Two old rivals, Kevin Rose, the tech entrepreneur and co-creator of the Ethereum NFT project Moonbirds and Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian is bringing back the once popular social news platform Digg, with an AI twist.

The partnership was announced on Wednesday in a video post on the company's X account in which Rose called the partnership a "team-up he would never imagine 20 years ago."

Diggs was originally founded in 2004, and rose to prominence as the go to social media outlet for trending news because it possesses features that allow users to rate stories. Following the rise of Diggs, Rose also rose to fame and even ended up on the cover of Businessweek in 2006 as the kid who made $60 million in 18 months.

First teaser of a revitalisation with an AI twist

Rose and Ohanian believe that AI holds the key to the future of social media, and they are just about to prove it. In the company's press release, it revealed that the social media app hopes to differentiate itself in the social media market by focusing on AI innovations designed to enhance the user experience and build a human-centred alternative.

Digg also claimed that it will also create a platform that "prioritizes transparency, rewards human effort, and fosters enriching discussions." Ohanian also teased the collaboration, telling his X followers that he is working on something new... But also old... and is excited to be partnering with Rose. Rose shared

"Kevin and I are here to build something better than what social platforms are offering today. AI should handle the grunt work in the background while humans focus on what they do best: building real connections."

But representatives for Digg did confirm is he would be using blockchain or crypto to fulfill his rewards obligation to his users, given the mention of rewarding human participation.

The ailing social media landscape of today

In today's social media, which has become increasingly unpleasant and divisive, Digg is hoping to provide the very thing that is missing from today's social media landscape.

As platforms like Meta and X have rolled back their fact-checking programs, allowing misinformation to spread unchecked across Facebook, Instagram, and Threads, these social networks have grown more toxic, cluttered, and difficult to navigate.

Recognizing this shift, Digg’s new leadership stated:

“The current social media landscape has become combative, cluttered, and exhausting. Users are overwhelmed by misinformation, spam, and the emotional toll of navigating hostile interactions.”

Ironically, this was the very issue that caused the downfall of Digg in the first place. In 2010, a group known as the Digg Patriots was exposed for orchestrating a widespread censorship campaign against left-leaning users. Using multiple accounts, vote manipulation, and coordinated ban campaigns, they suppressed liberal conversations on the site for months.

In an attempt to fix the problem, Kevin Rose and his team removed the ability for users to up-vote and down-vote stories, but the decision backfired. The Digg community, once built on open participation, felt alienated. The site’s core users abandoned it, and the site quickly crashed and was replaced by another platform called Reddit

Digg's solution

So what is Digg's answer today? Digg is hoping to create a better social media experience through the use of AI. The pair explained that they plan on doing this by incorporating AI to enhance user experience and moderation.

Rose explained:

“We’ve reached a turning point where AI can serve as a co-pilot for users and moderators, not replacing human conversations but enhancing them, allowing users to dig deeper, while at thesame time revoing a lot of the repetitive burden on community moderators”

From what we understand, the new app would let AI handle routine tasks such as spam filtering and toxic content removal, while letting human moderators foster positive interactions within the communities.

Ohanian also stressed the importance of moderators. Speaking as someone who was also a moderator during the pre-internet social media era, he stated the importance of providing moderators with good tools that would help make their job easier.

As such, Digg has promised to use a more nuanced system for content visibility. Instead of the simple banning or allowing of content, the platform will adjust visibility based on community standards. For example, a post that does not align with a group's tone may have reduced visibility, encouraging adherence to community norms.

A Second Act for Rose After Moonbirds

Rose’s return to Digg follows a rocky chapter with Proof and Moonbirds. The Moonbirds NFT project raised over $60 million, including $10 million from Ohanian’s venture firm Seven Seven Six. However, after an initial surge in popularity, Moonbirds’ value plummeted, mirroring the broader NFT market downturn.

In early 2024, Proof was acquired by Yuga Labs, the creators of Bored Ape Yacht Club. Today, Moonbirds NFTs trade for around $1,000 in ETH on secondary markets—far below their original launch price of $7,600 per NFT.

Rose and Ohanian acquired Digg for an undisclosed sum, backed by their respective VC firms, True Ventures and Seven Seven Six. The site is now accepting early sign-ups, with users invited to enter their email for exclusive access.

As Digg prepares for its return, the question remains: can it reclaim its former glory in an era dominated by AI-driven content platforms?