There are a number of ways that the idea of transparency can be applied to the digital world.
Transparency in government. Through the marvelous work of such organisations as the Sunlight Foundation, we are now able to see more and more deeply into the workings of government, to see how decisions are made, and by corralling data, to see how effective those decisions have been. Our representatives become increasingly more accountable for the decisions they make as we are able to see the same factors of influence that influence the decision process as them. Conversely, we are increasingly providing data to governments so information hitherto inaccessible can be taken into account. By seeing the same factors and the same budgets, we can be more understanding of (if not necessarily agreeing with) the decisions that do get made.
There is a whole separate article to be written discussing the notion that data can still be "interpreted" in many different ways, but the one point that should be noted is the idea that in the future, politicians, civil servants and public figures will be held even more accountable by means of solid evidence derived from available information. This must surely make even the dimmest and most self-serving of them pause for thought.
