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Everything in society can sense pitch toward optimization — whether that ’s standardized examination or artificial intelligence algorithmic rule . We ’re taught to know what outcome you desire to attain , and find the path toward getting there .
Kenneth Stanley , a former OpenAI researcher and cobalt - founding father of a new social media platform calledMaven , has been prophesy for geezerhood that this method of thinking is counterproductive , if not outright harmful . Instead of prioritise aim , Stanley order we should be prioritizing serendipity .
“ Sometimes , so as to discover those stepping stones that will lead to the thing we care about , we have to get off the path of the object glass and onto the course of the interesting , ” Stanley told TechCrunch in a picture interview . “ Serendipity is the opposite of finding something through aim . ”
The approximation of seeking novelty for its own saki start as an algorithmic concept that Stanley studies calledopen - endedness , a subfield of AI enquiry about system that “ just keep make interesting material forever . ”
“ Open - finish systems are like artificially originative systems , ” enunciate Stanley , note that humans , organic evolution and civilisation are all also open - ended system that extend to make on themselves in unexpected ways .
This algorithmic insight morphed into a life doctrine for Stanley . He even write a ledger about it in 2015 with his former PhD scholarly person Joel Lehman call “ Why Greatness Can not Be contrive . ” The concept took off , making Stanley something of an international focal point for the brazen melodic theme that , actually , you’re able to just do things because they ’re interesting , rather than because you need to complete some stated object glass .
But in 2022 while leading an open - endedness squad at OpenAI , Stanley said he was “ churn over with discontentedness ” and “ had this epiphany ” where he decided to stop verbalize about land open - endedness to wider audiences and instead start doing something about it .
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What if , he asked himself , he created a “ serendipity net , ” a scheme that ’s set up to increase the probability of serendipity , for other people to enjoy ?
So he quit his occupation and set about to create Maven , a societal web built around an open - concluded AI algorithm that acquire to seek novelty . When signing up , drug user take a series of subject to come after — from neuroscience to parenting — and the algorithm shows them posts that align with their interests . There are no ilk , upvotes , retweets or follows , and there ’s no way to hyperbolise contented to the hoi polloi .
alternatively , when a user post something , the algorithm automatically read the content and tags it with relevant interests so it present up on those Page . Users can turn up the serendipity slider to branch out beyond their submit interest group , and the algorithm running the platform connects users with related interest . So if , for model , you ’re follow conversations about urban planning , Maven might also indicate conversations about public transportation .
And while there ’s no way to follow mass on the platform , you could see and connect with other people who stick with theme you ’re interested in .
In a fortune of way , Maven feels like an counterpoison to today ’s social medium , where the “ accusative paradox is on full display ” as people precipitate over themselves to make sensationalist content that will garner more attention and popularity .
“ The sound reflection Sir William Chambers and the toxicity , the narcism amplification and personal branding has go away whole out of control so that people are losing their soulfulness and turning into brands , ” allege Stanley .
Theaddictive qualitiesof social medium , harm to mental healthin adolescents and adults , and ability topolarize nationsis well documented . These , Stanley says , are the unintended import of ambitious objectives , the resultant of making popularity a placeholder for quality .
“ And then you get all these other thing because once you have popularity , you have obstinate bonus , ” he said .
Stanley noted that Maven users can flag inappropriate subject or misinformation when it belt down up , and its AI is actively supervise for extremely inflammatory , noisome “ or worse ” capacity . He said Maven ca n’t fix the nastiness in human nature , but by eliminating the incentives behind share such message , Stanley hop it could change the “ overall aggregative dynamic of how multitude are act . ”
Some social medium companies have attempted to combat such incentives in the past tense . The OG of pushing out serendipitous depicted object wasStumbleUpon , a web internet browser filename extension and app make by entrepreneur Garrett Camp , years before he co - found Uber . Instagram in 2019then tested out blot out “ likes ” to curb comparison and wounded feeling that do with attaching popularity to capacity . X , formerly Twitter , ispreparing to make likes secret , as well , but for less wholesome reason . In a very Elon Musk - inspired line of thought process , X ’s goal is to create more engagement by reserve people to privately care “ edgy ” content that they otherwise would n’t to protect their public image .
Maven is less concerned in connecting users with audiences , and more focused on connecting them with what ’s interesting .
The problem of monetization
Stanley and his co - father — Blas Moros and Jimmy Secretan — easy - launch Maven in later January . The weapons platform publically debuted in May alongside aWiredfeature that Stanley say reach Maven a top trending spot onProduct Huntand brought on M of signups .
Those are still small numbers compared to other raw entrants into the societal media space . Bluesky , which set in motion in 2021 , has had 5.6 million signups . As of January 2024,Mastodon had 1.8 millionactive users . Farcaster , a newfangled crypto - base social protocol thatjust raised $ 150 million , has consider about 350,000 signups . All of these new networks will postulate to arise importantly if they ’re to be consider successful .
It ’s still an unresolved question over whether Maven will even be able to grow its user base without the very toxic lineament we love to hate , but which yet hale us back to the cesspool that is societal medium .
Maven raised $ 2 million in 2023 in a round led by Twitter co - founder Ev Williams , Stanley say TechCrunch . OpenAI CEO Sam Altman also participated in the round . Stanley said Williams and Altman invested because , like many of us who have become endeared by Maven ’s almost too - sweet - for - this - world ethos , they think the earthly concern and the internet needs something like this .
And indeed , Maven ’s idealistic hope to connect citizenry to interesting musical theme is reminiscent of the other 2000s , when the internet was a post of connexion and exploration . Sentiments from early user on the platform are mostly positive and optimistic , as many came to the platform for genuine and serendipitous interactions and the promised freedom from perniciousness .
But will idealism be enough to bring on more institutional investors afterward when Maven wants to grow ?
“ I think the challenge we front is that going forward , that becomes a harder and harder way to evoke money , ” tell Stanley , notice that investors wo n’t be throwing down millions unless there ’s a clear path to get a return on their investment funds .
“ I just need to retrieve the right investors go forward and apace get to a sustainable line of work model , ” he continued , musing over the estimation of a subscription model that would allow Maven to keep its ideology entire .
There are , of course , other room for Maven to bring in revenue . publicizing is one track , but one that appeals less to Stanley because of how tie up it is with virality and sensationalism .
Down the line of work , Maven could also potentially trade its data to companies like OpenAI that are training their algorithmic rule on reams of data . OpenAI earlier this monthsigned a deal with Redditto train its AI on the social media company ’s information . And Maven ’s time value proposition from an AI standpoint is n’t even just the substance on the political platform — it ’s the open - ended algorithmic program running it .
Stanley distinguish TechCrunch he think exposed - endedness is substantive to contrived general intelligence ( AGI ) , a type of AI that aims to play off or surpass human capableness across a range of cognitive chore . Open - endedness is “ such a outstanding view of being intelligent , ” Stanley read . “ It ’s like this creative and also curiosity - driven scene of being human . ”
“ The data is interesting from an AI linear perspective , because it ’s data about what is interesting , ” said Stanley , observe that current AI models are missing the intuitive understanding of what is interesting and what is not , and how that can exchange over time . However , even though the data has likely time value to AI , Stanley said Maven has no deal with any companionship to grant access to that data .
And while he enunciate he has n’t ruled out that possibility in the hereafter , he would believe very carefully about what the implications of sharing such data point would be .
“ That ’s not the point of this for me , ” he said , noting that he ’s not convinced that it would be a good thing for neural networks to be whole open - ended because that might make any originative endeavour by homo whole pointless .
“ I really wanted to create this worldwide serendipitous community of interests , ” he said . “ It ’s not like I have a side plan that we ’re going to use Maven to create open - stop AI or something . I just wanted to make something for people because I start to feel like everybody ’s gon na be speak to chatbots more and more and we ’re gon na be less and less relate with other people . And I was add to that being an AI researcher . ”
“ Something about this idea of a serendipity meshing made me experience morally better , like I could actually put up to people being more connected rather than less . ”
