Algorithmic exposure shapes the very choices that appear voluntary

Evidence

But not so fast. First, for liberals the impact of algorithmic filtering (8 per cent) is actually higher than that of individual choice (6 per cent). Second, the study has a number of serious limitations. For example, the study only sampled individuals who self-declared their ideology – a tiny fraction of all Facebook users (9 per cent) – so these findings may not hold for the larger Facebook population. Moreover, given the dynamic interplay between our choices and the algorithm’s recommendations, the assumption that our choices are somehow independent of exposure seems tenuous. Your ‘freedom to choose’ may well be biased by the content that the algorithm selects for you. Think about it this way: what if in one scenario I present you with five conservativeand five liberal-leaning news stories, and in another you get eight conservative and two liberal news stories? Would you make the same choice in each scenario? Maybe you always go for a conservative or liberal story, no matter what is selected for you. Maybe it depends on the content. But it seems likely our choices are shaped – in part – by the options available to you when you log on to Facebook. — Sander van der Linden, Foolproof, 422

Categorization

• XREF: Connects to the filter-bubble/echo-chamber literature (Sunstein, Pariser) and to the general theme of algorithmic vs. human agency in shaping belief that runs through this book and adjacent social-media research. — connects to: Algorithmic persuasion outmatches human advertising because it is systemic — Yanis Varoufakis, Technofeudalism: What Killed Capitalism, 269; Reinforcement-learning lets algorithms reshape themselves based on how they influence humans. — Yanis Varoufakis, Technofeudalism: What Killed Capitalism, 312; Individual choice shapes news exposure more than algorithmic filtering does — Sander van der Linden, Foolproof: Why Misinformation Infects…, 421 (+3 more)

Broader Connections

• Individual choice shapes news exposure more than algorithmic filtering does #contradicts (0.95) — Sander van der Linden, Foolproof, 421
• The Facebook study’s assumption that choices are independent of algorithm exposure is shaky #corroborates (0.90) — Sander van der Linden, Foolproof, 422
• Economies of action get institutionalized into automated algorithms that modify behavior #expands (0.90) — Shoshana Zuboff, The Age of Surveillance Capitalism, 939
• Attention-economy distractions accumulate to erode autonomy and selfhood #expands (0.85) — Jenny Odell, How to Do Nothing, 403