Evan ProdromouMar 4

Can we create and use social networking algorithms on the Fediverse that serve our own personal goals, such as more and deeper personal relationships, career advancement, and more participative citizenship?

#EvanPoll #poll

Yes
39.9%
Yes, but...
31.9%
No, but...
4%
No
24.2%
Poll ended at .
Show threadEvan Prodromou
Hey, everyone. Thanks for replying. I would say yes, but I expect a high level of choice (I choose the goals, not someone else), transparency (I know how it works, at least at a high level), and control (I can turn it on and off, I can configure or modify it). I think these have become pretty common principles for Fediverse software in general, so I think that would be likely outcomes.
Mar 5 at 8:44pmWeb
Show threadEvan ProdromouMar 5
For example, for me, the main reason I use social software is to deepen my friendships and other relationships. So, an algorithm that favours people I know over celebrities and influencers, that concentrates on intimate conversation or important life moments, would be something that would serve my needs.
Show threadEvan ProdromouMar 5
One problem with this is that it's got some assumptions built in. Will that kind of interaction really improve my relationships? Can we measure how deep a friendship is, and optimize for that metric? These are hard things to automate. I am willing to take chances on them if they meet my own expectations, though.
Show threadEvan ProdromouMar 5
Anyway, I'm glad to see how many people answered positively, although I guess my own kinds of caveats lean us all more towards the yes, but side.
Show threadEvan ProdromouMar 5
I am trying to keep my mind open to the No side. To me, it feels like busybodies telling me that I can't use my own computer for my own purposes. I want to try to understand and be more tolerant of this choice.
Show threadEvan ProdromouMar 5

One project I have found really interesting is Bonsai, out of the labs at Princeton:

https://arxiv.org/pdf/2509.10776

Show threadEvan ProdromouMar 5
It gives you a personalised feed, with principles and goals set by the user, in natural language since it uses an LLM.
Show threadJoshMar 5
@evan
I see more potential in algorithmic dicoverability of interesting accounts and posts, but with all the controls and protections you mention. Regarding friends, if you spend the time tagging accounts to weight the algorithm for a friendship heavy feed, how long will it take to become more useful than an existing personal Mastodon list of friends? Might it not be more work to toggle the algorithm on and off to turn your friend weighted feed to a professional interest weighted feed?
Show threadEvan ProdromouMar 5
@josh so, is a Mastodon friends list an algorithmic feed? I'd say yes.
Show threadJoshMar 5
@evan
Definitely :-) and super easy to configure. Are you my friend: yes; yes but …; no; no but …