A digital commonwealth—a network designed and governed to serve Americans
In our increasingly complex world, curation functions are central to most apps, shaping what we trust and helping us navigate online and offline life. While most technology companies replace humans ever more with algorithms, the American Forum builds its recommendations on the human relationships, endorsements, and judgments central to all real communities.
Digital networks have gained enormous power over our lives, and their curation algorithms are inherently values-laden. The American Forum will be governed with transparency for the good of Americans, in direct contrast with existing digital platforms that are optimized for addiction and governed by opaque and dictatorial rules.
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Digital platforms are, by nature, governing authorities: they rule what we can do, what we can say, and how we can organize. The American Forum brings the American political tradition—such as common law and precedent—atop the network.
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Existing platforms are often purposeless, optimized for engagement and addiction. The commonwealth, on the other hand, is designed to orient its members around their good and that of their community.
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Only a community organized around a common definition and pursuit of the good can build trust. As such, the commonwealth is designed to help members create trust across the network—which in turn requires the American Forum to exercise its governing authority judiciously.
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Algorithms increasingly mediate what we see and who we interact with. As other platforms blackbox and obfuscate their paradigms, The American Forum will increasingly pursue open protocols and standards that will be useful in other settings.
Our mission is to build a trusted platform that serves our users and enables them to navigate our world confidently. We have various public launches in 2022 and would love for you to join us.
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