This week, I talked with the great
about “free speech in the age of social media.” Elle is a writer, essayist, and general polymath who writes the excellent newsletter The Elysian. I would highly recommend following her work and Substack.We talked about a wide range of topics, including:
What is misinformation?
Is the misinformation problem worse today than in the past?
Why is censorship bad? And why is free speech good?
In what ways is misinformation symptomatic of deeper problems like polarisation and institutional distrust?
Should we treat online spaces like public parks?
How can we design social media platforms so that they encourage prosocial behaviour? (Elle had some very interesting ideas here).
In what ways is the enforcement of “epistemic norms” (e.g., against lying) different to the enforcement of other norms (e.g., against littering)?
Do we really want social media platforms to be free of conflict? Should all platforms be comfortable?
I got a lot from the conversation and hope people enjoy it.
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