The question we didn't know we had to ask? Should SM Algorithmic Management be permitted at all?

[El Presidente]

The question we didn't know we had to ask 

Rear vision mirror. 20/20 hindsight. If we only knew then what we know now. etc etc There are plenty of hindsight sayings that are apt. Perhaps my favourite however is "The real trick in life is to turn hindsight into foresight that reveals insight."

Back to SM and AM. Full disclosure, this question comes about from a discussion with a friend whose daughter is going through hell and back. It is Defcon 1 alert time in their household. One of millions across the globe  I suspect. 

You all know the benefits and pitfalls of SM and so there is no reason to explore the issue. The AM can take you from a "getting fit" inquiry to "snake oil" in it's infiintesimal forms within minutes.  half an hour turns into six. You wake up the next day and "bang",  AM knows your triggers and feeds those touch points. Once in the rabbit hole it is hard enough for a mature person to extricate themselves. 

Goverments globally are pushing for age gating SM. No one under 16 permitted. SM giants say it is too hard, not practical, not privacy safe etc. I am not even sure why they are being involved in the discussion. It is like asking for the advice of convicted priests  on child protection.  These are the same people who extol how artificial intelligence will change the course of medicine/commerce/industry/humankind......but have no idea how to implement an under 16 age block. Spare me. 

Given the damage being done to so many by algorithm management,  Should it be permitted at all? or at least it's continuation being dependent on the age gating of all platforms?. 

How do we move forward from the mess we are in?   How do we stop/minimise the worst excesses of SM while retaining the good/potential that it has? 

I know one family that would love to know. 

 

[Shakey]

I’ve worked on this issue for a few very large companies. It’s not a question of “algorithms” vs “no algorithms” because, trust me, you want algorithms controlling for things like CP, graphic violence, overt racism, etc. To me the more interesting questions are “what algorithms?” and “who decides?”  

I think the best solution so far is on Bluesky, where users can define ranking algorithms, share them, and choose what ranking algorithms are used for their own feeds. Any time algorithms are opaque, ad-supported companies have an enormous incentive to keep people on the feed and the best way to do that is via mild outrage. 

[Chibearsv]

Is parenting by preventing access to SM even reasonable nowdays? Aside from that, there's nothing wrong with age gating in my opinion if it can actually be done. "Type in your birthdate to verify your age" isn't going to cut it though. What other alternatives are there? Chip implant or retinal scan at birth to identify you. Then you get scanned to open your TikTok? Big Brother at it's finest. It's not a government, it's the manipulation of masses by machines. Scary stuff.

[Fuzz]

Obviously I am out of my depth here. For the first part of the article, I was trying to figure out what sadomasochism had to do with algorithmic management....

[cnov]

I'm absolutely addicted to using my phone and find it hard to break free of it. Not so much social media as I've gotten rid of Facebook/Instagram on my phone, they worked out that I'm interested in BBQ and thick women far too quickly and it had to be knocked on the head, but I do find myself reaching for my phone every spare moment of the day and find it extremely hard to focus on things like doing my work.

I do worry about how SM/phones will affect the kids as they get older. We're lucky they ours are a way off yet but it's an inevitable problem we'll encounter.

Hopefully someone will create a SM platform in good faith that won't simply be used as a tool to keep our unfettered attention in order to keep exposing us to adverts. Facebook when it started was good, you could see what your mates were doing, see a few family photos and then log off because there wasn't an endless stream of shite to scroll through.

 

 

 

[Li Bai]

10 hours ago, Fuzz said:

Obviously I am out of my depth here. For the first part of the article, I was trying to figure out what sadomasochism had to do with algorithmic management....

So was I. 🤣🤣😂

It's one of the biggest issues for parents nowadays...my kids are 10 and 8, they don't own a phone or a tablet yet and we've already been talking about social media for a while with the wife.

When the time comes they'll have an old flip phone and there will be a no social media policy.

Hard decision though as it could push kids out to the margins of society. It's like choosing between plague or cholera as we say in France (or like being between the devil and the deep blue sea if you will), we should have never been there in the first place.