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0 pointsjanalsncm1y ago0 comments

Forgive me for my brief quotes, I’m typing what you wrote because I can’t copy and paste. But I promise I read the whole thing even if it seems I am quoting out of context.

> Needs an argument.

Fair enough. The essence of my argument is, filter bubbles are bad for democracy because they people’s understanding of consensus and prevent them from encountering any opinions contrary to their own. A personalized chatbot to the extent that it is an extension of filter bubbles, is bad for the same reason.

> It’d be awesome to have a biased chatbot

For the scenario you outlined, sure. If it’s circumscribed and labeled as such, it would be an interesting exercise at least. For the general case, it’s probably not a product people will want.

> The great classical liberals of yesteryear

The issue I see with this is that by gradually Balkanizing our shared body of understanding, it will prevent the exact type of debate you (and I) think was so great from that time.

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metricsdatanumz1y ago

80%+ live where they grew up. So few moved about as democracy had its best days.

Only 14% have earned more than a bachelors, while polls suggest the public believe it’s closer to 50%.

We’re incredibly naive and ignorant of ourselves, including how to concretely define democracy.

That “type of debate” existed before you and isn’t going anywhere.

The problem is you’re thinking too specifically when reality is a handful of general patterns. Democracy doesn’t hinge on your fears because you’re a specific person not a body of people. Democracy was born in and triumphed over worse. You’re concerned about your specific understanding of how the world works embedded in your memory, deference to which is not the aggregate’s obligation.

Consider how religion has declined despite protests of the prior generation reality would end, yet it hasn’t. Consider Seduction of the Innocent and its authors fears about comic books fracturing society and it didn’t. Consider parental outrage at DND and rock music, which also did not end the world.

Just another generation bleating like a goat atop a car in a flood at the awareness of its own impermanence and importance, that it has less time ahead than behind. Just vanity leading people to believe their childhood memes are essential.

It’s been interesting watching Silent Gen, Boomers, and now GenX post on social media existential dread as each of those groups majority push into 50 years old and beyond.

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