Political, media, and technological forces have driven us into isolated, like-minded camps hostile toward outside views and ripe for the spread of misinformation, mischaracterization of others, “cancellation,” hateful discourse, and even violence. The loudest, most extreme voices now dominate the public sphere, stifling communication that might bridge ever-widening and increasingly dangerous divides.
The MIT Center for Constructive Communication brings together researchers in AI, computational social science, digital interactive design, and learning technologies with software engineers, journalists, political scientists, designers, and community organizers to explore and address the effects of deepening social fragmentation in the United States.
We are now grappling with some of the most serious threats to democracy since our nation’s founding, with many across the political spectrum agreeing that America’s “experiment in democracy” is in trouble. Can we trace at least some of the threat to the Constitution itself? Are there ways CCC and like-minded organizations might help address this threat? On September 13, we invited CCC advisor Martha Minow, the 300th Anniversary University Professor at Harvard Law School, and Ceasar McDowell, CCC associate director and associate head of MIT’s Department of Urban Studies and Planning, to give their insights Below are excerpts from that discussion.
A revolutionary new piece of civic infrastructure for more inclusive public input.
A new type of social platform for young people that is explicitly designed to promote healthier outcomes.
Probing neural language models of media consumption to predict public opinion
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