How Computer Algorithms Affect our Internet Experience- A Level
After learning about algorithms in my New Media class, I was curious to see how much they really affect our everyday internet use. I could not imagine that they really had that much of an impact and even if they did it would most likely be for our own benefit. Little did I know, algorithms use information we put out to determine exactly what we see on our screens. Even once I discovered this, surprisingly it did not bother me as much as it probably should have. If algorithms used all of this information, doesn’t that just mean that my internet experience will be crafted to perfection? After sitting in lectures and doing my own research, I learned that while the idea of an internet experience that was “crafted to perfection” might have been the intention, it was not the outcome of algorithm use today. For my digital artifact I decided to look at the filter bubbles and how google results can vary due to the algorithmic patterns such as recent searches, location services, and demographic information. I wanted to take a closer look at this because I had never even heard of algorithms or filter bubbles and I definitely did not know how they affected my everyday internet experience.
Growing up in the 21st century, I have been surrounded by advancing technology for my entire life. I have grown accustomed to having everything around me be the most convenient version of itself so I expected nothing less from the internet. Seeing how my past searches and location services affected my internet experience was initially strange but I soon became used to the seemingly omnipresent aspect of the internet. In my New Media class I learned that was due to the use of algorithms that multiple websites employed. I knew that the algorithms would somehow use information that would then slightly affect my results for future searches but I was not aware of the full extent that the algorithms used my personal information.
To express these algorithmic patterns in more of an artistic way, I wanted to use another technique I learned in my New Media class which is glitch art. Glitch art is a piece of work that has been manipulated or “glitched” into something else. I was originally attracted to this medium because it was taking a perfectly good image and distorting it to make it more difficult to understand or tweaking it to mean something slightly different. I thought that this represented my topic of algorithms because just like the algorithms manipulate our search results and internet experience, I was able to manipulate the image myself. I was able to take the search results of my own and people that I asked and saw first hand how algorithms affected our search results. Later in this essay, I will go in depth about my digital artifact and glitch art and why I chose the images I chose.
Before I go any further, I should probably explain what an algorithm is. Algorithms are in a sense, computer codes that take your past internet searches and interests and uses them to customize what shows up on your screen. According to Merriam-Webster, an algorithm is “a procedure for solving a mathematical problem (as of finding the greatest common divisor) in a finite number of steps that frequently involves repetition of an operation; broadly: a step-by-step procedure for solving a problem or accomplishing some end especially by a computer.” These step-by-step procedures take all kinds of information to filter a website to be tailored to exactly what it thinks you want to see. Algorithms have been used for years but recently, Google and Facebook have been getting attention for using them. Some people are upset about this use of information while others view it as a convenient way to focus their internet results.
Algorithms were not always the way that our internet searches were filtered. Back in the day, this used to be done by editors known as gatekeepers. This was not the most productive or objective way to filter searches because these gatekeepers were human beings who made mistakes and could not always justify their decisions in a fact-based way. Often the gatekeepers had some sort of bias that affected your internet experience because they always had their own perspectives. This does not mean that algorithms do not have biases, in fact, this just means that the biases are harder to track in an algorithm than a bias in a human being. Because it is harder to track, many times people feel as though the algorithms do not have any type of bias when in reality, everything you do on the internet is tracked and used at a later time to customize your internet experience.
One person who has looked extensively at the affect of algorithms is Eli Pariser. Eli Pariser is an internet activist and author who coined the term “Filter Bubble”. A filter bubble is a what Pariser calls the algorithms that some websites use to filter and generate “relevant” content. In my class, we watched his TedTalk all about filter bubbles which really opened my eyes to the negative aspects of algorithms. Pariser talks about how based on our recent searches and demographics, our search results can be skewed one way or another. Even still, I did not understand the big deal about this until he brought up the topic of news and current events. He used the example of Googling “Egypt” and looking at the different results of people based on how the algorithm perceives their areas of interest. When searching “Egypt”, one person’s results were all about tourism and visiting the area while another person’s results were all about the government and recent protests in the country. These algorithms literally filtered out certain information and pushed other information to the top, creating two completely different internet experiences. Eli Pariser speaks about how even though the two people whose internet searches he looked at were average people, they got completely different results. This just proves that the algorithms do not merely make small changes to people who have drastically different lifestyles but even those who live similar lives can have radically different internet experiences.
This is where I first really became concerned about the use of algorithms and filter bubbles on the internet. Never before had I thought that my past internet use could dramatically affect news and information that I was seeing on my screens. Eli Pariser writes that, “We get trapped in a ‘filter bubble’ and don’t get exposed to information that could challenge or broaden our worldview.” This became apparent in Pariser’s talk because he explained that he identifies with a certain political group and obviously tends to click on headlines that speak to that affiliation so while he interested in the thoughts and ideas of his peers who may have conflicting views, he does not see these statuses, news articles, or entertainment pieces on the internet. This is very concerning because if the algorithms just use information that it knows we will affiliate with or agree with, we will not be exposed to any information that may counter what we think. If we are not exposed to new ideas, we may forget that they even exist and slowly morph into a society of people who do not challenge one another and think alike. The use of filter bubbles will only grow because if you keep seeing information that relates to you and your beliefs that will obviously be what you click on, furthering the cycle.
Eli Pariser is not the only one who has looked into the bias of news via algorithms. This has been a subject of controversy for some time now. The Poynter Institute has also looked into the use of algorithms and how they are having an increasingly negative affect on our sources of news, especially for millennials. Both Google and Facebook use algorithms to filter content for their users. Amongst millennials, it is common to hear the phrase, “If news is important, news will find me” and I will be the first to admit that this was the mindset that I had. I never had to search for news, usually the “important” or “relevant” stories would just show up on my news feed and I could then do more research but I never imagined that I was not seeing all of the news. So while I might be seeing Kanye West’s latest social media stunt and think that is the most important news of the day, I could be missing out on important news that is happening in my own backyard. This is a scary thought because I never want to be ignorant of what is going on around me but if I rely solely on the internet and what pops up on my news feed for my source of news I could be missing out on current events all over the world.
Taking a look at my own social media platforms, I notice the use of computer algorithms and filter bubbles on my Facebook news feed. These algorithms are said to “deliver personalized streams of content” based on interests, recent searches, and likes on Facebook. The social media site cites that the average user has access to 1500 posts a day but they only look at around 300 posts daily. These 300 posts have been chosen for you based on multiple criteria. The most relevant information that decides what comes up on your newsfeed is how close you are to any individual; this means how often you like their posts, write on their wall, chat them on messenger, etc. The information that Facebook uses to generate personalized content is not always that obvious though; for example, if you write “congratulations” on a post it indicates that there is a big life event sending a signal to the algorithm to mark it as important, later affecting what will show up on your newsfeed. I never knew just how specific and in depth the algorithms would track my activity on the internet but it is somewhat frightening to know that just by saying “congrats” to somebody can affect what you will see on your screen.
Facebook has also become one of the biggest platforms for advertising with about 2 million active advertisers. Have you ever noticed that one minute you are looking for shoes on Steve Madden’s website and then Steve Madden advertisements suddenly show up all over your newsfeed? Well, that is once again due to the algorithms. It is interesting to know that the algorithms are not website specific but rather they track all of your activity on the internet and somehow create one platform in which all the same information seems to be circulating. Keeping the advertisements relevant to your lifestyle is important to Facebook because it adds to the level of engagement and the influence of the platform as a whole. Using the algorithms, Facebook can ensure an internet experience that will keep you coming back for more even if you do not realize what is happening.
I am currently taking at Ethics in Media class and we have talked about the use of algorithms and filter bubbles. When looking at the ethicality of algorithms there are multiple arguments. Some say that it is just a computerized way to create a unique and personalized internet experience while others say it is an outright violation of privacy. When I think of the ethical nature of algorithms, I think that most upsetting part is that they alter the way we see the world. If we are seeing certain advertisements, we are more likely to shop in a certain way. If we see more of certain people with certain views on social media, we are more likely to believe that is how the majority of people feel. If we receive filtered information from a standard Google search, we could be missing crucial news or insight from people that may challenge our viewpoints.
Taking all of this into consideration, I wanted to create something that represented these filter bubbles and algorithms. I chose to use glitch art because I wanted to show just how distorted results could be due to previous searches or demographics. To do so, I created three pieces of glitch art that show the limited results of filter bubbles of things that are relevant to my own life. I then asked three different people to Goggle search the same thing that I searched and I compared the differences. Using programming, I was able to glitch or distort multiple images of Google results. The glitch art was very interesting because when you input information, you were never exactly sure how the image would turn out just like you are never exactly sure what will pop up on your screen when you search something. The scary thing about that is that you do not know that you are missing information or that your results have been filtered based on your internet history. If someone does not know that they could be missing crucial information, they could start to have the mindset that everything and everyone in the world coincides with their opinions, which is obviously not the case.
To demonstrate some specific cases, I chose three google searches that I thought were interesting and perhaps something I, a 20 year old woman going to school in Chicago, would search on the internet. The first topic I chose to google and then create a glitch art was “algorithm”. I figured this would clearly demonstrate the differences in results based on past internet searches because I have done a lot of research on the topic unlike most people. I decided to ask my friend Megan Ladner, a student a Loyola University Chicago, to send me screenshots of her results when Googling “algorithms”. Once she got past the initial confusion as to why I asked her to do this, she sent me her results. I was surprised to find that out of all my examples, our results were the most different. Megan Ladner is studying biology so I assume that because she has a history with sciences and using her computer to search information about that topic, this is why our results were not that different. The main difference in our Google search results was that on my screen, a video called “What is an algorithm and why should you care?”, was the second result while her results provided mostly definitions and articles. This is significant because it is exactly the topic that I am researching and writing on whereas Megan has never actually looked at why you should care about algorithms. While these results were the most similar, I thought that it was still important to include because it demonstrates how not all of the filter bubble results are majorly drastic but rather sometimes it can be a matter of one or two results that different from user to user.
The next topic that I decided to research was “murder” because as a student who is from out of state, the crime in Chicago and the surrounding area has always been something that both intrigued and concerned me. Living in a city that is not necessarily known for its safety has prompted me to look up crime rates and news stories of recent murders because I feel as though it is important to be informed about your surroundings. I compared my results to my friend, Allie Lausch, a student at Arizona State University. Unlike myself, Allie stayed in state for school, choosing ASU which is in Tempe, Arizona and known as a relatively safe city to live in. Allie was very confused as to why I asked her to search “murder” out of the blue but once I briefly described to her what a filter bubble was, she too was very interested in seeing the different results based on recent history, demographics, and geographic location. She had never heard of filter bubbles and almost did not believe me that our results would be different because everyone tends to think that the results of an internet search are the same across the board which is not the case.
Looking at my results for “murder” one can obviously see that the majority of the results are about Chicago. This only makes sense as Chicago is one of the top cities for crime and there have been many stories in the recent news about murder, Chicago police, social justice, etc. Looking at the results for Allie’s search I noticed that there was nothing about Chicago but there were multiple stories that wrote about murders near Arizona State. This is a perfect demonstration of how geographically, your computer sends signals that affect your search results. Because the Google searches for both Allie and I were so different, I am curious to see what the results of someone who is not in a big metropolitan area. It is fascinating to know that the filter bubbles can/do use location features to track where you are, affecting your internet experience.
Lastly, the final topic that I searched was “Greece”. As a travel fanatic, I am constantly looking at new places to travel, cheap flights, hotel reviews, etc. Also, as a young woman in college who sometimes likes to procrastinate, I think I have “pinned” enough pictures of Santorini on my Pinterest for my entire campus. I figured that my results would be mostly information about traveling and tourism but I also expected to see some current events in the area. When I looked at my results, I found that there were no current events or information about the politics in the area (even though Greece recently went through political turmoil) and all of the information was about visiting the country and pictures of the blue waters and historical structures. I knew this would consume the majority of the results due to my history of searching European countries but I was surprised to find just how much information on tourism there was without an ounce of political news. To compare my results, I decided to ask my friend, Batuhan Kesoglu to also search “Greece”. I asked him because he is an international student at Northwestern University from Turkey and is obviously familiar with both the politics and tourism side of that part of the world. Comparing our search results, this was the topic that had the biggest differences. His Google search came back with with articles from the Wall Street Journal and New York Times and were very politically focused. I assume this is because he focuses more on the current events and news about European countries versus how I tend to look at more of the tourism aspect. I still thought it was interesting just how different our results were. We are both 20 year old students living in (or near) the city of Chicago and I like to think that we are both politically inclined and interested in the world around us but based on my internet history, the algorithms assumed that I wanted to see the travelling and beauty of Greece. It is concerning to know that I am missing out on so much information just because the algorithm thinks I would rather see a sandy beach instead of the current political structure.
Using the glitch art and looking at the multiple results for my Google searches, I learned first hand just how powerful and intuitive computer algorithms can be. I am friends with very diverse people so I think that asking some of the people I am closest with also showed just how varied the filter bubbles can be. Even though we are all students at accredited universities and studying our respective subjects, all of our search results were drastically different and I am sure that if I compared my friends’ results with one another there would be even more visible differences. Seeing how surprised my friends were at the differences in our search results was indicative of just how little people know about the filter bubbles and computer algorithms. It is important to realize and inform others about these filter bubbles because many times, the internet is people’s, especially young people, sole source for information. The glitch art shows that we are only seeing some of the information that is available to us. The information that we are seeing is personalized and filtered so that we are only seeing what a computer algorithm believes to be relevant to us when in actuality we should be seeing a diverse range of information. As the internet grows and the resources that can be found online, it is our responsibility to be aware of the filter bubbles and to make sure that we are receiving well-rounded information. The glitch art symbolizes the fraction of information we receive and is a physical representation of filter bubbles and how algorithms can change our internet experience.
After looking at these examples, I think that it is our responsibility to inform others about these filter bubbles because you do not know that you are missing out on the plethora of information out on the web. After taking this New Media and Communication class, I want to look further into filter bubbles and more specifically learn how to burst these bubbles. I do not want to be limited on the types of information that I receive based merely on what the algorithms think I might find important. When it comes to bursting the filter bubbles, it is crucial to know that everything we do on the web affects the algorithms. Google and other search engines are not the only sites that use algorithms, as I discussed earlier, social media platforms such as Facebook also take advantage of the idea of a personalized internet experience. Depending on what information you “like” or “share” will affect what is on your screen the next day. So whether it is a matter of seeing your friend’s post on Facebook or getting information on the political strife in Europe, the algorithms take our personal information and past actions to alter the way we use the internet.
In conclusion, learning about these algorithms is only the tip of the iceberg. New media is affecting us beyond technology, it is affecting the way we think and the information we gather. These personalized and filtered results have affected people’s perspectives and opinions in a way that makes people less open minded. By only seeing information that is chosen for us, we could get in a comfortable state where we are not challenged by other people’s thoughts and opinions. The first step is realizing that these filter bubbles exist and searching beyond the first few results when looking for information but it is also necessary that we come up with a way that can tailor our searches while providing a well-rounded pot of information to pick from. New media provides us with ways to use the internet that would not have been fathomable years ago but it is our responsibility to understand the consequences of living in a technology crazed society where customization and personalized experiences are so highly valued. Perhaps there is a way to take the information that the algorithms collect to not only show us information that we would expect to see but also to provide information that would challenge our way of thinking and opinions. The internet has helped our society grow in innumerous ways but it is time to think further and to give people something that will help them see different perspectives. In the words of Eli Pariser, “If algorithms are going to curate the world for us, then we need to make sure that they’re not just keyed to relevance, we need to make sure they also show us things that are uncomfortable or challenging or important”. It is time that we burst the filter bubbles and create an internet that demands critical thinking.
Sources:
http://www.businessinsider.com/internet-algorithms-2011-8?op=1
https://www.ted.com/talks/eli_pariser_beware_online_filter_bubbles?language=en#t-248458
http://towcenter.org/research/algorithmic-accountability-on-the-investigation-of-black-boxes-2/
http://www.poynterproduction.org/2014/02/28/poynter-at-sxsw-algorithms-journalism-and-democracy/
