Hi Simurgh! This seems like a very ambitious project. I wonder if you've had a look at what others have done in this space. I initially liked the look of Ehud Shapiro's stuff [1] but I'm not sure he has the right take on the French political philosophy he draws on (or perhaps things have moved on now from the sources he cited). But perhaps his protocols are neutral enough to serve your purposes too?[1] https://www.weizmann.ac.il/math/shapiro/home
simurgh_beau|7 months ago
Hi discarded1023! Thank you for the kind words and for the excellent pointer to Professor Ehud Shapiro's work.
I've had a chance to look through his website. His work on designing protocols for large-scale collective decision-making is clearly very relevant and fascinating.
To your question, I think his protocols are very much aligned in spirit. The main difference in purpose seems to be that his models often focus on a group making a specific decision or recommendation. My project's immediate goal is slightly broader: to create a continuous, large-scale "map" of public opinion across many topics simultaneously. The underlying principles of fairness and structured debate, however, are very much the same.
Your note about his use of French political philosophy is also very insightful, and I'll keep that in mind as I explore his work further.
Thank you again for a very thoughtful and helpful pointer!