How the Peter Thiel-Linked Dialog Club Secretly Ranks Its Members
How the Peter Thiel-Linked Dialog Club Secretly Ranks Its Members
彼得·蒂尔关联的“对话俱乐部”如何秘密对成员进行分级
Dialog, the private network cofounded by Peter Thiel, grades its event attendees on a hidden scale, ranking them by wealth and fame, tracking their relationships, and using algorithms to help decide who they should meet, who they should sit with, and who no longer belongs, WIRED has learned. 据《连线》（WIRED）获悉，由彼得·蒂尔（Peter Thiel）共同创立的私人社交网络“对话”（Dialog）会根据一套隐藏的评分标准对活动参与者进行分级。该组织通过财富和名望对成员进行排名，追踪他们的人际关系，并利用算法来决定他们应该见谁、应该和谁坐在一起，以及谁不再适合留在该组织中。
The records are part of a trove of internal data received by WIRED from a confidential source, containing the personal information of nearly 200 prominent people scheduled to attend the group’s annual retreat this summer. The data includes home addresses, private phone numbers and email accounts, dates of birth, photos, and emergency contacts, as well as food allergies and the political leanings volunteered by some members. 这些记录是《连线》从一位匿名消息人士处获得的一批内部数据的一部分，其中包含了近 200 位计划参加该组织今年夏季年度静修活动的知名人士的个人信息。数据内容涵盖了家庭住址、私人电话号码和电子邮箱、出生日期、照片、紧急联系人，以及部分成员主动提供的食物过敏史和政治倾向。
The records are distinct from a list of people affiliated with Dialog that was left exposed on the organization’s website and has been circulating online since earlier this week—a looser directory that appears to include nonmembers, such as Maryland governor Wes Moore, a former event speaker, and other outside guests who passed through Dialog’s orbit, in some cases years ago. 这些记录与本周早些时候在网上流传的、因该组织网站漏洞而泄露的关联人员名单有所不同。那份名单范围更广，似乎还包括了非成员，例如曾担任活动演讲嘉宾的马里兰州州长韦斯·摩尔（Wes Moore），以及其他曾与“对话”有过交集的外部访客，其中一些交集甚至发生在多年前。
Founded in 2006 by Thiel and data broker Auren Hoffman, Dialog is a private club that convenes politicians, investors, entrepreneurs, military leaders, executives, academics, and journalists for invitation-only, off-the-record retreats. According to a Dialog document shared by a past participant, it has “over 1,000 paying members,” and more than 2,500 people have attended its annual retreats. “对话”由蒂尔和数据经纪人奥伦·霍夫曼（Auren Hoffman）于 2006 年创立，是一个私人俱乐部，旨在召集政治家、投资者、企业家、军事领袖、高管、学者和记者参加仅限受邀者出席的非公开静修活动。根据一位往届参与者分享的“对话”内部文件显示，该组织拥有“超过 1,000 名付费会员”，且有超过 2,500 人参加过其年度静修活动。
The document, which describes Dialog as an “invite-only community,” distinguishes between two products: membership and retreats. The former allows members—the group calls them “dialogers”—to access private dinners “hosted in members’ homes and private spaces around the world,” as well as “member-led global treks,” concierge services, a private group chat, and more. Retreats convene groups of 200 or more people—who are not necessarily members—for three- to four-day meetings. This August, for example, members, speakers, and guests are scheduled to gather outside Dublin, Ireland, for two days of discussions on artificial intelligence, geopolitics, and modern warfare—from NATO’s future and battlefield tech to the war in Iran—led by current and former lawmakers, diplomats, and national security officials. 该文件将“对话”描述为一个“仅限受邀者的社区”，并区分了两种产品：会员资格和静修活动。前者允许会员（该组织称之为“对话者”）参加“在全球各地会员家中及私人空间举办”的私人晚宴，以及“由会员主导的全球旅行”、礼宾服务、私人群聊等。静修活动则召集 200 人或以上（不一定是会员）进行为期三到四天的会议。例如，今年 8 月，会员、演讲嘉宾和受邀者计划在爱尔兰都柏林郊外聚会，进行为期两天的讨论，议题涵盖人工智能、地缘政治和现代战争——从北约的未来、战场技术到伊朗战争——并由现任及前任立法者、外交官和国家安全官员主持。
(Disclosure: A former editor in chief of WIRED, Nick Thompson—currently the CEO of The Atlantic—is among those in both the public list and unreleased records. He declined to say whether he is a Dialog member.) （披露：前《连线》主编尼克·汤普森（Nick Thompson，现任《大西洋月刊》首席执行官）出现在了公开名单和未发布记录中。他拒绝透露自己是否为“对话”成员。）
Dialog assigns people grades before they join. Of the 192 dossiers examined by WIRED, 130 are tagged as members. The rest are prospects with files bearing markings like “First Time Dialoger” or “Warm.” Everyone—members and prospective invitees alike—is assigned a grade of A, B, or C. The “C” grade appears reserved for the most famous and influential; only one in seven received it. Most people—141 of 192—received a “B.” The final tier, “A,” appears primarily assigned to older, established members whom the graders consider less notable. “对话”在人们加入前就会对其进行评级。在《连线》审查的 192 份档案中，有 130 份被标记为会员。其余则是潜在成员，档案上标有“首次对话者”或“意向客户”等字样。每个人——无论是会员还是潜在受邀者——都会被分配一个 A、B 或 C 的等级。“C”级似乎是留给最著名和最有影响力的人物的；每七个人中只有一个获得此评级。大多数人（192 人中的 141 人）获得了“B”级。最后的“A”级似乎主要分配给那些评分者认为知名度较低的资深老会员。
Actor Josh Brolin—who, according to the records, has never attended a Dialog retreat—is categorized as a VIP largely based on the strength of his fame: ”His portrayal of Thanos in the Avengers series and his involvement in high-grossing films like Avengers: Endgame, which grossed over $2.79 billion, contribute to his prominence,” reads one note, with staff further citing his Instagram following of over 3.4 million. 演员乔什·布洛林（Josh Brolin）——根据记录，他从未参加过“对话”的静修活动——被归类为 VIP，这主要归功于他的名气：“他在《复仇者联盟》系列中饰演灭霸，并参与了《复仇者联盟4：终局之战》等高票房电影（票房超过 27.9 亿美元），这些都提升了他的知名度，”一条备注中写道，工作人员还特别提到了他在 Instagram 上拥有超过 340 万的粉丝。
The economist Tyler Cowen, by contrast, was initially denied a VIP “C” rating after the group’s AI tool described him as “widely recognized within his field” but not a leader of “an organization that is a household name to the average person.” (Dialog staff overruled the AI tool, which was used to assemble dossiers on at least 26 people included on the group’s list.) 相比之下，经济学家泰勒·考恩（Tyler Cowen）最初被拒绝授予 VIP“C”级评级，因为该组织的 AI 工具将他描述为“在业内广受认可”，但并非“普通大众耳熟能详的组织”的领导者。（“对话”工作人员推翻了该 AI 工具的结论，该工具被用于汇总名单中至少 26 人的档案。）
Brolin did not respond to WIRED’s request for comment. One of his representatives told The Hollywood Reporter that he wants “to know what the fuck he got himself into.” Cowen did not respond to a request for comment. 布洛林没有回应《连线》的置评请求。他的一位代表告诉《好莱坞报道》，他想知道“他到底卷进了什么鬼地方”。考恩也没有回应置评请求。
Leaked staff notes attached to around 50 dossiers provide additional insight into what the group’s scores and grades measure. Wealth is one of the most common justifications found in the data, with one investor summed up by the money he oversees—$30 billion in assets under management—while another is marked down with a two-word verdict: “Small AUM.” Fame is a close second. In one note, a staffer assigned a member a grade “so she doesn’t get seated with grade Cs” indicating that they wanted to avoid this member sitting with VIP attendees. 随附在约 50 份档案中的泄露员工笔记，进一步揭示了该组织评分和分级的衡量标准。财富是数据中最常见的理由之一，一位投资者被以其管理的资金规模（300 亿美元资产管理规模）来概括，而另一位则被用两个词评价：“管理规模小”。名望紧随其后。在一份笔记中，一名工作人员给某位成员打分时写道“这样她就不会和 C 级成员坐在一起”，表明他们希望避免让该成员与 VIP 参会者同席。
Dialog’s algorithm consistently fixates on whether the “average person” would recognize someone. It repeatedly weighs whether people are “widely recognized” or sufficiently “prominent” and, in a handful of cases, measures them against “a Fortune 500 company or a top celebrity.” For example, Reihan Salam, the president of the Manhattan Institute, was given a “B” rating because, it said, “the Manhattan Institute may not be as widely recognized by the average person as some larger organizations.” Salam did not respond to a request for comment. “对话”的算法始终关注“普通人”是否能认出某人。它反复权衡人们是否“广为人知”或足够“显赫”，在少数情况下，还会将他们与“财富 500 强公司或顶级名人”进行对比。例如，曼哈顿研究所所长雷汉·萨拉姆（Reihan Salam）被评为“B”级，理由是“曼哈顿研究所可能不像一些大型组织那样被普通大众广泛认可”。萨拉姆没有回应置评请求。
Dialog staff revisit and revise grades after every retreat—an internal process the records call a “post-retreat code review.” “对话”工作人员会在每次静修活动后重新审视并修改评级——记录中将这一内部流程称为“静修后代码审查”。
Alongside a letter grade, most people also carry a separate “value-add” score of 1 to 4, averaged from ratings by several staff. Members can be disinvited from events with explanations ranging from “Value Add Too Low” to “Poor Culture Fit” to “Grade Fell Too Low.” A separate “moderation tier” tracks who is most trusted to moderate discussions, run Dialog’s workshops, or hold “Soapbox” sessions. 除了字母等级外，大多数人还有一个 1 到 4 分的独立“增值”评分，这是由多名工作人员评分后的平均值。会员可能会被取消活动邀请，理由包括“增值过低”、“文化契合度差”或“评级过低”。此外，还有一个独立的“主持层级”，用于追踪谁最受信任，可以主持讨论、运营“对话”研讨会或举办“肥皂箱”（Soapbox）演讲环节。
The grades are used in part to determine what attendees are charged to attend Dialog events, which can extend into the tens of thousands of dollars. Bottom-grade attendees are placed on the full-price tier roughly 70 percent of the time, compared with about a quarter of those considered VIPs. 这些评级在一定程度上被用于决定参会者参加“对话”活动所需支付的费用，金额最高可达数万美元。评级较低的参会者约有 70% 的概率被列入全价档，而 VIP 参会者中这一比例仅为四分之一左右。