# 🛡️ From Users to (Sense)Makers: Stigmergic Social Annotation

**Ronen Tamari, Daniel A. Friedman, William Fischer, Lauren Hebert, Dafna Shahaf** (2022) · *Hypertext '22*

[![DOI](https://img.shields.io/badge/DOI-10.48550%2FarXiv.2205.06345-blue)](https://doi.org/10.48550/arXiv.2205.06345)

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## Abstract

> This paper discusses the detrimental effects of centralized platforms on collective sensemaking in online epistemic environments and proposes a decentralized framework called Open Source Attention (OSA) to enhance user agency and improve information quality. By leveraging stigmergic social annotation, the authors aim to empower individuals as active makers rather than passive consumers of information.

## Keywords

`stigmergic annotation` · `open source attention` · `collective sensemaking` · `epistemic pollution` · `decentralized platforms` · `social annotation` · `digital attention`

## Key Contributions

- Introduction of the Open Source Attention (OSA) framework for decentralized information governance.
- Emphasis on the role of stigmergic markers as digital traces of human attention in improving epistemic environments.
- Advocacy for a shift from platform-centric to maker-centric approaches in content creation and discovery.
- Proposition of a marketplace of diverse content discovery services to enhance user control and personalization.

## Methods

- Theoretical analysis of stigmergic communication and its implications for collective sensemaking.
- Development of a socio-technical framework inspired by open source and decentralization movements.
- Exploration of architectural elements for decentralized annotation tools, self-sovereign storage, and content discovery services.
- Comparison of existing systems like Solid and dokieli to highlight the need for a more integrated ecological approach.

## 🎯 Consulting & Tutoring

**Available for AI Research Consulting and Tutoring.** [Contact Daniel Ari Friedman, PhD](https://danielarifriedman.com/) for collaboration on Active Inference, Bayesian modeling, and computational biology.

## Citation

```bibtex
@article{2022_StigmergicAnnotation,
  author = {Ronen Tamari, Daniel A. Friedman, William Fischer, Lauren Hebert, Dafna Shahaf},
  title = {{From Users to (Sense)Makers: Stigmergic Social Annotation}},
  journal = {Hypertext '22},
  year = {2022},
  doi = {10.48550/arXiv.2205.06345},
}
```

## File Inventory

- `AGENTS.md` (2,034 bytes)
- `2022_StigmergicAnnotation.pdf` (502,155 bytes)
- `README.md` (1,841 bytes)
- `SKILL.md` (1,930 bytes)