Algorithmic Truth and Crypto Values: Vitalik's Notes on X

Writing on his personal blog, and in typical Vitalik fashion, "What do I think about Community Notes?" presents an in-depth exploration of Vitalik's perspective on a novel feature known as "Community Notes" on Twitter (now known as X).

Believing it to be a step in the right direction, he goes on to explain that "it might be the closest thing to an instantiation of "crypto values" that we have seen in the mainstream world"

This feature aims to combat misinformation and foster what he calls "cross-tribal" communication.

If you haven't seen them, these notes are context-rich additions to tweets that address misinformation and promote accurate information sharing.

Unlike traditional fact-checking, which often relies on experts, Community Notes embrace a decentralised approach by allowing any Twitter user meeting specific criteria to both write and vote on these notes.

In these instances, they don't claim to be bastions of truth, but rather, contextual information added by members of the community that are "helpful to know".

The notes' visibility is determined by a sophisticated open-source algorithm designed to prioritise consensus across diverse perspectives.

How Community Notes Work

In the very complex piece, Buterin elaborates on the intricate workings of the algorithm behind Community Notes.

We won't go into the very technical details - but suffice to say that users will rate notes using various labels, such as "HELPFUL," "SOMEWHAT_HELPFUL," and "NOT_HELPFUL."

The algorithm then assigns scores to notes based on these user reviews.

Notes with scores exceeding the threshold of 0.40 are displayed, while those below this threshold remain hidden.

Central to the algorithm's design is its ability to identify and reward notes that receive widespread approval, even across ideological divides.

He then expresses his view on how Community Notes may serve as a potential solution to the issue of online polarisation.

By prioritising notes that garner agreement from varying viewpoints, the algorithm then attempts to mitigate extreme polarisation.

Open-Source Transparency of Community Notes

One of the key strengths of Community Notes highlighted by Buterin is the algorithm's transparency.

He emphasises that the open-source nature of the algorithm allows for independent verification of its outputs.

Users can scrutinise the code, download data, and run the algorithm locally to ensure its integrity.

This transparency not only safeguards against manipulation but also reinforces trust in platforms that adhere to it.

High Stakes

He then brought up how a particular "high-stake" situations may have seen intervention from the X team:

The note was later removed, and is now no longer viewable,

While one's gut reaction is to assume that there was intervention, Vitalik dug into the open-source and was pleasantly surprised to discover that:

"the algorithm itself first showed the note, and then removed it once its rating dropped somewhat - seemingly no centralized intervention involved."

Despite its potential pitfalls, complexity, and potential vulnerabilities, Vitalik asserts that this approach offers a unique perspective in the fight against misinformation.

Vitalik remains optimistic about this direction. He ends:

"I look forward to seeing both Community Notes, and hopefully many more algorithms of a similar spirit, develop and grow over the next decade."