The recommendation algorithm: how does it control our lives — you tell us!

To what degree are our decisions influenced by forces beyond our control? As humans, we have always had external powers attempting to nudge us in certain directions. Salespeople encourage us to believe their product is the best, politicians lead us to their agenda, even our families push us in certain directions which they feel are best.

In the digital world, however, we are faced with something completely new — the recommendation algorithm. Computer programs that have no political preference, no desire to see us follow the same career as them, that have, in fact, nothing to gain, affect almost every aspect of our lives.

We’re in uncharted territory right now, so we want to open up the conversation and get people thinking about the implications surrounding this new and constantly advancing technology.

Introducing: 365 Data Science’s scholarship contest 2019.

We’re inviting university students from all around the world to join the contest and write a 1000–2000-word essay on the following topic:

“The illusion of choice: is the recommendation algorithm taking away your free will?”

This is without a doubt an important question that needs to be both thought and spoken about and we are excited to see what you think.

Of course, you can approach the topic however you feel, but here are some questions that may inspire you:

• Is behaviour affected by what appears on our media feeds?
• If autonomy and freedom of choice are fundamental to our well-being, is the recommendation algorithm welcome?
• Is it the responsibility of the individual to broaden their searches in order to gain different perspectives or should algorithms be more diverse in their suggestions?
• Who is creating/training the algorithms and is this important?

You can even go further with ideas like:
• If you died and your consciousness was remade using your online data, how much do you think that consciousness would mimic your decision making?

Creativity is encouraged, of course, and if you impress us enough to be chosen as one of the top three essays, there is a cash prize to go toward your studies. We’re giving away $1000 for the top prize, $300 for 2nd place and $200 for 3rd.

You can read more about the scholarship here: https://365datascience.com/scholarship/

So, what are you waiting for? Show us your unique perspectives on this fascinating new stage of human and technological evolution.

And, of course, good luck!