Centripetal
01 / Mission

Social media and electoral mechanics are causing America to spin apart. We are a fledgling technology org with aims to counteract these effects by surfacing the beliefs of all citizens as common knowledge.

The drivers of social media polarization range from astroturfing to echo chambers, and they all depend on the obfuscation of what other citizens believe. Our first project will rapidly collect national opinions on popular posts, providing reality checks on the social mirages implied by comments.

"A popular Government, without popular information, or the means of acquiring it, is but a Prologue to a Farce or a Tragedy, or perhaps both." James Madison, 1822

Electoral mechanics drive polarization differently; closed primaries privilege candidates liked by some yet despised by many. Here, too, we believe surfacing voters' beliefs into common knowledge is the way through it. Our long-term objective is to shift the game theory of primaries such that the most generally popular, less polarizing, candidates will win.

02 / Work
001

Baseline

Collecting national opinions on popular posts — revealing the distance between what comments imply and what citizens actually believe.

In progress
002

Primary Reform

Shift the game theory of primaries so that generally popular, less polarizing candidates can win. Research first; tools to follow.

On the horizon
— Get in touch
Say hello at [email protected]. We'd especially like to hear from researchers, engineers, and organizers who think about these problems already.