Global Forum organized the BGF conference on Global Enlightenment Economy.
MIT Professor Alex Pentland, a Distinguished Contributor of “Remaking the World – Toward an Age of Global Enlightenment”, was a keynote speaker.
In Alex Pentland’s talk, he discussed the importance of a data Commons to achieve the United Nations Centennial Initiative and UN sustainable development goals. The data Commons is a census of the world, not just a single country, that includes information on people, economics, social conditions, inequality, and pollution. Progress on the data Commons has been slow, but there is potential for a trillion dollars in tax avoidance to be addressed by cross-border trade data sharing. Pentland also emphasized the importance of modern data-driven social programs and tax programs to help address tax avoidance, with the software being open source and common. He used the example of Estonia’s blockchain transparency system for VAT, which increased revenue by 15% and citizen satisfaction even more. The data Commons and common protocols for cross-border trade are essential for reducing tax avoidance and improving knowledge of communities.
