Why I made this site.

1. Political debate needs better incentives.

We have a problem. Our parliamentary debates are full of empty, vacuous nonsense.

While the incentives of politics have always led politicians to use mushy indirect speech, the problem is worse than it's ever been. That we now record and transcribe all parliamentary speech has probably had some effect. Politicians fear that a direct answer will hand their opponents a soundbite.

It's also true that complex and enigmatic language can be used to hide intentions and avoid responsibility. Political game theory leads politicians into strange second-order signalling games, see for example Power Talk.

It may be that the quality of our elites has taken a nose-dive. Are we living in a declining empire?

Whatever the reason, the decrease in quality of political speech is apparent. Compare a 1968 debate with something more recent and the contrast is apparent.

Translating paragraphs of nothing-talk into a few blunt sentences makes it harder for politicians to hide. Padded language stops working once it's been stripped out.

2. Government spending deserves plain language.

What politicians are proposing should be made obvious. If a bill is named "The Affordability Bill", but what it actually does is increase taxes by $1000 for every tax-paying family and then redirect that money somewhere via some bureaucratic scheme - this should be obvious.

3. People should be able to follow their government.

Following a debate shouldn't require wading through pages of repetition. Clear, short summaries make debates accessible.

4. People should see what AI makes possible.

This has been an idea of mine for years. AI finally made it possible to build.

I believe we're heading toward an extraordinary future, though getting there will be a bumpy road. I want this project to help people understand what AI can do for us and build optimism.

5. It's funny.

Stripping the ceremony from a carefully rehearsed exchange can reveal something absurd. This is the best use of humour: to reveal the truth in a new way. And the truth in this case is that most of what our politicians say is a whole lot of nothing.

This site has no ads. I pay for it myself because I think it's worth making.

Jake Donkersgoed
@JakeDonkersgoed