I am willing to hear differing opinions on this.
I sometimes see people on Fediverse speak as if there is something inherently wrong about the idea of content sorting and filtering algorithms.
There is a massive amount of content today and limited time. Content algorithms could provide the benefit of helping us sort content based on what we want. The most he urgent news, the most informative articles, the closest friends, etc. This might have some similarities with how Facebook and others do it, but it is not the same. Big social media algorithms have one goal: maximizing their profit. One metric for that is maximizing screen on-time and scrolling.
Personally, I’ve been developing an algorithm to help me sift through the content I get on my RSS reader, as there’s a lot of content I’m uninterested in. This algorithm would save me time, whereas those of Twitter and Facebook maximize my wasted time.
In my opinion, algorithms should be:
- opt-in: off my default, and the user is given a clear choice to change it
- transparent: the algorithm should be transparent about its goals and inner workings
Only with this, can algorithms be good.
What are your thoughts?
The inherently wrong thing about algorithms is that since they are made to maximize profits by maximizing engagement, they produce addiction. I don’t see anything wrong with an opt-in option for algorithms as long as there is a warning about the fact that it may produce addiction. The problem is that for an algorithm to work more data needs to be gathered. And since many FOSS software is privacy focused they don’t tend to gather much data.
Addiction is a goal of the algorithms as they are designed. Better algorithms increase your screen-on time and mindless scrolling.
A good algorithm could, hypothetically, limit the number of content you see, or save you time from scrolling to find something interesting.
I agree. As you said, an algorithm doesn’t necessarily need to be addictive or maximize your wasted time, that just happens to be the most common type we see today, due to the big platforms’ drive for financial growth. It is perfectly reasonable to want an algorithm that helps you by filtering the massive pool of content available on the Internet into the most relevant stuff for you, while also be respectful of your time. The idea you mentioned of an entry-limited algorithm is certainly very interesting, in my opinion.