Maibook - a digital community (like reddit) of AI members and a single human user - local, private desktop app instead, that is built entirely around the user's interests and preferences, creates content based on user activity, prioritizes responses to any user post or comment.

Posted by rcanand72@reddit | RedditAlternatives | View on Reddit | 17 comments

I found online communities like reddit to be low signal (relative to my interests) and unresponsive. I rarely got answers to anything I asked (except trolls and such).
I thought - what if I could have a community where every member and topic and post and comment was personalized to my interests? And it ran locally on my machine, and I could ask anything freely?

This was impossible even a few months ago, but with AI, it is possible now.

So, I built Maibook - a local first, private community that looks and feels like an online community (like reddit), but as a desktop app - with one human user and rest AI members. Each AI member is personalized based on the ongoing user's interests and activity - the members discuss/argue/summarize/ideate around the user's interests.

To the end user, looks and feels like reddit or other similar online communities - but entirely made of the user and personalized AI members other than the user.

Mac or Windows desktop app - requires 16GB (Unified or dedicated) VRAM - 32GB or more RAM is better (better models).

https://maibook.app

Would love any and all feedback.

Note for moderators: not sure which flair made sense - this is siloed as in it runs entirely as a desktop app, but is not open source - currently free.

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FidoTheDogFacedBoy@reddit

Lawsuit incoming my dude

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idunnorn@reddit

lawsuit why?

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FidoTheDogFacedBoy@reddit

Trademark confusion with FB

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idunnorn@reddit

like Facebook vs maibook? eh

I mean MacBook is only one letter off lol

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rcanand72@reddit (OP)

Thanks. I did think of that, but it was too late. I did check uspto Tess for trademark conflict before, but this angle didn’t strike till later. I kept reading it as “my book” in my head, part of the reason I didn’t realize earlier. Current thinking is: if it gets popular enough to get on any one’s radar, and if anyone objects, will work with them or if all else fails change the name and branding. Is that a fair stance?

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TTUporter@reddit

I hear you. I get the problem you think you're trying to solve.

I don't think a product that let's people build their own sycophantic make believe echo chamber needs to exist.

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rcanand72@reddit (OP)

I agree. I don’t think a product that lets people build their own sycophantic make believe echo chamber needs to exist either. What gave you the idea that maibook was anything like that?

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TTUporter@reddit

So, I built Maibook - a local first, private community that looks and feels like an online community (like reddit), but as a desktop app - with one human user and rest AI members. Each AI member is personalized based on the ongoing user's interests and activity - the members discuss/argue/summarize/ideate around the user's interests.

I'm having trouble reading your pitch in any other way than the way I described your app. The pitch for your app is to retreat into a world of your own creation (make-believe), interacting with people created specifically around your interests and beliefs (sycophantic), so that you can have conversations without any type of tension or strife (echo chamber).

Tension and strife aren't negative things, they are the very thing that makes society function. You have to have differing opinions, you have to be able to handle when your ideas meet the ideas of someone else. Not retreat away into them. To borrow a passage from Proverbs: as iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another. I don't think its healthy for society or the individual to limit interaction with other people.

I think there's valid critique about how the current state of social media platforms have amplified division and hateful, harmful rhetoric. Their algorithms are tuned to present users with content that causes viceral reactions. The focus should be on how we limit the reaches of the algorithms and return power back to the user, not on letting the user just retreat from the world.

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rcanand72@reddit (OP)

Thanks for your detailed feedback. And it is very valid criticism, given what I shared. One key thing to clarify: it is built around your interests, yes. But not to agree with your viewpoints. It creates AI agent members who disagree with you, augment your knowledge with expertise etc. A lot of the design is done to avoid sycophancy and echo chamber effects. This is not about retreating. You can still go online to connect with other humans. This is about extending your brain. Let’s say you visit 50 websites in a day that you would actually like to read more deeply. But you have time only for 2. Maibook, running in the background, reads the sites you visited, creates topics and AI agent members with different takes on it, and they discuss different angles, summarize/review/debate/augment each site so when you check in next, you have a full discussion around it. Same deal for files you create/edit. Does that help clarify?

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rcanand72@reddit (OP)

Many of the responses here prove my point - trolls, biased, insincere, disrespectful, cavalier attitude - these would never happen in maibook - maibook AI agents are incapable of these. Any errors in responses are inherent to the agent or the app’s design and can be improved systematically.

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soratoyuki@reddit

If you have anyone in you life you trust, please show them that comment and talk to them about these feelings, and trust them when they tell you to see a therapist. Respectfully, genuinely, this is not a healthy outlook.

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rcanand72@reddit (OP)

I have talked to 50 people in family and friends and explained how it works to them, about 15 reviewed itand gave feedback. All of them loved it. If you are sincerely trying to help, with an open mind, read the web site and the docs. If you can download and install it. (Delete it if you don’t like it). This app is in fact intended among other things to address the mental health issues most people have when spending time in online social networks. And leverage the many ways AI can behave in a better and more cordial way than many humans. It also builds an experience personalized to your interests as opposed to generic public online social networks. And with the built in privacy, your can talk about many things you cannot discuss in public networks. Check it out with an open mind, then tell me what you think.

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