Deploying highly scalable technology that connects rather than divides Americans
For years, digital technologies and algorithms have enraged and divided humans at a massive scale. In America, the consequences of toxic online interactions can be measured in the erosion of relationships, fracturing of communities, and dangerous ruptures opening up at the national level.
It doesn’t have to be this way. We now have the insights, tools, and scaling mechanisms needed to beat divisive technologies and algorithms at their own game. With rapid investment and innovative prototyping, we can turn the tide quickly and decisively.
ALGO Solutions is Civic Health Project’s technology incubator to advance the most promising, scalable ideas to connect rather than further divide Americans when we engage online.
Spotlight Solution: Social Media Detoxifier
Boosting human online interactions with generative AI insights to model prosocial, bridging norms across massive online audiences
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Social Media Detoxifier, the flagship project in our new ALGO Solutions technology incubator, demonstrates how human intervention on social media platforms, when boosted and accelerated by large language model (LLM) capabilities, can reduce the toxicity of social media threads viewed by millions of Americans. Requiring no buy-in from social media platforms, nor even behavioral change from toxic online commenters, this platform can potentially detoxify millions of social media conversation threads with timely, prosocial interventions on posts with the greatest potential for civic harm.
Civic Health Project has also incubated, provided catalytic funding, and / or provided in-kind resources to these scalable tech projects, initiatives, and forums:
CHP Role(s): In-house project
This project, incubated and launched by Civic Health Project and foundational to the Prosocial Ranking Challenge and Social Media Detoxifier projects, is testing four prominent content classifiers to ascertain which of these approaches best captures language both implicated in provoking, and instrumental in reducing, civic harm (defined as dehumanization and partisan violence).
CHP Role(s): In-kind staffing, fundraising
Civic Health Project has contributed substantial staff resources and fundraising support to adapt the commercial Chord platform for use in structured, scalable civic dialogue and deliberation programs. The Chord platform is currently rolling out as the online platform supporting the state-level New Hampshire Together and national Meeting of America programs. Chord has announced its intent to open up their platform for free use by other nonprofits seeking to scale constructive dialogue and deliberation online.
CHP Role(s): In-kind staffing, advising
The UC Berkeley Human-Compatible AI (CHAI) Lab launched this tournament-style study, informed in part by our team’s work on CaTCCH, to invite submissions of algorithms that address the civic harms of polarization, low well being, and low news knowledge. Collectively described as “bridging based algorithms,” these submissions will be tested and compared, and outcomes promoted to social media platform makers, regulators, and policymakers.
CHP Role(s): In-kind staffing, funding, fundraising
Civic Health Project raised funds and provided substantial in-kind staffing to launch Kazm as the preferred platform for the America Talks national conversation events in 2021 and 2022. The Kazm platform was subsequently adopted by several national bridging organizations, including Living Room Conversations, the National Institute for Civil Discourse, and Unify America to help scale their online conversation and deliberation programs. The Kazm source code was recently acquired by a program team at the Harvard Berkman Klein Center for Internet and Society; this team intends to open-source and enhance the Kazm code for free public use as a dialogue and deliberation platform.
CHP Role(s):In-kind staffing, funding, fundraising
Civic Health Project partnered with AllSides, Living Room Conversations, and Close Up Foundation to launch the Mismatch platform and program for Grade 6-12 online classroom exchanges. Mismatch matches classrooms with different demographic profiles to befriend and learn about each other, while discussing topics of shared interest. Mismatch initially rolled out in 2019, was disrupted temporarily by the COVID pandemic, and is now launching again under the auspices of AllSides.
CHP Role(s): Membership, sponsorship
The Council on Tech and Social Cohesion is catalyzing the field of technology for social cohesion, in which tech for social cohesion products, programs, and policies are desirable, affordable, and actionable. The Council brings together technologists, civic organizations, peacebuilders, academics, policy influencers, and investors. Civic Health Project sponsored and spoke at the Council’s inaugural convening, and is a standing member of the Council.