James Bridle – Something is wrong on the internet (Medium)
You know, this is actually a rabbit hole I found myself extremely interested in!! (I almost want to change my junior topic to talk more about it or something similar…but I’ll email you.) More and more I see these “kids channels” on Youtube have been shadier and shadier. The fact that they have so many subscribers and I fail to believe MILLIONS these children or their parents would watch these shows (quite creepy) let alone know how to subscribe to those channels. I do believe bots or some sort of AI is involved in exploiting the youtube algorithm. Watching these videos is honestly nightmare fuel. While there is nothing decidedly gross, or disgusting or inappropriate, it’s that feeling where something just isn’t right… I’m sure you all have heard of ElsaGate (if not I suggest you look it up). Youtube needs to step up and take control of these videos. They shouldn’t be suggested, they shouldn’t even exist.
Rachel Metz – There’s a new obstacle to landing a job after college: Getting approved by AI (CNN)
It’s interesting, it kinda reminds me of the Ted Talk we watched where the computer may be biased against women because in the past only men have had the job. Because the difference between a human and a computer is that people trust computers blindly and humans can make changes to unique situations. It’s even worse when applicants don’t even know what it’s looking for (I’m not sure if employers even know). I understand that companies are growing and interviewees are plenty, but I feel it’s unfair to choose them based on an algorithm.
Jia Tolentino – How TikTok Holds our Attention (New Yorker) (read or listen)
I remember I started liking a lot of the “relationship” tiktoks and so it would continue to show me more of what I wanted. It’s so interesting to me how these creators can all of a sudden get so big, so quick. Which I guess shouldn’t be surprising given the age we live in right now. It’s on a constant timer. Even when I watched the example tiktok, if I continued to watch the screen for more than 5 seconds it would refresh with new tiktoks for you to click and enjoy, and would continue to do this the longer you stayed. I got a tiktok because I thought it would be like vine (and in some ways it is). Though most vine stars have moved on to different things now.
Eric Meyer – Inadvertent Algorithmic Cruelty (article)
Facebook memories are pretty hard to look at sometimes. Life happens quickly and the code doesn’t really know any better. I know from some of my friends, that it can also affect trans people who no longer identify with their past self anymore. Or if there was a picture of ex partners or past friendships that are no longer a part of your life.
Rachel Thomas – The problem with metrics is a big problem for AI (article)
The problem with metrics is the fact that there will always be a factor that hasn’t been considered. I feel like for a lot of these AIs, the information is taken at face value. It also feels like the things that people click on will encourage more people to click on it, even though it could be badly written or have false information in it. Like the recommended video was Russia Today’s take on the Mueller report and it garnered a lot of attention and clicks. It’s almost like that phrase where the rich get richer. The clicks get clickier? Or the fact that these metrics are looking for something in particular in a way that promotes those to cheat, for example the teachers who don’t cheat may be penalized by the system.