algorithmic anxiety
exploring algorithmic authority over our lives, and what it's doing to us
by Kasper Jordaens and · updated 2mo ago
algorithmic anxiety
- spending too much time in the big algorithmic feeds winds up being a form of intellectual monocropping. It’s not terribly diverse or surprising. It’s not that the stuff in your feeds is all bad; some of it’s great! But it’s got a deadening sameness to it.
from 9 Ways to ‘Rewild Your Attention’ by Clive Thompson
Stuart Evans added 1y ago
- models, despite their reputation for impartiality, reflect goals and ideology
from Weapons of Math Destruction Quotes by Cathy O'Neil
sari added 1y ago
- Elan: How do you think about success when publishing a piece? If you have the traditional KPIs of number of page views or how far it spreads, what does success look like for The Pudding?
Matt: Great question. It’s definitely not hard metrics for us. Everyone has their own barometer of success, just as they have their own barometer of quality.
For exa... See morealex added 2mo ago
No one cares when you stop tweeting; the algorithm will simply slot in the content of some more willing participant, because, in Filterworld, everyone is replaceable. The majority of your followers are unlikely to even notice your absence because, at least to the algorithm, your sleepy account is deemed no longer worthy of prioritization.
from Filterworld by Kyle Chayka
sari added 4mo ago
- The trouble with the internet, Mr. Williams says, is that it rewards extremes. Say you’re driving down the road and see a car crash. Of course you look. Everyone looks. The internet interprets behavior like this to mean everyone is asking for car crashes, so it tries to supply them.
from ‘The Internet Is Broken’: @ev Is Trying to Salvage It (Published 2017)
sari and added 1y ago
- As people contort themselves to please the algorithm for short-term payouts, there’s even more of the less legible, less liquid, but ultimately more important long-term value up for grabs for you if you continue to just be yourself and talk about whatever lights your fire, algorithm be damned.
from A Market For (Almost) Everything by Packy McCormick
sari added 1y ago
- It’s getting ever harder to distinguish humans from bots, not just because bots are becoming more humanlike, but also because humans are becoming more botlike.
As knowledge of human psychology evolves, algorithms become better at shaping human behavior.from Why You Are Probably An NPC by Gurwinder
sari added 1y ago
- So, I believe we have some personal agency. But I also believe that a 12-year-old’s mind is no match for a giant corporation using the most advanced AI to manipulate her behavior. Gen Z were the guinea pigs in this uncontrolled global social experiment. We were the first to have our vulnerabilities and insecurities fed into a machine that magnified... See more
from Algorithms Hijacked My Generation. I Fear For Gen Alpha. by Freya India
sari added 9mo ago
what these continuous streams of content do is prevent you from taking a second to pause, reflect on who you really are, and realize where you are headed.
- To return to a theme around here - these videos are the product of incentives, and though they’re extreme manifestations of those incentives, they’re hardly unique in being shaped by them. One commonplace that’s found among Reels that have some purpose and some plausible entertainment value is the “wait for it” thing, artificially delaying the arri... See more
from The Bitter End of "Content" by Freddie DeBoer
sari added 1y ago