algorithmic anxiety
exploring algorithmic authority over our lives, and what it's doing to us
Kasper Jordaens and
algorithmic anxiety
as a human, my tastes, interests and attention are shaped by what is put in front of me. I’ve seen my 3-year old granddaughter, on her way to do one thing, decide she wants to do something else, simply because the button for it appeared in her vision cone. I know I’m not so different. I want to stop being constantly bombarded by the click-me... See more
Kids will not believe me when I say this, but people didn’t always absorb their “content” by way of mysterious algorithmic black magic on endlessly-scrolling crack feeds. We used to type web addresses into our browsers, and actually visit our favorite sites. This, going to “www dot college shitpost dot com” or whatever, was itself considered a
... See moreTo 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... See more
Freddie deBoer • The Bitter End of "Content"
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.
