KEW Episode 81: The Algorithm

If you have not seen the Social Dilemma, it is a great little conspiracy theory. And one I can get behind. The gist is internet companies (facebook, youtube, etc.) have developed complex algorithms (models, simplifications) that monitor your online (and off, through your phone microphone, alexa, etc.) behavior. These companies then use this information to determine what advertisements you might click on, perpetuating the online economy.

If you think about this in capitalistic terms, it’s genius. We’ve now gone far beyond mere psychological manipulation, popularized by the ‘mad men’ of the 50s through today, and can now trick you into letting them measure your actual behavior. Whereas before the estimates were ‘pretty good’, now they can be ‘excellent’.

In short, your attention has become a product thanks to sophisticated (not really) math.

So this episode is all about how we simplify the world. Sometimes this is a very good thing. We weed through the nonsense to focus on what is important – watch for a Prioritizing episode in the near future. But in the case of the YouTube algorithm, the advertisers are simplifying you into a robot that consumes. You, in short, become the proverbial cog in the capitalism wheel. You are, in the best case scenario, providing free data to the overall human model. And at the worst case, you are being manipulated into believing things you may not choose to believe under normal circumstances.

Of course, it’s easy for me to believe this ‘what could be a conspiracy theory’ because I have a negative mindset toward advertising and marketing. While I understand the need to get in front of people’s eyes to make them aware of your products or message (like my blog and podcast), I greatly dislike the use of manipulation, whether indirect (psychology) or direct (click measurements).

But this Episode is really just about models. What they are and how they are used. Whether for good or evil.

Full podcast audio download here: https://pdcn.co/e/https://chtbl.com/track/CGDA9D/www.buzzsprout.com/530563/9920158-kew-episode-81-the-algorithm.mp3?download=true

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Full YouTube video here on the KEW channel: https://youtu.be/rPQ7jh74ZA8