The Sigala project concerns the research, design and development of software systems to support sustainable social networking. It is the main focus of my endeavours for the foreseeable future.
The Problem
Why is there so much discontent with existing the social media provided by the ‘big tech’ companies? One trite answer is simply because social media fosters discontent!
How does it foster discontent? By promoting craving and addiction, which is why paradoxically people continue using these services despite their reservations about them. As confessed by Sean Parker, former President of Facebook:
“The thought process that went into building these applications, … was all about: ‘How do we consume as much of your time and conscious attention as possible?'” “And that means that we need to sort of give you a little dopamine hit every once in a while, because someone liked or commented on a photo or a post or whatever. And that’s going to get you to contribute more content, and that’s going to get you … more likes and comments.” “It’s a social-validation feedback loop … exactly the kind of thing that a hacker like myself would come up with, because you’re exploiting a vulnerability in human psychology.
Mike Allen, ‘Sean Parker Unloads on Facebook: “God Only Knows What it’s Doing to Our Children’s Brains”’, Axios, 9
November 2017
A Solution
To redesign social media from the ground up rooted in the principles of Buddhist ethics and the cultivation of wholesome relationships. This should improve the quality of awareness, enhance human agency, encourage independence of thought, and not foster addiction. This is what the Sigala project is all about.
Why ‘Sigala’?
The name is derived from the name of a follower to whom the Buddha gave the most definitive teachings on how lay people should conduct themselves for human flourishing. Actually the layman’s name was Sigāla (long ‘a’), but the diacritics can easily get omitted. Also, with a short ‘a’, it can be pronounced in the same lively way as ‘Figaro’!
Current status
Research has been ongoing since 2007 and explored various themes. From 2018 onwards, in response to Parker’s admission, special attention has been given to mind and cognition. For descriptions of these investigations, please consult the dedicated Sigala research site: https://research.siga.la/.
The next step is to code a proof of concept, for which I have established Symfony PHP framework as a suitable candidate.
This page was published on 31 May 2022 and last updated on August 15, 2022 .