How Bridging Algorithms Can Fix Our Broken Social Media

Our digital public square is broken. 

While social media platforms chase profits by stoking rage, our algorithms currently reward division and fury. The result is that authority goes to those who shout the loudest, creating what I call a “shout-ocracy”. 

But what if we could redesign it to reward consensus and merit, much like Wikipedia does? In this post, I explore how we can use something called a "bridging algorithm" to rebuild the humanity of our digital democracy and foster genuinely productive online discussions.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DeMIdIb-SHw

Learn about this topic in my youtube video: The middleware of democracy

The Wikipedia Example: Meritocracy

How do we build a true meritocracy inside social media? My last video showed how Wikipedia is not just radically open; it is radically meritocratic.

Meritocracy is a system where authority is actively earned through constructive contributions, rather than by making the most noise. In a true meritocracy, your influence grows only after you have demonstrated your reliability and value to the community. It is the exact opposite of our current social media landscape, which hands a massive megaphone to whoever can generate the most outrage. By rewarding genuine merit, a platform ensures that those with something valuable to say rise above the fray.

Wikipedia is not swamped by vandals and trolls because of what I call its "middleware" or, if you like, its "merit-ware". To gain authority on Wikipedia, you must slowly earn your stripes. You have to prove you are a reliable contributor before you are given the power to make significant changes.

Of course, building a meritocracy is easier with Wikipedia because it’s simply aiming at factual truth. So it’s sublimely fluent regarding the actual solid facts about someone like Donald Trump. It tells us when and where he was born, and if someone gets some other fact wrong it will be quickly corrected. It does not even try to tell us if he is any good or not. This is great — and was seen as a miracle when Wikipedia first got going. But there’s an even more important question than what is the case in the world. What matters most is how the world ought to be and how we can build it. That is where we want a contest between different views.

What is a Bridging Algorithm?

Once we understand each other, we can decide on some place we can all live with. So what kind of algorithm would help us do that?  

• Traditional algorithms amplify the most extreme voices to drive engagement.

• Bridging algorithms do the exact opposite.

• They amplify the content people find most helpful - for instance one bridging algorithm specifically amplifies contributors who are best thought of by those who disagree with them.

  
  

By finding and promoting the common ground between opposing groups, bridging algorithms help to rebuild the middleware of democracy.

Who Will Build the Middleware of Democracy?

The trouble is that building bridges doesn’t usually increase profits. That is one reason why Twitter founder Jack Dorsey thinks social media is a public good which should be managed for social benefit, not private profit. But that is a long way off.

In the meantime, there is a world of institutions driven by cultural missions rather than profit. Think of galleries, national broadcasters, and universities. They should help build the middleware of democracy by pioneering pro-social, merit-promoting social media.

Even large companies run employee social networks and they have an interest in fostering collective sense making within their walls. They too live or die by building the middleware —the meritware—of good disciplined discussion within their workforce. And by doing that, they'd build a better future for us all.