Algorithmic Pluralism

For Algorithmic Pluralism!

Original op-ed published in French in Le Monde, 25th of September 2024.

In the wake of the restitution of the États Généraux de l’information and on the occasion of the Numérique en commun(s) national event, a collective of 50 personalities, associations, French and international companies... call to open up social networks and give users back the choice.

For two decades, we have allowed the digital giants to play a role that, in many ways, has brought us services that constitute technical feats and major sources of social innovation. However, the time has come for a transition. These structures are no longer capable of innovating for the common good. On the contrary, their harmful impact on our democracies, culture, and well-being is entirely disproportionate: misinformation, foreign interference, hateful content, attention capture... We must absolutely strip these technologies of the monopoly they have imposed on our own conversations.

To achieve this, we must break out of the face-off between these mega-firms and the States that seek to regulate them. We should not aim to substitute administrative power for economic power. The solution lies in openness and decentralization, which are at the heart of the freedom to think and communicate. This is why we must reconnect with a well-known requirement: pluralism. Pluralism in algorithms, firstly by allowing users to configure their recommendation and moderation systems, thereby finding greater diversity in the content they are offered while protecting themselves from harmful content. Algorithmic pluralism, secondly by allowing third parties to offer complementary features on social networks, which would thus become a field of innovation for the benefit of users.

Many initiatives exist to offer alternative algorithmic paths. But they are blocked by the stronghold of large firms. Enabling choice requires building openness. Paradoxically, to have an open and free market, we need a push; that of techno-economic regulation. Not only must we do this, but we can and we know how to do it. What we achieved yesterday for telecom operators, we must now do for social networks and generative AIs: we must impose rules of vertical and horizontal interoperability, interconnection fee measures, non-discrimination rules, environmental thresholds, obligations of openness and information sharing, ethical and ergonomic design requirements, etc. It is under these conditions that we can reconcile technological innovation, well-being, and democracy.

If algorithms sort and order content, they are also beginning to create it with generative artificial intelligence. Rethinking regulation also means ensuring a balanced relationship between content and application providers on the one hand and providers of generative AI systems on the other. Let us anticipate a framework in which it will be possible to conduct relevant economic analyses, determine proportionate access conditions to data, or even establish a fair valuation of contributions to value creation. We think of artists, creators, businesses, and all economic initiatives that risk being plundered, as is already the case today.

The new European mandate, as well as the new French government, offer an opportunity to shape this framework, building on the first steps already taken. The European Parliament has, in fact, invited the European Commission to take action in its resolution of December 12, 2023. This change is ambitious but within our reach, and many actors in civil society are mobilized in this direction in France, Europe, and across the Atlantic. The opening of social networks is part of a broader history of the battles fought over the last two decades for the openness of the Internet and the defense of cultural rights. The opening of social networks is not just a technical or economic choice; it is a democratic imperative.

This is why we call upon the scientific community, economic forces, civil society, and public authorities to come together to build the architecture of our conversations, our access to information, culture, and ultimately, our democracies.

• Serge Abiteboul, directeur de recherche émérite à Inria.
• Anne Alombert, Maîtresse de conférences en philosophie contemporaine à l’Université Paris 8.
• ARTICLE 19
• Axelle Lemaire, ancienne ministre
• Gilles Babinet, co-président du Conseil national du numérique.
• Adrien Basdevant, avocat, Entropy
• Romain Badouard, Maître de conférences, Université Paris-Panthéon-Assas.
• Shani Benoualid, cofondatrice de l’association #jesuislà
• Iris Boyer, responsable de l'Observatoire sur l'Information et la Démocratie
• Jeanne Bretécher, Présidente du Social Good Accelerator et personnalité qualitifiee à la Commission supérieure supérieure du numérique et des postes
• Dorie Bruyas, directrice de Fréquence Écoles et présidente de la MedNum.
• Jean Cattan, secrétaire général du Conseil national du numérique
• Karine Caunes, CAIDP Europe Executive Director
• David Chavalarias, directeur de Recherche CNRS.
• Simon Chignard
• Nathalie Collin, directrice générale de la branche grand public et numérique de La Poste groupe.
• Laure De la Raudière, présidente de l’Arcep.
• Corinne Denis, présidente d’honneur du GESTE
• digiQ
• Aurore Domont, présidente de Média Figaro
• Pierre Dubreuil, directeur de projet, DNS
• Marc Faddoul, co-fondateur et directeur de Al Forensics.
• Aude Favre, Présidente de l'association Fake Off, cofondatrice de Citizen Facts.
• Paula Forteza, ancienne députée.
• Forum sur l’information et la démocratie
• Camille François, professeure à l’Université de Columbia.
• Laurent Frisch, directeur du numérique et de l’innovation de Radio France et vice-président du GESTE
• Rémy Gerbet, directeur exécutif de Wikimedia France.
• Arthur Grimonpont, ingénieur, auteur de Algocratie
• Paul Keller, co-founder, director of Policy, Open Future
• Jan Krewer, Senior Policy Advisor, Open Future
• Make.org
• Françoise Mercadal-Delasalles, co-présidente du Conseil national du numérique.
• Leïla Mörch, présidente de Convergence
• Raphaël David Lasseri, CEO de MagicLemp
• Bertrand Pailhès, ancien coordinateur national pour la stratégie d’intelligence artificielle.
• Bruno Patino, PDG d’Arte France.
• Arno Pons, délégué général Digital New Deal Foundation.
• People vs Big Tech
• Tanya O’Carroll, Foxglove.
• Pierre-Louis Rolle, co-fondateur de Plurall.cc
• Éric Scherer, directeur des Affaires Internationales et du News MediaLab de France Télévisions.
• Sébastien Soriano, directeur général de l’IGN.
• Katarzyna Szymielewicz, Panoptykon Foundation.
• Sibyle Veil, PDG de Radio France.
• Célia Zolynski, Professeur de droit à l'Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne.
• Uplift
• Ekō
• Civil Liberties Union for Europe (Liberties)
• Anaïs AUbert, directrice de cabinet, Liberté Living Lab
• The London Story
• Lie detectors
• Aymeril Hoang, coach et consultant indépendant
• Defend Democracy
• Fadila Leturcq, Co-fondatrice de la fédération francophone du futur
• Fiona Scott Morton, Yale University
• Hubert Guillaud, délégué général de l’association Vecteur
• François-Xavier Petit, directeur général de Matrice
• Association Tournesol
• Xnet, Institute for Democratic Digitalisation
• Politiscope
• Fabrice Bakhouche directeur général SiPA - Ouest-France
• Bertrand Badre, PDG du fonds d'investissement Blue Like an Orange Sustainable Capital
• Valentin Chaput, Directeur général d'Open Source Politics.
• Aude Favre, Présidente de Fake Off et cofondatrice de Citizen Facts
• Alice Antheaume, directrice exécutive de l’école de journalisme de sciences po et administratrice indépendante du conseil de surveillance des échos
• Remy Gerbet, directeur exécutif Wikimedia France
• Nicolas Chagny, Internet Society France
• Martin Husovec, Associate Professor of Law, London School of Economics and Political Sciences (LSE)
• Matti Schneider, Directeur, Open Terms Archive
• Anna Marchese, Senior Project Officer, Columbia World Projects
• Irénée Régnauld, consultant et chercheur.
• Lobby Control
• Alliance4Europe
• Alexandre Zapolsky, président de Linagora
• Le GESTE, groupement des éditeurs de services en ligne
• Sébastien Ravut, cofondateur de l'agence conseil Broster
• Camille Grenier, directeur exécutif du Forum sur l’information et la démocratie
• Nicolas Rieul, Président de l’Alliance Digitale
• Karl Pineau, Directeur du Media Design lab de L'École de design Nantes Atlantique & co-fondateur des Designers Ethiques
• Locales.tv