Gossip could save the world
Surprising Harvard research reveals how storytelling can drive culture change and help us coordinate better
Humans are storytelling creatures. As the world grapples with coordinating to solve the Metacrisis and drive systems change, new research from Harvard shows that a surprising age-old mechanism might hold the answer. In results that seem like satire, the researchers found that ancient societies coordinated using gossip. But the results make sense once we realize that coordinating with someone requires establishing trustworthiness. And how do we establish someone’s trustworthiness? By asking other people about them, i.e. gossiping!
The research has profound implications for driving the culture change required to usher in systems change. When asked how we could implement findings from the research in today’s world, the researchers replied, ”We are already doing this at scale today. We just call them Podcasts. A bunch of tech bros talking about what they heard from whom and airing their grievances at being misunderstood when they were just trying to make the world a better place”. Joe Rogan, Lex Friedman, and Elon Musk could not be reached for comments on being classified as the world’s top gossips. But the results did prompt Mark Zuckerberg to announce a new podcast in another desperate attempt to fool people into liking him.
In another finding that has implications for solving the AI alignment problem, the researchers focused on how gossip creates shared reality. It is a well-established fact that our brains do not see the world as it is, but act as prediction engines based on historical information. This means that what we see as reality is just our perception. This means that to solve the AI alignment problem, we just need to believe
and Sam Altman when they answer questions about the AI-driven apocalypse with “Just trust me bro”. AI maximalist vouches for the efficacy of this method, having amassed, in his words, knowledge (strong belief backed by evidence) on how it is all going to turn out fine.The research also showed why Kamala Harris lost the election bigly to Donald Trump. She just could not keep the engines of gossip running as fast as Donald Trump. The President, speaking from the Oval Office with a bag of Cheetos, praised the breakthrough research—”I have always said that I have the best gossip. You just need to look at our leaked chat messages. China can’t beat us. They got no gossip. None. Xi wouldn’t let them have it.”
So there you have it folks. No need for any fancy solutions- no crypto currencies, no network states, no new economic models, no new cities, no spiritual awakening. Just gossip a new world into being. To learn more, listen to this 17-hour podcast between
, and ! They clearly have the right idea!It should, of course, be obvious by now that this is an April Fool’s Day post. I hope that reading it gave you a little bit of a laugh and served as a reminder to not take everything around us, and ourselves too seriously. The future is not yet written. And we might yet find our way out of this mess that surrounds us. And if not, I for one would prefer to go down laughing. Take it easy folks.
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I understand the desire for a bit of levity given our current dilemma, and I recognize the exaggeration in your narrative. Though, IMHO, the “April Fools” gag depends on some moment at which the subject feels silly for considering seriously the prospect of, say… Liver Flavored Tic-Tacs, for example.
The “out gossiping” phenomenon is the SOP for the current crowd in power. RFK Jr., via Bots, Bitcoin, and other nefarious players, “gossiped” his way to power. He will cost many lives with the path he has shown he will follow. You could substitute any of the protagonists in your piece into the same scenario. They make money via misinformation (gossip), and people’s lives will either be ruined or terminated as a result.
In the early 1980’s a bandmate (Jewish) of mine posted a flyer organizing “Jews for Hitler” on April 1 to supposedly correct some of the misinformation that was being circulated. In response to local outrage and no small amount of media coverage, he (working on his history degree in Toronto) then responded with the narrative and extensive documentation of how there WAS, in actuality, a “Jews for Hitler” organization formed to support the mustache man in his run-up to absolute power.
It was a mixed bag in terms of response from his friends and family. Overall it went over pretty poorly, which was unfortunate given the opportunity for education that it offered.
Either way, thanks for your efforts.
In a world in which The Onion can hardly compete with the regular news…
April Fools is a tough trick to pull off.
Great read. I actually think this is true and half the Connection Engine is built around the idea of spreading the right kind of gossip :)