Anonymity on social media fuels toxic behavior but is also a necessary tool against totalitarianism. The solution isn't to ban it, but for new platforms to emerge where users can choose non-anonymity, and the system rewards or privileges those verified accounts, improving the quality of discourse.
As social media becomes saturated with untrustworthy AI-generated content, users will lose faith in non-gatekept channels. This erosion of trust could create a market rebound for traditionally reputable sources, as people become more willing to pay for credible, verified information to cut through the noise.
The most impactful AI in social systems may not be super-intelligent agents that replace humans, but simple AI designed to supplement interactions. These AIs can act as catalysts, like platinum in a chemical reaction, to facilitate and optimize how humans work together, improving both individual and collective performance.
Digital assistants like Alexa are designed for efficiency, rewarding blunt commands. When children adopt this interaction style, they risk learning to be rude and applying this behavior to their peers. This highlights an unintended consequence where human-machine interaction design negatively impacts human-human social development.