algorithmic anxiety

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.

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... See more

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.

“The idea that we get our information as citizens through algorithms determined by the world’s largest advertising company is my definition of dystopia.”

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... See more

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