Social Media Summit @ MIT

• Andy McAfee, Co-Director of the IDE and Principal Research Scientist, MIT Sloan
• Sinan Aral –  David Austin Professor of Management; Professor, Information Technology and Marketing
• David C. Schmittlein, John C Head III Dean , MIT Sloan 
   

Topics: Misinformation and Fake News - Causes, Consequences and Solutions

 Abstract:  Rescuing truth requires thoughtful discourse on fake news--its genesis, propagation, consequences and solutions. Current events push us towards threats to our democracies, our economies and our public health during the Coronavirus pandemic and beyond. This session will engage some of the world’s top experts on the spread of falsity, conspiracy cults and social media manipulation, both foreign and domestic, to explore real solutions to the abuse of new communication technologies – from cyberwarfare to online harassment and from conspiracy theories to political and economic terrorism.  

• Ali Velshi – Host,  Velshi; Business Correspondent, NBA
• Maria Ressa – CEO, Rappler and a Time Person of the Year 2018
• Camille Francois – Chief Innovation Officer, Graphika, Inc.
• Clint Watts – Senior Fellow, Center for Cyber and Homeland Security, George Washington University

Topics: Algorithmic Transparency and Choice, Effective Third Party Oversight, Avoiding the Next Cambridge Analytica, Data Safe Harbors, and Industry-Academic Partnerships

Abstract: A critical step toward any solution to our social media crisis is transparency. To address the dramatic harms social media is creating, we need to understand more deeply how it works. We need platform transparency, algorithmic transparency, and choice. We need meaningful industry-academic partnerships to dig into the inner workings of social media. But, no one will ever forget that the Cambridge Analytica scandal began with Facebook sharing data with an academic institution. How can we thread the needle of this Transparency Paradox--our simultaneous need to make social platforms more open and more secure and private at the same time? What are the right models for achieving transparency safely and securely, and what tradeoffs do we face in designing and executing these models? How can we achieve meaningful oversight and auditing of the inner workings of social media, and is the Facebook Oversight Board a step in the right direction? In this session we’ll discuss how to safely open this black box so we can shine a much needed light under the hood of social media.

• John Markoff – Journalist, NY Times
• Kate Starbird – Professor, UW
• Gary King – Professor, Harvard
• Carole Cadwalladr – Author and Investigative Journalist, The Observer

• Sinan Aral –  David Austin Professor of Management; Professor, Information Technology and Marketing
• Nick Clegg – Vice-President for Global Affairs and Communications, Facebook

Topics: Antitrust, Interoperability, Data and Social Network Portability

Abstract:  Without competition, social media platforms have little incentive to solve the crises they have wrought. But, what are the best ways to revive competition in a social media economy governed by network effects? How can we address the political influence of the largest social media platforms?  In this session, our panelists will bring to bear their perspectives from law, public policy, economics and technology ventures to debate the most popular options, including breaking up big tech, antitrust enforcement, interoperability legislation, data and social network portability, and forward looking merger oversight.

• Zephyr Teachout – Assistant Professor, Fordham Law School
• Marietje Schaake – President, Cyber Peace Institute and International Policy Director, Stanford’s Cyber Policy Center.
• Albert Wenger – Managing Partner, Union Square Ventures
• Joshua Gans – Professor, U Toronto

Topics: Algorithmic Bias and Amplification, Polarization, and Designing Technology to Benefit Society

Abstract:  At the heart of the social media crisis is a problem of thoughtful design. The way social media platforms--and the algorithms that run them--are designed has an outsized impact on the outcomes we see in society: from their perpetuation of bias, to their algorithmic amplification of hateful and harmful speech, to their role in polarizing our society. In this session, we’ll tackle the critical question of how we must humanize social media’s design. How can the social platforms and their algorithms achieve the promise of social media while avoiding its peril? Should social platforms be held responsible for the safety of their products, like most other industries? What changes are necessary to reduce the algorithmic amplification of harm and hate, and to increase the spread of opportunity, health, and meaningful human connection?

• Roger McNamee – Founding Partner, Elevation Partners
• Safia Noble – Associate Professor and Co-Founder of the Center for Critical Internet Inquiry, UCLA
• Eli Pariser – Co-Founder, Upworthy
• Renee Gosline – Principal Research Scientist, MIT
   

Topics:  Business Models, the Attention Economy, Engagement, Hype and Alternatives

 Abstract: The social media business model--built on top of the attention economy--is unbelievably effective. But, is it good for us? Does the attention economy inevitably lead to the spread of the least common denominators like falsity, hate and polarization? Or can it be adjusted to align shareholder value with society’s values? How did we pick popularity as the human yardstick and can we re-engineer the social media economy toward more productive goals? Would a subscription model point us toward the promise of social media and away from its peril or would subscription services simply exacerbate inequality? Are there alternatives to short term engagement as the metric running the social economy? How can we prioritize authenticity and value and align them with long run shareholder value in the social economy?

• Scott Galloway – Professor, NYU Stern School
• Gary Vaynerchuk – Chairman, VaynerX
• Guy Kawasaki – Chief Evangelist, Canva and Host, REmarkable People Podcast
• Rana el Kaliouby – CEO, Affectiva
   

Topics: Free Speech, Harmful Speech, Content Moderation, Section 230, and the First Amendment of the US Constitution

Abstract:  The First Amendment right to free speech in the US is a cornerstone of our democracy and the marketplace of ideas that spurs innovation. But, one cannot yell “fire” in a crowded theatre and most would agree that incitements to violence represent speech that should be moderated. But how do we draw the lines between free and harmful speech in the age of social media? And who should draw those lines? Should we repeal or reform Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, and what effect would that have on speech? How can we curtail the livestreaming of mass murders like the one in Christchurch, New Zealand without inadvertently quelling or chilling speech? This session will go beyond the lament of the negative, and hopefully lead us to a discourse on the directions law and policy can take to restore speech while minimizing its harmful effects.

• Jeff Kosseff – Assistant Professor, US Naval Academy
• Renee DiResta – Research Manager, Stanford Internet Observatory
• Rick Stengel – Former Undersecretary of State for Public Affairs and Diplomacy and former Managing Editor, TIME Magazine
• Yael Eisenstat – Former CIA Officer, Former Global Head of Elections Integrity Operations, Facebook, and Visiting Fellow, Cornell Tech
   

• Sinan Aral –  David Austin Professor of Management; Professor, Information Technology and Marketing.

Event Concludes.