Empowering Voters to Break Free from Confirmation Bias with AI

In today's digital world, it’s easy for our social media feeds to be filled with content that aligns with our existing beliefs. Algorithms on platforms like TikTok, Instagram, and Facebook show us what we already agree with, reinforcing our confirmation bias. It can feel impossible to question the validity of the information we consume, particularly during election season, when accuracy is essential for informed decision-making.

Informed Citizenship in a “Post-Truth” Era

Informed citizenship demands critical thinking and the ability to assess facts objectively. However, the average person today faces a significant challenge—how can they confirm whether what they see is factual, neutral, and reliable? In an era of rampant misinformation, tools that help break through this noise are more important than ever.

To empower voters to challenge the narratives they encounter online, Sidekick, our AI-powered tool designed to combat confirmation bias. Available at no cost through Election Day, Sidekick uses our library of more than 5 billion community data points to give voters the needed facts.

Sidekick enables voters to verify information and form their conclusions independently by allowing access to nonpartisan data on their local, regional, and federal communities. This allows voters to explore how policies affect their neighborhoods. By asking the right questions, we can all challenge what we see on the ether and confirm whether the data supports the claims.

Using Technology to Fight Bias

“It's vital to equip voters to evaluate the information they consume critically, but today, few tools exist that provide a 'just the facts' approach,” says Stephen Hardy, CEO. “Sidekick aims to fill that gap and help citizens challenge their biases in a world dominated by 'post-truth' narratives.”

Sidekick isn’t the only tech tool working to ensure voters have access to reliable information. Poliquicks, a nonpartisan political education app, simplifies complex political jargon and current events from an objective perspective. By making the language of politics more accessible, Poliquicks helps citizens better understand key issues without being swayed by partisan rhetoric.

Tools like Sidekick and Poliquicks provide real solutions for voters who want to break free from the echo chamber of their social media feeds and make informed decisions based on facts. Plus, they’re intuitive and they make large amounts of complex information easy to understand in a critical time for citizens making decisions about their communities and those who lead them.

Four Tips to Use AI to Battle Misinformation

To help voters better navigate the complexities of the digital information age, here are a few tips for using AI-driven tools like Sidekick to push back against confirmation bias:

1. Ask the Right Questions: Frame questions that challenge the data you're encountering. For example, instead of asking if a claim is true, ask what data supports or refutes the claim.
2. Explore Local Impact: See how national policies affect your local area. Understanding the on-the-ground impact can help you gauge the relevance and accuracy of broader claims.
3. Check for Data Consistency: Use Sidekick to cross-check information across multiple sources and data points, ensuring that what you see isn’t cherry-picked to fit a particular narrative
4. Use Multiple Tools: Combine Sidekick with tools like Poliquicks for a broader perspective. Poliquicks helps break down political language, while Sidekick focuses on the data.

In a world where confirmation bias is easier to feed than to fight, challenging narratives presented on social media and exploring data can help citizens make better decisions based on reliable information rather than partisan rhetoric.

Want to see Sidekick in action? Check it out below.