We're all fed up with the algorithm

In the post-hipster era, you listened to what Spotify told you to listen to. If you read a book, it was because the precise pattern of blobby pastel-coloured shapes on its cover contained coded instructions to TikTok’s algorithm that sent it zooming to the top of your feed. Your tastes and preferences were decided for you by vast crystalline machin... See more

“If your stuff’s not performing well ... you might be aware that the algorithm is doing some shenanigans to tank your views or likes,” explained Kate, but that awareness doesn’t always translate into frustration with the platform. “There’s this doubt that creeps in about your own work, what you should be doing,” she shared.

There’s an irony here: Algorithms were once believed to untether us from the masses and offer paths for personalization. But “For You” is not about pushing the limits of our artistic palates, but a device to serve us what the platform wants us to be satisfied with, herding us into perfectly predictable siloes that can be targeted with more “precise... See more