deb on ai

via deb roy rt [https://twitter.com/aspenideas/status/1679979586711584768?s=20]:

We caught up with

@dkroy about building healthier digital forums, how humans and machines might work best together, and why A.I. is a critical tool for civic engagement. [https://www.aspenideas.org/articles/can-we-make-social-media-better] – links to july 2023 article – Can We Make Social Media Better? – Can technology bolster democracy? MIT’s Deb Roy thinks so – via aspen institute – By Maya Kobe-Rundio, Associate Digital Editor, Aspen Ideas

we need to let go of any from of democratic admin.. we need to try curiosity over decision making

notes/quotes from article:

As the Director of the Center for Constructive Communication at MIT, Deb Roy focuses on developing civic communication spaces as alternatives to social media. We caught up with him about building healthier digital forums, *how humans and machines might work best together, and why A.I. is a critical tool for civic engagement. Roy spoke at the 2023 Aspen Ideas Festival.

*tech/ai as nonjudgmental expo labeling

How do you wade through the promise and pitfalls of A.I.?

On one hand, I am excited about how advances in large language modeling, such as those that power ChatGPT, can help our work in *facilitating the kinds of interpersonal communication and trust building so critically needed to combat the dominant and toxic model of today’s social networks. We are actively developing A.I.-powered **search and sensemaking capabilities motivated by our dialogue platform needs at the MIT Center for Constructive Communication. 

*need self-talk as data/detox .. via idiosyncratic jargon et al.. so again.. need 1st/most ai as nonjudgmental expo labeling

**cancerous distractions

On the other hand, we are aware of risks including the *introduction of bias and blind spots. An A.I. model trained on internet data — as all modern language models are — will reflect the biases of the internet. As we integrate A.I.-powered capabilities into our platform, **we are mindful that voices and perspectives that are underheard on the internet will tend to be underrepresented in any A.I. models trained on that data. If that model in turn is used to automatically interpret community voices, this could easily yield ***systematic reinforcement of structural biases and defeat the purpose of our work.

*all the spots to date are bias/blind.. oi.. hari rat park law

**no need for this to be an issue today.. need 1st/most: means to undo our hierarchical listening to self/others/nature ie: tech as it could be

***any form of m\a\p does that

*Our goal is to move swiftly to leverage new technologies while taking the time to understand, evaluate, and avoid the possible downsides. We are developing a technology platform for community dialogue and listening at scale, in an effort to build civic communication spaces as alternatives to social media. **In our approach, dialogue participants consent to being recorded so that their perspectives and experiences can be archived and entered into a human-led sensemaking process to find patterns across large numbers of conversations. These patterns in turn are woven into various civic processes.

*if only that were true.. well.. true toward 8b legit free people..

**makes no diff as long as still in sea world.. just whalespeak on repeat

Your research has shown that social media ecosystems like Twitter have a crumbling social context instead of a cohesive one. What is social context, and why do digital forums weaken it?

Social media platforms are designed to maximize user engagement and profit. This strategy leads to design choices that emphasize virality of content and rewards social media influencers who are able to build large audiences, leading to inaccuracy, inauthenticity, and context collapse. Such design choices *lead to performative spaces that are great for entertainment but harmful for civic functions.

*any form of m\a\p.. cancerous distractions

You direct the MIT Center for Constructive Communication. Tell us about the work you’re doing there — how can technology help facilitate healthier, more productive conversations?

*At the Center, we prioritize the design of methods and systems that connect rather than divide us..t We are a diverse group of technologists, humanists, designers, computational social scientists, and A.I. experts who work together to analyze the characteristics of social media spaces with a focus on features that are relevant to trusted democratic discourse. **We develop tools and methods to help communicate with accuracy and authenticity in current social media environments and create awareness of language and behaviors that are polarizing and divisive. ***We also design new communication spaces that foster authentic, nuanced conversations by building on age-old methods of dialogue and facilitation and by harnessing the power of digital design and A.I. optimized for constructive communication. Our unique collaboration with our deployment partner Cortico, a non-profit social technology organization, allows us to move our work from the lab to ****real life and maximize our impact with communities and organizations across the U.S.

*need to try ai as nonjudgmental expo labeling if want legit (detoxed) voice/data in order to connect us toward legit freedom

ie: imagine if we listened to the itch-in-8b-souls 1st thing everyday & used that data to connect us (tech as it could be.. ai as augmenting interconnectedness as nonjudgmental expo labeling)

**again.. makes no diff as long as still in sea world

***nothing new till we get out of sea world.. all whalespeak.. all same song

****only seen ‘real life’ in sea world

humanity needs a leap.. to get back/to simultaneous spontaneity .. simultaneous fittingness.. everyone in sync.. and out of sea world.. for (blank)’s sake

A common concern around A.I. is how it will affect the future of work and job security. How do you think through the division of labor between humans and machines?

In our work, which centers on the creation of trustworthy civic infrastructure, we believe it is essential for people to always lead in roles such as organizing and facilitating conversations, sensemaking, and translating listening into action. *In our view, the proper role of A.I. is to create tools that empower human-led processes..t Although in other realms purely economic factors may favor replacement of people with A.I., in our work we seek to balance the needs of a strong democracy which demands that people retain agency, exercise creativity, and learn to work out their differences with other people.

*[set apart in article as big idea quote]

need 1st/most: means to undo our hierarchical listening to self/others/nature so we can org around legit needs

imagine if we listened to the itch-in-8b-souls 1st thing everyday & used that data to connect us (tech as it could be.. ai as augmenting interconnectedness as nonjudgmental expo labeling)

birth of a word vs birth of idiosyncratic jargon ness..

language as control/enclosure et al

literacy and numeracy both elements of colonialism/control/enclosure.. we need to calculate differently and stop measuring things

What recommendations do you have for people to build healthier digital habits?

Reflect on how media and social media are shaping your understanding of the world.

Be curious and open to new ways of connecting with people different from yourself.

we need to try legit new ways.. ie: imagine if we just focused on listening to the itch in 8b souls.. first thing.. everyday.. and used that data to connect/coord us.. we might just get to a more antifragile, healthy, thriving world.. the ecosystem we keep longing for

The next time you find yourself in a contentious debate or disagreement, try sharing your personal experience related to the matter at hand and ask your interlocutor to do the same — it is amazing how mutual respect and trust can increase when we shift from competing opinions to the exchange of personal stories.

again.. all whalespeak as long as still in sea world

we need a problem deep enough to resonate w/8bn today.. a mechanism simple enough to be accessible/usable to 8bn today.. and an ecosystem open enough to set/keep 8bn legit free

ie: org around a problem deep enough (aka: org around legit needs) to resonate w/8bn today.. via a mechanism simple enough (aka: tech as it could be) to be accessible/usable to 8bn today.. and an ecosystem open enough (aka: sans any form of m\a\p) to set/keep 8bn legit free

findings:

1\ undisturbed ecosystem (common\ing) can happen

2\ if we create a way to ground the chaos of 8b legit free people

_________

________

________

________

________

________

________

________