I want to share with you this
simple experiment
that you see in front
of you on the screen.
On the right side, we have a line
that is equal in length
to one of the three lines
on the left side.
The question I want you to
think of the answer to is
which of the three lines on the left is
equal in length to the line on the right?
I’ll give you a few seconds to think about
the answer, and keep it in your mind.
I’m sure most of you, if not all of you,
have chosen the correct answer.
The answer is quite obvious.
However, 75% of people answered
this question incorrectly
when it was presented to them
in a scientific experiment.
In 1951, the psychologist Ash Solomon
conducted one of the most important
and famous psychological experiments.
He told a volunteer, “you’ll do a vision
test with a group of other people.”
But what this volunteer didn’t
know was that the people
he was with in the experiment,
were actually actors.
Ash agreed with them that they would
all choose the same wrong answer
every time they were asked the same
question that you’ve all been asked.
He starts with the first actor and asks
him which of the three lines
on the left is equal in length
to the line on the right.
The first actor deliberately
chooses the wrong answer.
Then he moves on to the next actor,
who gives the same wrong answer.
The question is repeated until it
finally reaches the real volunteer.
The researchers repeated this
experiment several times
with different real participants,
to understand their behavior.
The result was that 75% of the
real participants chose
the same wrong answer as
the actors, at least once.
Some scientists explained this
result in one of two ways.
Either the real participants knew
the answer was wrong,
But decided to go along with their
peers for fear of social isolation.
Or, because of the majority’s opinion,
they actually doubted the accuracy of
their own conclusions, etc.
This tendency to follow
the group is called
the phenomenon of compliance.
Since adolescence, I have learned the
basics and principles of programming
and have designed several
applications and programs.
And just like many of you, I have been
using social media platforms
for over a decade and a half.
Today, I have 200,000 followers
on various platforms.
During this journey, I have learned the
ins and outs of the virtual world.
Technically, it is a world that consists
of data stored on distant servers,
but its impact on reality can be,
without exaggeration, terrifying.
Users on Twitter can speak on
someone else’s behalf
and generalize their opinion, saying,
for example, the opinion of
the Kuwaiti street is this or that.
Personally, I see many tweets that have
wide circulation and great support,
but I don’t feel they reflect my beliefs.
And I wanted to test this, and so I
asked the following question on Twitter.
I asked people, do you feel that
most of the opinions on Twitter
reflect your beliefs?
And I found that 87% of
people share my feelings.
All of this made me wonder:
how many people actually express
their opinion on Twitter?
And my research led me to answer
this question with information
that changed all my beliefs
about everything I see, read, or
hear on social media platforms.
In a rule called the one percent rule
or the 99-1 rule,
which has been extensively studied.
The rule states that
only 1% of all users produce
all the content we see on social networks.
While 9% interact with this content
through likes or reposts, for example
The vast majority, ninety percent, consume
this content
without any interaction.
Although the appearance of the
matter may seem simple,
in reality, it is much deeper than that.
The truly frightening matter is, that we
may see the opinion of 1% of people
as if it were the opinion of the majority.
Here we must remember that some
tweets have changed cultures,
created revolutions, and even
overthrown governments.
Some may intentionally portray
the opinion of the minority,
as if it were the opinion of everyone.
For certain agendas or reasons,
and we may also comply
without realizing it,
and support those we
consider the majority,
even if they are wrong.
Social networks have
many benefits,
but they also have many harmful
aspects, as we all know.
The negative psychological impact
of social media platforms
has been studied and discussed
scientifically and journalistically.
For example, some studies found that
frequent use of photo-sharing
apps like Instagram
may be associated with
reduced self-esteem,
depression, or isolation.
There have been attempts to
mitigate these harms,
such as launching platforms
and applications
that prevent the use of
filters or image editing.
But social networks have another dark
side that has not been highlighted enough.
This side may touch on our cultures,
traditions, laws, economy,
and all aspects of our lives.
Previously, I had an invention
I called Cleanse,
aimed at improving the vision of
surgeons during laparoscopic surgeries.
And today, I present my humble
contribution
to try and improve our vision of reality.
It is a platform called
Ra’yna [Our Opinion].
Ra’yna is a social networking site
that allows users to vote on
issues that interest them.
The aim is to measure public
opinion in a more realistic way
By converting a larger percentage
of user interactions
into votes and opinions
that can be measured
through polls, while eliminating the
phenomenon of conformity.
Some may wonder and say, “Alright Ahmad,
what’s new about this,
there are already social media
platforms which have polling features,
and there are also platforms
and websites designed to create polls,
like Survey Monkey?”
Indeed, this question is valid,
and to answer it,
let me clarify through
the following example.
Suppose I asked on Twitter, who is
the worst speaker in TED Talks?
We see that 100% of the participants
chose Ahmad as the worst speaker.
May God forgive you.
But this result does not tell
me the participants’ ages,
countries,
or levels of education.
This result has no detail or context.
If I repeated the same question on Ra’yna,
We would see that 100% chose
Ahmad as the worst speaker,
but we would see that mostly 3-year-olds
chose me by mistake, probably while
they were listening to Baby Shark.
Ra’yna allows me to understand the context
and background of the
participants in the poll.
In another example, in a specific poll,
I may be interested in the opinions of
Kuwait, Qatar, or Saudi Arabia
excluding other countries.
Or I may be interested in the opinions of
those who are 18 years old and above.
Ra’yna enables me to do that.
So, on Ra’yna, we eliminate the
phenomenon of conformity
by blocking users’ voices, answers,
and comments, until they
express their opinions.
Ra’yna is an open platform through which
anyone can propose a topic for voting.
Where anyone can vote and express their
opinion with complete privacy.
The results are not exclusive to anyone,
but democratically available to everyone.
As you can see, on Ra’yna we are
able to measure popularity,
as well as accepting some public figures,
brands, or government entities.
We are also able to understand
the general mood of people,
such as the degree of
happiness or optimism,
or for example, the level of satisfaction
of the Kuwaiti people
with the performance of
their National Assembly.
Like everything else in this world,
Ra’yna may not be the perfect solution,
But it could be the more
accurate display of reality,
and the means to prevent the minority
from hijacking public opinion, and puts
an end to the phenomenon of compliance.
My attempt today is to reduce the gap
between the digital world
and the real world
on the intellectual and actual level,
which has not received its fair
share of media attention.
I’ve decided a while ago
to doubt everything I see on my phone
screen before accepting its validity,
and to express my opinion clearly without
blindly conforming to what I feel.
And to strive to find a balance between my
actual life and my digital life.
I am sure that the best time to
make a change is now.
Together, we can create a better future,
a future in which the real and virtual
worlds are in harmony.
So that our ideas are really our own,
and Our Opinion [Ra’yna] that shapes
our world, is truly our own opinion.
Thank you.
