Why Fairmind

The Problem

When a question polarizes opinion, dysfunction often follows. Facts are twisted to fit agendas. Arguments talk past each other. Nuance is lost.

In the public sphere, there are organizations that try to help. They create pro-con lists, issue briefs, or journalistic explainers. Although helpful and straightforward, these efforts often amount to reporting each side’s talking points. This leaves the reader to make sense of conflicting facts, disconnected arguments, and rhetoric that sounds good but misleads.

AI assistants should be able to help, and often they do. But trained on the distortions of public discourse, they can echo those distortions. Or, when attempting to provide balance, an AI can dilute valid arguments along with the invalid.

Our Approach

The Fairmind project creates new kinds of tools and content for fair-minded understanding of polarizing issues. The project has three aspects:

• Fairmind Format. A document structure and authoring principles for representing polarizing issues fairly, accurately, and concisely.
• Guides on Fairmind.org. Free public guides on the hardest issues of our time, created with Fairmind Format, usable by both people and AI systems.
• Supporting Others. Resources to help others use Fairmind Format in education, business, government, and civic life.

The underlying goal is to make it easier for people to be fair-minded. The easier it is, the more people will do it.

This will not end disagreement, but for people who want disagreement to be less dysfunctional, Fairmind is a way forward. It points toward better judgment, debate, and democratic decision-making. In turn, that helps people—as individuals, groups, and societies—live and work better amid their differences.

Get Involved

Fairmind is a public service project in its early stages. If you’re interested in supporting this work, getting involved as a volunteer, or simply sharing feedback, we’d love to hear from you.