The cult of productivity
Why is it that the modern idea of productivity is so often a frame for what is actually the destruction of the natural productivity of an ecosystem?
Jenny Odell • How to Do Nothing: Resisting the Attention Economy
One of the most insidious effects of algorithmic curation is its redefinition of success. In the pre-digital age, greatness was measured by critical acclaim, cultural impact, or historical longevity. Today, it is measured by metrics: views, likes, shares, and subscriptions.
This shift has profound implications for creators. To succeed in an algorith... See more
This shift has profound implications for creators. To succeed in an algorith... See more
Dr. Felix S. Grenwood • Algorithms of Mediocrity — william
The Banality of Online Recommendation Culture
A recent surge of human-curated guidance is both a reaction against and an extension of the tyranny of algorithmic recommendations.
A recent surge of human-curated guidance is both a reaction against and an extension of the tyranny of algorithmic recommendations.
newyorker.com • Unnamed Document
Even among people who work within the ‘creative industries’, their imagination seems increasingly harnessed to create demand for things nobody really needs, whose production is increasingly pushing our human and ecological systems to the brink of collapse – almost as if imagination has been coopted in the service of our own extinction.
Rob Hopkins • From What Is to What If: Unleashing the Power of Imagination to Create the Future We Want
This shift has profound implications for creators. To succeed in an algorithm-driven system, they must produce work that not only fits the platform’s criteria but also generates consistent engagement. The pressure to conform stifles originality, creating a homogenized cultural landscape. Even when exceptional works do emerge, they are often drowned... See more