Do you care about algorithms? Probably your mind has already wandered away to something more interesting. Still. Here’s a short note on why I care about this. Algorithms hide gross forms of inequality.
I will just leave here a brief plea: understanding what an algorithm does on social media should concern us—because algorithms do the affective work to shield us from critical and analytic thinking. Affective work means emotion reaction. We react in simple terms—I like this, I agree with this, I disagree with this, I can’t stand this. It is much easier to be dualistic than to be analytical.
The latest from the New York Times and WAPO is the reveal that FB allowed companies to engage in targeted advertising for some but not all potential customers—renters, buyers, leasing. HUD announced a lawsuit 3/28 and FB genuflects a quick apology and claims to have corrected. Sure. The problem is not this one incident. Rather, this one incident is part of a long arc of social media practices that are intended to sell stuff through selective markets. Also, its not just FB but all social media platforms run via algorithms for our attention.
I know, I know… we think of inequality as individual or collective actions that have some intent…. underlayment so to speak. What’s zen got to do with it? A common answer I hear today is, “get off social media.” Or, as a board member once said to me, “should a zen person even be on social media?” Oh please. True that I was never of the “kill your TV” pathos. It is true that if I abandoned all social media, I would not see the inequality. But not seeing it, doesn’t mean it is not there. Indeed, inequality thrives, like mold, in dark places. So, step one, opening my eyes. To fully see what is hidden in the world.