In a fractured world technology must serve the common good

On the sidelines of a global Dicastery-for Communication conference organized for the Jubilee of Communications, world-renowned tech expert Eli Pariser, the founder of New Public network who made known the ‘filter bubble’ concept, speaks to Vatican News about the need to make online spaces that focus on the good, rather than the bad, and in elevating the moral quality of communications.
By Deborah Castellano Lubov
We must improve the moral quality of our communication and work toward social platforms that promote the common good…
In an interview with Vatican Media, tech guru, Eli Pariser, the founder and current co-director of New Public Network, a nonprofit dedicated to building thriving digital public spaces, launched this appeal, as he discussed how to promote and invest in meaningful online communities that contribute to the good.
The comments were made during the Jubilee of the World of Communications on the sidelines of a global conference, organized by the Vatican’s Dicastery for Communication, in partnership with the Dicastery for Evangelization, which is seeking to address some of the most frequent questions that communicators in the Church face today.
Those following the encounter are Presidents of Episcopal Commissions for Communication, Directors of Social Communications Offices, International Coordinators of Religious Congregations.
Eli Pariser, who says on his website he wishes to help technology and media serve democracy, has had numerous business successes, notably, in 2011, anticipated the dangers of a hyper-personalized Internet, and introduced the “filter bubble” to the lexicon, in his New York Times bestselling book of the same name.
Bill Gates, Sir Tim Berners-Lee, and other tech giants and internet luminaries have since expressed concern about Pariser’s ‘filter bubble’ concept, which, Pariser also helped to further bring to light in his TED talk, which was viewed by millions.
The author, activist, and entrepreneur, who focuses on how to make technology and media serve democracy, also helped lead MoveOn.org, co-founded Avaaz.org, which is now the world’s largest citizen’s organization, and co-founded Upworthy.
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Mr Pariser, what has drawn you to this Jubilee of Communications in the Vatican and what message are you sending?
Well, what’s drawn me is we live in a very fractured and dangerous time. Not just in the world, but in the way that we communicate with each other online. Therefore, it seems so important to me that we remember the moral quality of how we’re communicating, and that we also think about how to structure our communications media in a way that supports our ‘angels’ rather than our ‘demons.’ Therefore, that’s the message that I’m here to talk about. I’m here to discuss how we build online spaces that actually pull out the best in us and not the worst.
Social media platforms occupy an incredibly powerful space across the globe. Observing their immense influence, what obligation do they have to the common good?
I think the problem is that the social media platforms that we have right now are not built for the common good. They’re built for advertisers. They’re built in this top-down way where they’re essentially kings [such as] Mark Zuckerberg and Elon Musk. And that’s not very helpful when we’re trying to come together as a community. Given this, I think we need to think beyond the commercial platforms and start thinking about how do we build community in other ways online and in ways that foreground civic virtue rather than just commerce.
You have much expertise and understanding of civic engagement and fostering community. What is needed to build and drive this momentum, so that it can truly be a resource useful and reliable, to its users and followers?
I take great inspiration from the way that we’ve built communities in the offline world, and we’ve invested in parks and libraries and churches and all these places that are about bringing people together in a different way rather than just selling people things. I think we need to make that investment online, which seems hard to imagine now. But it was hard to imagine when people started making parks that you could have public parks for everyone. Therefore, I think we need to have some faith and we need to get building, and there are many people around the world who are already building today.
Could you speak a little bit about the activities of New_Public, and what you are working on now?
New_Public is an R&D lab looking at how we build digital public spaces that really serve the whole person, the soul and the community rather than just the advertisers. We’re working with a bunch of public media organizations from Australia to Europe to Canada, and also starting to build local digital public spaces where people can communicate with other people in their community and get together offline.
As is well known, you brought to light the phenomenon of the ‘filter bubble…’ After your analyses, what has this taught you about the power of communication? According to you, what sort of power does communication possess?
I think Colin McCann said yesterday that the shortest distance between two people is a story, and I think that’s both the shortest distance and it’s also the farthest distance, depending on whether we share the same stories, or whether we can hear each other’s stories. And so, what we need is communications media that help us hear each other’s stories and help us understand where we’re each coming from, that has to be designed in a different way from the communications media that we have now, which really trap us in a very small ‘bubble’ of a story alone.
This global conference on communication, here, has it been enriching for you?
It’s been enriching, and it’s been very inspiring to hear the Pope, and to hear the Holy Father and other people, really speaking to the moral importance of building a communications medium that works for everyone. This isn’t just a matter of technology, it’s a matter of morality and the spirit. That’s been really, really moving to hear.
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