MIT Center for Constructive Communication

You like tomato, and I like to-MAH-to … We've only just come across this new "Bridging Dictionary", but it's so good we wanted to bring it to your attention – along with Andrew Heyward's witty essay on this innovation, in which he cites the apt line above from the song "Let's Call the Whole Thing Off" by George and Ira Gershwin. The dictionary was developed by our partners at the MIT Center for Constructive Communication (MIT CCC). After analysing language used by Fox News and MSNBC, the CCC shows how very differently by the Democrat and Republican party camps use words like woke, radical, communist and many others. And they offer linguistic work-rounds as well. At DemocracyNext, we advocate for tough topics to be deliberated about to find a solution, not debated about in ways that only polarise society more. Just reading this dictionary will open your mind to thinking about and finding new ways through all our linguistic minefields. ?? https://lnkd.in/eBWmyZ3Z

New research from the MIT Center for Constructive Communication, in collaboration with the Media Lab’s Personal Robots and Human Dynamics research groups, demonstrates how AI tools can be used to transform complex legal concepts into engaging stories. This novel approach aims to enhance civic engagement and democratic participation by making legal knowledge more accessible to the general public. Authors: Hang Jiang, Xiajie Zhang, Robert Mahari, Daniel Kessler, Eric Ma, Tal August, Irene Li, Alex 'Sandy' Pentland, Yoon Kim, Deb Roy, and Jad Kabbara

?? Bridging Dictionary Featured Word: "Deep state" “Deep state,” a term most associated with right-wing conspiracy theorists for years, has now moved into mainstream political discourse–but with very different connotations depending on your political viewpoint. Want to see for yourself? Visit the Bridging Dictionary, the MIT Center for Constructive Communication’s dynamic prototype that compares the different ways words are used in American politics today. And once on the site, we welcome your comments as we continue to look for ways to improve. ?? Visit the Bridging Dictionary: https://lnkd.in/epng682J ?? Share your feedback here: https://lnkd.in/dD7amWgS ?? Learn more in our blog: https://lnkd.in/eBWmyZ3Z #GenerativeAI #Language #Polarization #Communication

For the MIT Club of Boston’s “Mind and Machine” series, Media Lab Professor Deb Roy, head of the MIT Center for Constructive Communication, discusses his approach to creating spaces for listening and understanding in an age of polarization. https://lnkd.in/gT7hXR-J

?? Bridging Dictionary Featured Word: "Nationalism" What does the word “nationalism” mean to you? The answer will likely differ depending on your political orientation. Interested in seeing which side of the political spectrum uses “nationalism” more, how the meanings differ, and what might be a more politically neutral term? Visit the Bridging Dictionary, the MIT Center for Constructive Communication’s dynamic new prototype, which shows the difference in vocabulary usage in American political discourse. And once you’ve visited the site, we'd welcome your feedback. ?? Visit the Bridging Dictionary: https://lnkd.in/epng682J ?? Learn more in our blog: https://lnkd.in/eBWmyZ3Z ?? Share your feedback here: https://lnkd.in/dD7amWgS #GenerativeAI #Language #Polarization #Communication

???? What could citizens' assemblies do for American politics? Great to see the Deschutes Civic Assembly on Youth Homelessness - one of DemocracyNext's projects in collaboration with a wide consortium of partners - covered in The New Yorker: "Last July, an unusual letter arrived at Kathryn Kundmueller’s mobile home, in central Oregon. It invited her to enter a lottery that would select thirty residents of Deschutes County to deliberate for five days on youth homelessness—a visible and contentious issue in an area where the population and cost of living have spiked in recent years. Those chosen would be paid for their time—almost five hundred dollars—and asked to develop specific policy recommendations. Kundmueller was being invited to join what is known as a citizens’ assembly. These gatherings do what most democracies only pretend to: trust normal people to make decisions on difficult policy questions. Many citizens’ assemblies follow a basic template. They impanel a random but representative cross-section of a population, give them high-quality information on a topic, and ask them to work together to reach a decision. In Europe, such groups have helped spur reform of the Irish constitution in order to legalize abortion, guided an Austrian pharmaceutical heiress on?how to give away?her wealth, and become a regular part of government in Paris and Belgium. Though still rare in America, the model reflects the striking idea that fundamental problems of politics—polarization, apathy, manipulation by special interests—can be transformed through radically direct democracy." ?? Read the rest of Nick Romeo's essay: https://lnkd.in/dsewxgnh ?? Learn more about the Deschutes Civic Assembly: https://lnkd.in/dWAxMy-M Project partners: Healthy Democracy MIT Center for Constructive Communication Oregon State University Central Oregon Civic Action Project Central Oregon Intergovernmental Council Deschutes County City of Bend The Rockefeller Foundation Quadrivium Foundation Omidyar Network Matt Abrams Josh Burgess Linn Davis Grace Taylor Justin Reedy Lauren Babcock, NPMP, CHW Deb Roy Dimitra Dimitrakopoulou Maya Detwiller Marina Rakhilin, MSW Elizabeth Marino Tammy Baney Anthony Broadman Kevin O'Neil Michelle Barsa

Introducing the Bridging Dictionary: A New Tool to Help Understand Polarized Conversations At the MIT Center for Constructive Communication, we’ve launched an exciting research prototype that reveals how common words and phrases take on different meanings across the U.S. political spectrum – and attempts to suggest less polarized alternatives. ?? Explore the Bridging Dictionary (https://lnkd.in/epng682J?) and see for yourself how language shapes and reflects our divides. From words like “woke” to “misinformation,” you’ll uncover the linguistic fault lines of our polarized public sphere. In our latest blog, Senior CCC Advisor Andrew Heyward dives into: ? The reasoning behind the project ? Key challenges and opportunities ? An open invitation for your feedback to shape the future of this tool ?? Whether you’re a journalist, researcher, or just someone passionate about healthier communication, we’d love for you to explore and share your thoughts on the prototype. ?? Read the blog: https://lnkd.in/eBWmyZ3Z ?? Explore the tool: https://lnkd.in/epng682J Thank you to Deb Roy, Dennis Jen, Maya Detwiller, Ellen Hoffman, Hang Jiang, Doug Beeferman, Lorrie LeJeune, Andrew Heyward, Terry Ehling, & FAY Design for your work on the Bridging Dictionary. #GenerativeAI #Language #Communication #BridgingDivides #MIT MIT Media Lab Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Introducing the Bridging Dictionary: A New Tool to Help Understand Polarized Conversations At the MIT Center for Constructive Communication, we’ve launched an exciting research prototype that reveals how common words and phrases take on different meanings across the U.S. political spectrum – and attempts to suggest less polarized alternatives. ?? Explore the Bridging Dictionary (https://lnkd.in/epng682J?) and see for yourself how language shapes and reflects our divides. From words like “woke” to “misinformation,” you’ll uncover the linguistic fault lines of our polarized public sphere. In our latest blog, Senior CCC Advisor Andrew Heyward dives into: ? The reasoning behind the project ? Key challenges and opportunities ? An open invitation for your feedback to shape the future of this tool ?? Whether you’re a journalist, researcher, or just someone passionate about healthier communication, we’d love for you to explore and share your thoughts on the prototype. ?? Read the blog: https://lnkd.in/eBWmyZ3Z ?? Explore the tool: https://lnkd.in/epng682J Thank you to Deb Roy, Dennis Jen, Maya Detwiller, Ellen Hoffman, Hang Jiang, Doug Beeferman, Lorrie LeJeune, Andrew Heyward, Terry Ehling, & FAY Design for your work on the Bridging Dictionary. #GenerativeAI #Language #Communication #BridgingDivides #MIT MIT Media Lab Massachusetts Institute of Technology

NPR Member stations from around the country recorded small-group conversations that asked people, what makes you feel connected to your community? Great to see this collaboration with Cortico, using new AI prototype tools created at the MIT Center for Constructive Communication, surface and amplify underheard voices! https://t.co/XITwW5rZW9

?? We’re #hiring a Program Lead! ?? MIT Center for Constructive Communication is looking for a Program Lead to act as an entrepreneurial program builder. The Program Lead will guide the realtalk@MIT program team and its efforts to engage the Massachusetts Institute of Technology community in creating durable infrastructure, build capacity, and provide ongoing support for realtalk dialogue projects across the MIT community. ?? Learn more and #apply here: https://lnkd.in/eA5SVKGt ?? About MIT CCC & realtalk@MIT: The mission of the MIT Center for Constructive Communication (CCC) is to design tools, methods, and systems that connect rather than divide us to create a healthier society. This mission includes MIT’s own campus through CCC’s realtalk@MIT program, a new dialogue network that brings together human conversation with digital technologies to foster authentic and nuanced dialogue across the MIT campus. realtalk@MIT enables the MIT community to come together in facilitated, small-group conversations to share stories about common experiences and interests. Groups or individuals (students, staff, faculty) can organize a realtalk@MIT “dialogue project” about a topic they care about. Participants consent to having their conversations recorded – and again to have their audio highlights shared – so that they may elevate one another’s stories for their peers and our community to hear. Human-steered AI tools will help trained sensemakers from the organizing group to surface patterns and themes across these stories, while audio medleys, data visualizations and other outputs will help us all listen and learn from this remarkable constellation of voices. #civictech #techforgood #hiringnow #jobopening #programlead #management #higheredjobs #programadminsitrator #AI