Jimmy Wales used to joke that choosing to build Wikipedia on a non-profit, non-advertising model was either the best or worst decision he ever made—but he doesn’t joke about that anymore. “If you think about advertising-driven social media…it's driven them in many cases to prioritize agitation and argumentation in a negative sense over education and learning and thoughtfulness.” In his now ceremonial role, Jimmy spends a lot of time thinking about how to structure incentives so that the Wikipedia community stays aligned on values and focused on building an ever-improving encyclopedia.
Jimmy joined Tyler to discuss what happens when content moderation goes wrong, why certain articles are inherently biased, the threat that repealing section 230 poses to Wikipedia, whether he believes in Conquest’s Law, the difference between “paid editing” and “paid advocacy editing,” how Wikipedia handles alternative accounts, the right to be forgotten, his unusual education in Huntsville, Alabama, why Ayn Rand is under- and over-rated, the continual struggle to balance good rules and procedures against impenetrable bureaucracy, how Wikipedia is responding to mobile use, his attempt to build a non-toxic social media platform, and more.
Follow us on Twitter and IG: @cowenconvos
Email: cowenconvos@mercatus.gmu.edu
Follow Jimmy on Twitter
Follow Tyler on Twitter
Newsletter
Steven Pinker on Language, Reason, and the Future of Violence (Live at Mason)
Ezra Klein on Media, Politics, and Models of the World
Margalit Fox on Life, Death, and the Best Job in Journalism
Michael Orthofer on Why Fiction Matters
Cass Sunstein on Judicial Minimalism, the Supreme Court, and Star Wars (Live at Mason)
Camille Paglia on her Lifestyle of Observation (Live at Mason)
Jonathan Haidt on Morality, Politics, and Intellectual Diversity on Campus
Nate Silver on the Supreme Court and the Underrated Stat for Finding Good Food (Live at Mason)
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar on Fighting Bruce Lee, Growing Up in Harlem, and Basketball (Live at Mason)
Cliff Asness on Comics and Why Never to Share a Gym with Cirque du Soleil (Live at Mason)
Dani Rodrik on Premature Deindustrialization and Why the World is Second Best at Best
Luigi Zingales on Italy, Google and Conglomeration, and Donald Trump (Live at Mason)
Jeffrey Sachs on Charter Cities and How to Reform Graduate Economics Education (Live at Mason)
Peter Thiel on Stagnation, Innovation, and What Not to Call your Company (Live at Mason)
Create your
podcast in
minutes
It is Free
The Resilient Mind
Positive Thinking Mind
In the Great Khan’s Tent
The Mel Robbins Podcast
The Jordan B. Peterson Podcast