The Dangers of Algorithm

Yesterday I watched the video below which drew my attention. Eli Pariser, former Executive Director of MoveOn.org, is explaining how nowadays all the information you find on the Internet is tailored according to your tastes and habits. Why is that?

Facebook and Google have been working really hard to provide users with relevant information when searching online. On the one hand, it’s good because this means that what you will find is what you are looking for and you will not waste time with irrelevant content. But on the other hand, it’s dangerous. Google and Facebook are controlling what you see, not you. Who told you that algorithm should dictate what you see online? why do they think that a machine can guess what users want or need to see? I agree that the internet is overloaded with data and filters help controlling better this flow of information but I’d like to decide myself whether a certain information is relevant or not to me.

That’s what Eli perfectly explains in this video and I hope it will make you think the same way it made me wonder why we let this happen.