In Search of an Algorithm for Well-Being
Do we want a world optimized for engagement?
A unique feature of our times is that algorithms direct our choices, fill our days, and rule our lives.
These opaque and ubiquitous programs that no one completely understands define, for the most part, our non-negligible digital realities. When you’re listening to music on Spotify or iTunes, playing a vid on YouTube, looking for the next birthday gift at Amazon, binge-watching your favorite show on Netflix, or even searching for the news on Google, it’s an algorithm that decides the pool of options available to you — and, indirectly, what you’ll eventually consume.
Algorithms create funnels in the form of feeds and recommendation systems that bias our perception of reality. This feels fine when Spotify hits the jackpot with a catchy tune, but not so much when Facebook filters events happening on the other side of the world to match what you already want to see. Such an amount of influence over people entails great consequences, which although not intrinsic to the algorithms, are accurately planned by those who rule the internet — the big tech corporations.
Algorithms give us what we want, and so we want more of them. Their design makes them addictive, perfectly optimized for us to keep engaging in more content. More time…
