1984 was a typo

By 2014, the tech giant advertisers had the apparatus in place to effectively spy on everyone everywhere that a machine connected to other machines. Anything done digitally more or less anywhere on Earth was collected, processed, and sold. And out of their benevolence they used this information to create, and rapidly deliver, an unprecedented decade of creativity and techno-social progress never before seen.

That's what happened right?¹ I mean, at least we got airpods...

Well if these assholes weren't making things that people wanted, what the heck were they doing?

The algorithm

Do you remember those math class games in grade school where'd you pick a number, and then do some math, and it'd always come out to the same number regardless of what you picked? Claude tells me this is a classic one:

• Pick any number (1-99)

• Add 7

• Multiply by 2

• Subtract 4

• Divide by 2

• Subtract your original number

This will always come out to five.

When you get to college and take some computer science courses, eventually you come across algorithms. Like many computer science terms, there isn't a singular exact definition of what an algorithm is, but it's more or less this math game. There is some number of steps that take some input, and always produces the same output.

It has long been known that content displayed to users on social media platforms can change based on the user's behavior and likes and dislikes. In the past few years people have been talking about The Algorithm, as in the underlying process by which these platforms choose to display you content. Whether it's a singular algorithm, or an amalgamation is immaterial. But what it's trying to do isn't. Let's see if we can figure that out.

• Learn about a user

• Show them content they like

• They return to your platform because its nice

Seems reasonable. How about this?

• Learn about a user

• Show them content they like

• They return to your platform because its nice

• Encourage them to invite their friends

• Show their friends content that they all like

• Everyone's just hanging with their friends having a good time

Ok cool, everything seems good here, but of course eventually you're going to have to pay the servers hosting all of this content. So you monetize:

• Learn about a user

• Show them content they like

• Throw in some ads, but not too many

• They return to your platform because its nice

• Encourage them to invite their friends

• Show their friends content that they all like

• Throw in some ads, but not too many

• Everyone's just hanging with their friends having a good time

But of course, usage growth stalls, competition moves in, but shareholders need that growth. So you start messing with The Algorithm to get the results you want. Eventually, the ads are the purpose of the algorithm:

• Learn about a user

• Show them content they like

• Throw in lots of ads

• They return to your platform because its nice

• Encourage them to invite their friends

• Show their friends content that they all like

• Throw in lots of ads

• Everyone's just hanging with their friends having a good time

• Keep people watching AAAADDDDDSSSSS!!!!

Nothing to see here, just some good ol' fashioned capitalism right? But then they hire an intern who goes ahead and makes just one tiny tweak to The Algorithm, see if you can catch it:

• Learn about a user

• Show them content they like

• Throw in lots of ads

• They return to your platform because its nice

• Encourage them to invite their friends

• Show their friends content that they all like

• Throw in lots of ads

• Everyone's just hanging with their friends having a good time

• Keep people watching political AAAADDDDDSSSSS!!!!

Did you catch it? Some folks didn't. How about a few months later when that intern goes ahead and sprinkles their flavoring a bit more:

• Learn about a user

• Show them political content they like

• Throw in lots of ads

• They return to your platform because its nice

• Encourage them to invite their friends

• Show their friends political content that they all like

• Throw in lots of ads

• Everyone's just hanging with their friends having a good time

• Keep people watching political AAAADDDDDSSSSS!!!!

Now the problem with this algorithm is that it comes down to whether you agree with the intern or not. And that's what makes undoing this shit so hard, because the whole algorithm is designed to make you feel good when you are aligned with it. So when someone who you perceive as being different from you comes for your darlings saying they're poisoned, it causes defensiveness, and fear. The sides become entrenched, and the surveilance apparatus grows in power.

And that's why we're not going to try to do it that way. Instead, I hope that regardless of political affiliation, and your take on the necessity of surveilance in the rule of law, we can agree that with respect to corporations, people should always have the option to opt out. Opting out's just such a gnarly mess, that we have to get creative.

Continue to part 11