Module 5

The "invisible algorithmic editing of the web" via personalized search results, news feeds and other customized content is threatening to limit our exposure to new information and narrow our outlook.

Google is also guilty of tweaking what it shows users based on past online behavior. Two users can receive drastically different Google search results after querying the same term because the search engine monitors 57 signals to tweak and personalize results. In fact, there is no standard Google anymore. This moves us very quickly towards a world in which the Internet is showing us what it thinks we want to see, but not necessarily what we need to see. Because of algorithms that determine what we see online, based on our browsing, reading, and clicking history, we risk being exposed to fewer viewpoints and a limited array of opinions, content sources, and viewpoints.

If we take all of these filters together, all of these algorithms we get can be called a filter bubble. Our filter bubble is our own personal unique universe of information that we live in online. The contents of our filter bubble depend on who we are and what we do. Unfortunately, we don't decide what gets in, and more importantly, we don't actually see what gets edited out.

We really need you to make sure that these algorithms have encoded in them a sense of the public life, a sense of civic responsibility. The thing is that the algorithms do not yet have the kind of embedded ethics. So if algorithms are going to curate the world for us, then we need to make sure that they're not just keyed to relevance. We need to make sure that they also show us things that are uncomfortable, challenging or important.

Smarter, more "concerned" algorithms are necessary to ensure we have a balanced information diet. The best editing gives us a bit of both. It gives us some information vegetables and some information dessert as well. Otherwise, we risk consuming too much "fast food" content. Instead of a balanced information diet, we may end up surrounded by information junk food!