A new paper published by Public Agenda quotes both of EnCiv’s founders, Will Ferguson and Adolf Gundersen, on the importance of non-profit alternatives to commercial social media. Public Agenda is a nonpartisan research and public engagement organization. The paper was released today with the title “Toward a More Democracy Friendly Internet: AI on Social Media is Part of the Problem. Can it Be Part of the Solution?”
According to the press release announcing the article, “The internet could—and should—be a way to strengthen democracy rather than compromise it.”
The article outlines four approaches or “pathways” to building a more democracy-friendly internet:
- Ethical design
- Regulation and incentives
- Consumer education
- Research and innovation
Ferguson and Gundersen’s comments can be found on pages 12 and 13 of the document, which is free to download here.
