// The problem with online discourse
The designs and algorithms shaping online discourse on digital platforms lead to numerous problems.
It’s not only what’s being amplified; it’s what’s being silenced. “These digital spaces relegate the quieter, mitigating voices to the margins,” Roy said.
// The decline in trust in institutions
Pew Research, which has tracked American views of government since the 1950s, found that public trust in national institutions reached a record low in 2023. Many factors have contributed to this decline, including inequality, polarization, and a loss of faith in political processes.
Roy sees a link between the concerning state of online discourse and the decline in trust in institutions. “With the majority of digital platforms dominated by the most extreme, vocal minority, everyday people feel like their voices can’t reach the institutions that serve them,” he said.
“When their concerns and needs vanish in the noise, trust in those institutions deteriorates and undermines the legitimacy of decisions made, exacerbating societal divides and further alienating those who feel underheard.”
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“Hearing the humanity of others is essential for democracy to function.”
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// New approaches, new tools
The Center for Constructive Communication designs tools, methods, and systems to connect rather than divide society. The CCC runs courses, advances research, and engages students in small-group dialogues across MIT’s campus. The Center is experimenting with integrating Project Liberty’s DSNP into Odessa, a prototype of a new social network app.
Cortico, a nonprofit social technology company, is closely affiliated with the CCC and its mission is to bring underheard voices to the center of a healthier public dialogue. Co-founded by Roy in 2016, Cortico combines proven practices of human dialogue and listening with AI analytics to scale meaningful, inclusive dialogues.
Cortico’s conversation platform empowers individuals and communities to facilitate, analyze, and share small group conversations and create more diverse and representative community listening, leading to greater trust and transparency.
In contrast to the loudest or most polarizing voices dominating, Cortico uses AI to identify key themes and insights, while amplifying traditionally unheard voices. It’s technology includes three elements:
- Capturing experiences through community listening.
- Conducting qualitative analysis and sense-making.
- Generating actionable insights that build trust through transparency.
// Powerful results
Cortico has partnered with over 160 community organizations, civic leaders, policymakers, researchers, and organizations. It’s also worked with municipalities across the country to help manage their community engagement processes and build trust and buy-in at the local level.
// Rooted in timeless principles
For the techno-optimist, it’s tempting to believe that every problem can be solved by technology. Tweak the algorithm. Train the LLM on different data sets. Build a better tech alternative. But it’s a mistake to believe technology is a panacea.
The principles at the heart of the CCC and Cortico are not built on the latest advancements in artificial intelligence. Instead, they’re rooted in timeless wisdom drawn from thousands of years of human connection, trusted dialogue, deep listening, and community organizing.
// An audacious vision
The north star of the CCC and Cortico is for inclusive, constructive conversations not to be the exception in online spaces, but to become the new norm.
On one hand, it is a simple mission: enable healthier online conversations in the digital age to become accessible for everyone.
On the other hand, it’s a radical one: create a renaissance in constructive dialogue that slowly gains momentum to the point where it restores the trust we’ve lost in institutions.
For Roy, that mission is personal. There is no work more important than strengthening one of the most fundamental elements of the human species: the ability to connect with each other.
“Hearing the humanity of others is essential for democracy to function,” he said.
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