Title: Nextdoor CEO Sarah Friar Highlights ChatGPT’s Ability to Teach Manners
Sarah Friar, the CEO of Nextdoor, recently praised the role of AI-powered chatbots in teaching people manners while using the platform. In an interview with ExBulletin, Friar highlighted how Nextdoor’s chatbot feature, called ChatGPT, helps users communicate effectively and respectfully with their neighbors.
Nextdoor, founded in 2008, functions as a digital community for neighbors to connect, seek advice, and share local information. However, the platform has had its fair share of negativity and mean-spirited posts, tarnishing its reputation. To combat this issue, Nextdoor became one of the first social networks to implement message-scanning algorithms that filter out abusive content before it is posted.
According to Friar, ChatGPT takes this effort even further by assisting users in composing their initial posts. The chatbot suggests improvements, offers guidance on manners and etiquette, and even helps users rewrite their posts to improve readability, particularly for non-native English speakers. Friar believes this feature not only facilitates better communication but also reduces the barriers people face when reaching out to strangers, which is especially significant amid the prevailing sense of loneliness in society.
With Nextdoor requiring users to input their address details, the platform serves as a digital parish where neighbors unite to address various local concerns, ranging from finding good deals to organizing events. It also allows for the sharing of lost pet alerts and the sale of used appliances. Additionally, Nextdoor allows residents to discuss neighborhood matters such as local festivities, lawn care, and community issues.
Despite these positive aspects, Nextdoor has faced criticism for some of the content posted on its platform. A Twitter account named Best of Nextdoor gained attention for documenting the most outrageous incidents, leading to concerns among the company’s executives. However, Nextdoor’s continuous efforts to improve the user experience, such as implementing message-scanning algorithms, demonstrate its commitment to creating a safe and positive environment for neighbors to interact.
Sarah Friar, born and raised in rural Tyrone, Northern Ireland, took over as Nextdoor’s CEO in 2018, following her role as the CFO of Square, a payments company founded by Twitter creator Jack Dorsey. Friar’s unconventional journey to Silicon Valley began with her parents, who both worked as nurses and personnel managers. They studied metallurgy at the University of Oxford and briefly worked at gold mines in Ghana and McKinsey in South Africa. Friar became the first in her family to attend university and went on to earn her MBA from Stanford before embarking on her career.
Before joining Nextdoor, Friar worked as an analyst at Goldman Sachs and gained notable recognition when she recommended that investors sell their stocks in Salesforce, a decision that drew attention and ultimately led to her being noticed by Marc Benioff, the CEO of Salesforce.
In conclusion, Nextdoor’s CEO Sarah Friar emphasizes the positive impact of AI and chatbot technology in fostering respectful communication and teaching manners to users. Through its novel chatbot feature, ChatGPT, Nextdoor aims to improve users’ writing, encourage kindness, and ultimately create a more pleasant and inclusive online environment for neighbors to connect and engage with one another.
