Limited Tools for Improving Individual, Social and Societal Epistemics in the Face of Misinformation
In an era of relentless information overload and pervasive misinformation—fueled by algorithms that prioritize fleeting engagement over meaningful value—we have the opportunity to reshape our digital spaces. By leveraging AI and more intentional design of social media spaces for epistemic improvement, we can empower users to curate, evaluate, and contextualize content more effectively to create a healthier digital world.
Foundational Capabilities (11)
Build on initiatives like Community Notes–a crowdsourced fact-checking system that attaches contextual annotations to tweets–to build robust community-driven evaluation tools for social media platforms. This allows users to create and vote on annotations, while an open source algorithm determines which context notes to attach.
Build centralized platforms to monitor and analyze the information ecosystem, enabling better identification of misinformation trends.
Develop recommender systems that prioritize content we’ll appreciate upon reflection, rather than content that only captures our immediate attention.
Develop tools that empower users to both create personalized information streams and collaboratively curate content.
Users can set up custom feeds—filtered by semantic content, social network data, and engagement signals—to tailor the information they receive.
Develop “systems to increase mutual understanding and trust across divides, creating space for productive conflict, deliberation, or cooperation”
Develop digital tools to shield individuals from online scams and fraudulent schemes, and that detects and filters or flags coordinated misinformation campaigns.
Create market-based mechanisms that incentivize accurate fact-checking and hold sources accountable.
Develop systems that provide context to content, helping users understand the broader background and counteract misinformation without censorship.