MIT Center for Constructive Communication’s Work Featured on Night Owls Podcast

MIT Center for Constructive Communication (CCC) and its nonprofit collaborator Cortico are at the forefront of using technology and dialogue to foster deeper connections…

Study: Some language reward models exhibit political bias

Large language models (LLMs) that drive generative artificial intelligence apps, such as ChatGPT, have been proliferating at lightning speed and have improved to the poin…

CCC and DemNext take the first step towards developing a more transparent, inclusive democratic process

In a landmark achievement, MIT CCC and DemocracyNext have collaborated on the first-of-its-kind, tech-enhanced citizens’ assembly in Deschutes County, Oregon. 12,750 in…

CCC and FRONTLINE launched a listening experiment to build a social dialogue network with youth

In collaboration with FRONTLINE, the PBS documentary series produced at GBH in Boston, the MIT Center for Constructive Communication (CCC) has been exploring how small g…

realtalk@MIT: Using AI to bring human conversation to life

In today’s digital age, words and information are everywhere—flooding our feeds, congesting our inboxes, and pinging us with text messages. Yet, written words can nev…

CCC launched realtalk@MIT for incoming students to connect, learn, and share their experiences

In August, CCC trained over 70 students to effectively facilitate small-group conversations, also recording and highlighting many of these conversations on the newly deve…

Deb Roy’s Atlantic article proposes healthy social networks

In The Atlantic, CCC Director Deb Roy writes about the very real threat today’s social media platforms pose to our democracy, and presents a far less toxic alternative:…

How to make social media, online life less of ‘dumpster fire’

Popular social media platforms were once a place to connect with old and new friends, post life updates, and share photos of your kids. But they have become fraught with…

Second annual CCC in-person event: Trust and Human Connection in the Age of Social Networks and AI

On May 7, 2024 more than 150 attendees, including many from CCC’s closely affiliated non-profit, Cortico, spent a full day at MIT engaging in conversation and explorati…

CCC gathered local community-based organizations to explore: How might we transform Boston into Listening City?

The MIT Center for Constructive Communication, with support from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, is growing a network of local key stakeholders that will invite membe…

How to Tackle Truth Decay | The Atlantic | Deb Roy

The next stage of truth decay is that those who no longer trust the scientists and technocrats search for alternative sources of information, “truth” from outside the…

CCC and DemocracyNext hosted the First-Ever Tech-Enhanced Student Assembly

The MIT Center for Constructive Communication (CCC) and the non-profit DemocracyNext came together to design and implement the first tech-enhanced and student-focused ver…

CCC and DemocracyNext Announce Tech-Enhanced Pop-Up Lab to Advance Citizens’ Assemblies

In an era of technological transformation in which social media and generative AI are disrupting our processes of communication and democracy, the MIT Center for Construc…

Big Tech’s Effect on Democracy | Democracy360

The relationship between technology and democracy has become increasingly complex from the proliferation of social media to recent advances in AI. Kara Swisher moderates…

Who Owns the Truth?

When the Ars Electronica festival (September 6 – 10) took a deep dive into examining what “truth” means in today’s world, organizers invited broad participation…

MIT’s Center for Constructive Communication takes aim at the destructive nature of social media

The MIT Center for Constructive Communication (CCC) and the closely affiliated nonprofit Cortico today announced the launch of a broad-based effort that draws on experti…

Obama praises CCC’s “great work” in “making online conversations more civil and productive”

“We need to figure out how to give [ourselves] a chance to build up civic muscles,” said Barack Obama in his April 2022 speech on disinformation, mentioning the “grea…

CCC Newsletter, Issue 10 (Fall/Winter 2024)

Bridging Dictionary Launch, realtalk@MIT Pilot, Welcome Audrey Tang and Michiel Bakke, & more.

CCC Newsletter, Issue 9 (Spring/Summer 2024)

Second annual CCC Symposium, realtalk@MIT and realtalk@Boston Updates, & more.

CCC Newsletter, Issue 8 (Winter 2024)

RealTalk@MIT: Moving Toward a “Listening Campus,” Deb Roy article in The Atlantic, Three successful CCC course offerings during MIT IAP

CCC Newsletter, Issue 7 (Fall 2023)

CCC at Ars Electronica 2023, Josh Flax joins CCC, Five new graduate students, DemocracyNext collaboration, and more.

CCC Newsletter, Issue 6

On May 10, CCC hosted its first in-person event: Real Talk, Real Listening, and Trust in the Age of Social Media and Generative AI, New Initiative Announced, Cited on Cap…

CCC Newsletter, Issue 5

FRONTLINE’s Raney Aronson-Rath Joins CCC, Facilitated Conversations at Freeport High in Maine: Making a Difference, Deb Roy on ChatGPT

CCC Newsletter, Issue 4

Martha Minow and Ceasar McDowell on the Constitution, Built-in Inequities, and Where We Go From Here…, Offering Solutions: Local News as an Antidote to Toxic Social Med…

CCC Newsletter, Issue 3

A Message from Deb Roy, Director: Thoughts on Elon Musk and Twitter // For me, Elon Musk’s impending takeover of Twitter is a wake-up call. It’s a very real reminder…

CCC Newsletter, Issue 2

In coordination with MIT’s Values Statement Committee, CCC is launching RealTalk@MIT, a cross-campus pilot program that will solicit honest perspectives from staff, stude…

CCC Newsletter, Issue 1

Welcome to the first issue of the MIT Center for Constructive Communication’s newsletter!