Are "Algorithms" Making Us Boring?

But sometimes, uncharitably, I imagine that what’s at the bottom of the consumption of this kind of writing is a desire not to overcome one’s apparent helplessness in the face of “the algorithm” but to affirm it--a compulsion to wallow in one’s perceived estrangement from the motions of culture and commerce and politics in the 21st century, to have... See more

As with the Generic Coffee Shops, the thought of ubiquitous Instagram shots of Iceland vacations in the 2010s likely generates a nod of recognition--perhaps even a wry chuckle--in members of the social class to which Chayka and I and (I presume) most Read Max readers belong. But “going to Iceland and taking Instagram photos” is, like “working on yo... See more