Reading 4 - Lauren Owensby

Since algorithms dictate most of
our online activity, it becomes difficult
to branch beyond our cone-like scope
of expressed interests. (Image Source)

"But when algorithms manage information, they also reconstruct relationships and connections, they encourage preferences and produce encounters, and end up shaping our contexts and our identities. Online platforms thus become automated socio-technical environments." - The Power of Algorithms: How software formats the culture

"[W]hen algorithms analyse the data compiled from our earlier actions they are strongly dependent on the past, and this may tend to maintain existing structures and limit social mobility, hindering connections outside of existing clusters of interests and contacts." - The Power of Algorithms: How software formats the culture

Do algorithms harm diversity? The nature of algorithms in social media and search engines causes 1) less diversity in proposed connections while 2) motivating the user to continue connecting further than they might if those algorithms were not in place. For example:

Person 1: Joins a dog-lovers group. Randomly messages other dog-lovers for 3 weeks. Leaves group after 3 weeks.
Person 2: Joins a dog-lovers feed (tumblr, rss blog, etc). Stays online much longer, is exposed to more dog-lover-centric posts, becomes more aware of the needs of blind people, finds the local animal shelter, decides to volunteer there, becomes aware of anti-animal fighting efforts...

While the first scenario may produce more randomized contacts and interaction, but the motivating factor of "following the crowd" or "following the dot" of a person's interest probably exposes them to a greater diversity of information in the long run. If students still had to do research by finding books in the library, would nearly as much research be done? That is the motivational difference between the two environments. While the exploration through algorithm-generated suggestions is not random, I believe it has a longer life and exposes the user to a diverse range of content and contacts in the long run.