Saved by Sarah Owen and
The Age of Algorithmic Anxiety
Algorithms optimized for engagement shape what we see on social media and can goad us into participation by showing us things that are likely to provoke strong emotional responses. But although we know that all of this is happening in aggregate, it’s hard to know specifically how large technology companies exert their influence over our lives.
Social Internet Is Dead. Get Over It.
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
Max Read • Are "Algorithms" Making Us Boring?
They could have an algorithm designed to show you things that make you feel happy. They could have an algorithm designed to show you things that make you feel sad.
Johann Hari • Stolen Focus: Why You Can't Pay Attention--and How to Think Deeply Again
The Latest Online Culture War Is Humans vs. Algorithms
wired.com
The network of algorithms makes so many decisions for us, and yet we have little way of talking back to it or changing how it works. This imbalance induces a state of passivity: We consume what the feeds recommend to us without engaging too deeply with the material. We also adapt the way we present ourselves online to its incentives. We write tweet
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