I would focus on the differences between Chinese and European mindset as far as approaching trust in technology and in human rights. The view that China is a collective society versus the more individualistic society forms a misunderstanding between both regions. In general, Chinese culture indeed attaches more importance to the collective/community, which can affect individual human rights; while Europe has the exact opposite challenge. My premise is that China and Europe are as collective and individualistic as each other, but that the difference lies in how trust is perceived within both societies. I call this my “inverted network-system trust” model. The trust in relationship/networks and trust in the system/governance has opposite mindsets as far as stability and progress of individuals are concerned. Trust and distrust is therefore often opposite within individual networks and government systems. As such, technology deployed by governments and companies can be seen as trustworthy or not improving human rights, depending how we view the world of trust. My suggestion for improving the conversation on human rights between China and Europe is to change the communication model by stating this mindset difference, and open the dialogue by assuming more possibilities than one truth until it is validated within both mindsets. We have therefore to nurture a qubit mindset and stop thinking binary (good versus bad, right versus wrong, trust versus distrust) but learn to understand how other cultures think first. Both Europe and China. What we need is more nuances between Chinese and European mindsets and a new evolutionary road-map to help us make up our minds on how to trust each other beyond the preconceived biases. Technology can help, but changing the mindset is more urgent.
*About the author: Visiting lecturer at London Business School, partner of nexxworks, a scientific and technological innovation consulting company, scientific and Technological Entrepreneur and writer.