Ideas brewed and solutions were realized at the Edge Esmeralda 2025 gathering in Healdsburg, California. Audrey Tang—Taiwan’s former Digital Minister and globally respected thought leader—intrigued the audience with a keynote that challenged the way the world thinks about governance, technology, and collaboration.
The event, held May 24 through June 1, brought together over a thousand innovators from the business of tech, science, policy, and culture. It was there where they imagined better ways to navigate the way we get along and exist together.
Edge Esmeralda isn’t your cliched conference. It’s a month-long experimental village designed to bring out your imagination and productivity. Attendees live together, work on bold ideas, and explore four key themes:
reinventing reality
decentralized technologies
longevity and wellness
designing environments of the future.
Governance at Esmeralda reflects its spirit of experimentation—by embracing plurality.
When thinking politically, plurality usually refers to a voting system where the candidate with the most votes wins, even if they don’t have a majority. It’s used in many countries, including the United States, the UK, and Canada.
For example, if Alice gets 40% of votes, Bob gets 35%, and Carol gets 25%, Alice wins—even though 60% voted against her.
Audrey Tang takes the concept of plurality far beyond ballot counts. For Audrey, plurality is about creating systems where not just one but multiple truths, cultures, and perspectives can coexist.
According to Audrey: “It’s not about finding the one voice that represents everyone, but rather about creating spaces where many voices can be heard and synthesized into collective intelligence.”
This deeper take on plurality aligns with Audrey’s career-spanning advocacy for deliberative democracy and multi-stakeholder participation. It’s a vision where decision-making is less about winners and losers, and more about thoughtful dialogue and collaborative problem-solving.
Audrey also connected this idea to the future of work and AI. As businesses increasingly rely on AI to drive efficiency and productivity, Audrey argued that the real opportunity lies elsewhere: in using AI to amplify collaboration and build bridges between diverse perspectives. AI does not have to necessarily be a sometimes-bad thing.
“AI can be more than just a tool for faster decision-making,” Audrey said. “It can help us develop collective intelligence that makes our organizations—and societies—more humane and resilient.”
Her keynote challenged the audience to think of AI not as a replacement for human judgment, but as a partner in creating inclusive, empathetic, and forward-thinking systems. In a world shaped by rapid technological change, plurality is not just a principle—it’s a survival skill.
