Building common ground for the common good.

Dear Subscriber First Name,

We dedicate this newsletter to the concept of pluralism — the idea that multiple distinct groups, beliefs, cultures, or values can coexist within a community. At its core, pluralism enshrines diversity of ideas because it enables social and political systems to thrive because they must collaborate to coexist. 

The challenge remains… in our current political state, how do we move from deep political polarization and social media echo chambers that foster tension stemmed from economic inequality? How can we break out of identity politics and refocus on productive, mutually beneficial ideas? It can seem intractable, but we have a suggestion: 

Imagine if we could have more structured conversations where diverse groups, perspectives, and identities can engage with one another in constructive ways. Where we could talk and generously listen to each other, which would enable greater understanding, increase trust, and ultimately work towards solving problems together. This is one step, but wouldn’t it be in the right direction? 

We see a pathway towards using collective dialogue systems to enable such conversations. Technology is not the answer, but it is a tool to help us move forward to build common ground. In this newsletter, we highlight events and efforts focused on creating inclusive spaces for diverse ideas using AI. Also, we also offer an explainer on how CrowdSmart’s collective dialogue system works to foster diversity of thought. 

As always, we are open to questions and ideas on how to advance our mission of community problem solving by leveraging digital technology. Write to us at info@commongoodai.org.

All the best,

Victoria Stanski, Managing Director

With Founders, John Seely Brown, John Clippinger, John Cordier, Tom Kehler, and Kim Polese

Video: AI Action Summit session on Governance

At the AI Action Summit in Paris on 6-11 February 2025, at a session entitled ‘Government 24/7: How AI Might Best Transform Governance’, global leaders, policymakers, and innovators discussed AI’s potential impact on governance and public services. Common Good AI Founder, Tom Kehler, shared his vision with other thought leaders via video, which was featured by the Boston Global Forum. 

Ranked list: Digital Tools to Promote Democracy by People Powered

We are excited that People Powered released their 2025 list of participatory digital tools, which includes CrowdSmart, one of the technologies we use. There is an inspiring array of platforms that foster inclusive collaboration. While major challenges like navigating misinformation and manipulation remain, the more we use, practice, and learn from these tools for democratic purposes, the greater likelihood we can harness it for good. 

Event: Showcase on Tools for Public Discourse

Inspired by this paper ‘AI and the Future of Digital Public Spaces', large language models (LLMs) hold real potential to make online spaces more collaborative and inclusive. Building on this thinking, the Plurality Institute and The Council on Technology and Social Cohesion are co-hosting a showcase about LLMs and Public Discourse, which we are participating in. You can join the livestream launch event on Thursday 27 February at 6:30pm PT/9:30pm ET.

Explainer: How does CrowdSmart seek diverse ideas?

One of the deliberative tools that we use, CrowdSmart, is a collective dialogue system that finds consensus within large groups by utilizing Bayesian learning. It vectorizes user inputs using a process called latent embedding, allowing the machine learning algorithm to find points of alignment. The system scores attributes related to a decision and participants’ reasoning, which then is shared with others in anonymized form. Each individual is asked to rank other participant ideas that align with their views — and to also engage with ideas different from their own. 

Using machine learning, the system identifies key themes and ranks the relevance of different ideas. This collective process leads to a more accurate, data-driven consensus, which can be applied to various decision-making scenarios. This new form of AI is not pre-trained on existing data; rather, it represents the ideas and interactions inputted by the individuals using the tool, and learns adaptively as people continue to interact.

The system’s emphasis on seeking diverse ideas — combined with its resistance to manipulation and the bias in traditional decision-making — enables effective deliberations that help people with different views find common ground, breakthrough solutions, and a path forward, ultimately, it can help foster greater pluralism.