Let's brainstorm here HN.
In response to http://thenextweb.com/entrepreneur/2011/07/13/the-problem-with-silicon-valley-is-itself/. What would be some ideas that would solve "real world" or social problems?
My brother Nathan Sobo, co-founder of Hyperarchy (a Ycomb finalist) is trying to solve some of these real world problems. He sent me this earlier tonight... probably the beginning of a blog post about Hyperarchy. I do indeed think this is just what we need to solve problems of closed government, apathetic/removed participants, and government of the elite for the elite. Here it is, hope he doesn't mind me posting it here, as i think its really applicable.
______
If Thomas Jefferson and James Madison lived in the 21st century instead of the 18th, what sort of government would they have designed? It took over a week for news to travel from Monticello to Philadelphia by horse; now it flashes around the world in seconds via Twitter. Yet our government still runs on essentially the same horse-drawn design. If we look with fresh eyes and discard analog assumptions, what kind of participatory democracy can we build for the digital era?
Hyperarchy is our attempt to answer that question. Hyper•archy literally means non-sequentially linked government. In a hierarchy, power flows upward through a rigid, slowly-changing structure. It's the Washington elite, debating the fate of millions on the Senate floor. In a hyperarchy, by contrast, power flows through a complex network of personal relationships, continually pooling and dispersing in an ever-shifting landscape of trust and influence. Like an operating system for democracy, Hyperarchy strips away the formality and procedure we normally associate with government, relying instead on software to give structure and meaning to organic human conversation.You start by raising a question, like "How should we balance the federal budget?" Then you or anyone else suggests answers to that question. When you see an answer you like, you can drag it to rank it above or below other answers. As you and others vote by dragging answers, Hyperarchy uses a sophisticated algorithm to compute a collective ranking of all answers that fairly reflects everyone's opinions. Everything updates in real time, so you can quickly see where the group stands, or drill into other people's rankings to see what they think individually. It's up and running now at https://hyperarchy.com/organizations/1
We believe it can indeed solve "real world" problems.
Even as simple as Hyperarchy makes voting, no one has time to contribute to every question. So Hyperarchy recasts representative democracy as networked democracy. Instead of electing a Senator you've never met to represent you on everything, you elect individuals you trust personally to represent you on specific issues. I can give my girlfriend power to vote on my behalf for questions about health and nutrition, while delegating to my coworker for questions concerning programming languages or digital privacy. So when my girlfriend votes about health or my coworker votes on technology, they vote for me as well.
But the real power is when influence flows through multiple connections in the social network. My girlfriend might delegate nutrition to her friend David, who in turn delegates to Michael Pollan. So Michael Pollan might become an emergent super-representative, voting on behalf on hundreds or thousands of followers, all because of individual trust relationships. And you can change your delegation at any time, meaning that people hold power only so long as they deserve it.
________
I find the idea inspiring, and have found it inspiring since he first told me about it 5 or so years ago. Anyway, it's online now, we could use any feedback people want to give.
I am looking forward to the blog post. Please post it on HN when it comes around.
Until I read to the third paragraph of the snippet, I was thinking "this is just another polling website", but the innovation that is proposed could result in some interesting results.
After reading the snippet, I was excited to go visit the site, expecting some thoughtful discussion on current affairs and politics. I was pretty disappointed with the activity on the site.
I understand that currently the site consists of the core functionality, but you should make that clear. If I was just a standard visitor I would have no incentive to come back in a few months when the app actually has some meaning.
A final note: when I vote in elections, my vote is anonymous and private. On hyperarchy I can see who voted on a topic, in 'real life' this information is not available and I believe that many people would not want it to be known what they are voting on.
The exercises don't extend past maths, and i think would need some conceptual tweaking to apply to e.g. languages or programming.
I'd love to get something up for this - anyone want to join up and brainstorm/rapid prototype a project? Reply to this thread or find me on Google+ and let's hangout.
I have a serious medical condition and have learned to treat it effectively with diet and lifestyle instead of drugs and surgeries. A great deal of what I do to stay well involves effectively navigating the social landscape, for lack of a better term -- ie people assume I should do things a certain way, I don't because it exposes me to germs/chemicals/whatever so either makes me ill or has a high risk of making me ill, and sidestepping the social expectations without getting mired in ridiculous, big problems is much more challenging than figuring out that I should avoid X because it makes me ill. I have fantasies of learning to code and writing a simulation (aka 'game') to teach other people how to get healthier/do some of the stuff I do.
A game where you play Conventional Wisdom Slayer.
I'm a fan already :)
Shoot some green-smoothie bombs and vitamin D3 bullets at carcinogenic cosmetics and processed food-slimes. Hell yes.
(The expansion packs into other false "common sense" domains could be limitless.....)
I love the thought put into this, and I have done years of thinking on similar topics... but let me ask you a point-blank question: do you seriously- seriously - believe for one instant that clarity on majority desire would be any less malleable than it is currently? Do you think that those that are promised free <blank> or tightened regulation/penalty/restriction on whatever their religious or cultural morals dictate would not do as they do now: vote for what benefits them, and ignore the repercussions?
The answer of how to balance a budget is as simple for a government as it is for you and me: don't spend more than you have. So what does your network vote to cut? How can that be peacefully decided? What will those that claim "disenfranchisement" do?
Please understand, I am heartened to see this topic here, and I, like you, want to work toward a better system of government. I just see human nature working against any centralized power system, as those least deserving of the power always work hardest to yield it.
Good conversation. Good group involved. I am glad to see your group thinking on this incredibly important issue.
It's true- no technology can change people's tendency to act in their own self-interest and vote for what benefits them. Individuals can't be expected to take into account the needs of the whole society. That's the the job of the voting system; it should take as input a set of selfish individual preferences, and produce the fairest possible group decision.
Our goal with Hyperarchy is to build a system that can achieve greater fairness. Clearly, the current electoral process has problems that lead to injustices. As a society, we need to move toward a more advanced system, and it's not going to happen unless we build some and experiment with them.
I appreciate your thoughts very much. I hope you'll try our site, and share any further feedback.
[+] [-] alissa|14 years ago|reply
______ If Thomas Jefferson and James Madison lived in the 21st century instead of the 18th, what sort of government would they have designed? It took over a week for news to travel from Monticello to Philadelphia by horse; now it flashes around the world in seconds via Twitter. Yet our government still runs on essentially the same horse-drawn design. If we look with fresh eyes and discard analog assumptions, what kind of participatory democracy can we build for the digital era?
Hyperarchy is our attempt to answer that question. Hyper•archy literally means non-sequentially linked government. In a hierarchy, power flows upward through a rigid, slowly-changing structure. It's the Washington elite, debating the fate of millions on the Senate floor. In a hyperarchy, by contrast, power flows through a complex network of personal relationships, continually pooling and dispersing in an ever-shifting landscape of trust and influence. Like an operating system for democracy, Hyperarchy strips away the formality and procedure we normally associate with government, relying instead on software to give structure and meaning to organic human conversation.You start by raising a question, like "How should we balance the federal budget?" Then you or anyone else suggests answers to that question. When you see an answer you like, you can drag it to rank it above or below other answers. As you and others vote by dragging answers, Hyperarchy uses a sophisticated algorithm to compute a collective ranking of all answers that fairly reflects everyone's opinions. Everything updates in real time, so you can quickly see where the group stands, or drill into other people's rankings to see what they think individually. It's up and running now at https://hyperarchy.com/organizations/1 We believe it can indeed solve "real world" problems.
Even as simple as Hyperarchy makes voting, no one has time to contribute to every question. So Hyperarchy recasts representative democracy as networked democracy. Instead of electing a Senator you've never met to represent you on everything, you elect individuals you trust personally to represent you on specific issues. I can give my girlfriend power to vote on my behalf for questions about health and nutrition, while delegating to my coworker for questions concerning programming languages or digital privacy. So when my girlfriend votes about health or my coworker votes on technology, they vote for me as well.
But the real power is when influence flows through multiple connections in the social network. My girlfriend might delegate nutrition to her friend David, who in turn delegates to Michael Pollan. So Michael Pollan might become an emergent super-representative, voting on behalf on hundreds or thousands of followers, all because of individual trust relationships. And you can change your delegation at any time, meaning that people hold power only so long as they deserve it. ________
I find the idea inspiring, and have found it inspiring since he first told me about it 5 or so years ago. Anyway, it's online now, we could use any feedback people want to give.
[+] [-] zmmz|14 years ago|reply
Until I read to the third paragraph of the snippet, I was thinking "this is just another polling website", but the innovation that is proposed could result in some interesting results.
After reading the snippet, I was excited to go visit the site, expecting some thoughtful discussion on current affairs and politics. I was pretty disappointed with the activity on the site.
I understand that currently the site consists of the core functionality, but you should make that clear. If I was just a standard visitor I would have no incentive to come back in a few months when the app actually has some meaning.
A final note: when I vote in elections, my vote is anonymous and private. On hyperarchy I can see who voted on a topic, in 'real life' this information is not available and I believe that many people would not want it to be known what they are voting on.
[+] [-] wz3chen|14 years ago|reply
[+] [-] AndrewWorsnop|14 years ago|reply
The exercises don't extend past maths, and i think would need some conceptual tweaking to apply to e.g. languages or programming.
I'd love to get something up for this - anyone want to join up and brainstorm/rapid prototype a project? Reply to this thread or find me on Google+ and let's hangout.
Thanks wz3chen!
[+] [-] Mz|14 years ago|reply
Time will tell.
[+] [-] phyllotaxis|14 years ago|reply
Get to work!
[+] [-] phyllotaxis|14 years ago|reply
The answer of how to balance a budget is as simple for a government as it is for you and me: don't spend more than you have. So what does your network vote to cut? How can that be peacefully decided? What will those that claim "disenfranchisement" do?
Please understand, I am heartened to see this topic here, and I, like you, want to work toward a better system of government. I just see human nature working against any centralized power system, as those least deserving of the power always work hardest to yield it.
Good conversation. Good group involved. I am glad to see your group thinking on this incredibly important issue.
P
[+] [-] maxbRuns|14 years ago|reply
Our goal with Hyperarchy is to build a system that can achieve greater fairness. Clearly, the current electoral process has problems that lead to injustices. As a society, we need to move toward a more advanced system, and it's not going to happen unless we build some and experiment with them.
I appreciate your thoughts very much. I hope you'll try our site, and share any further feedback.