This week in class we learned about filter bubbles and how algorithms show us what they think we want to see versus the content we should be seeing online. Eli Pariser, founder of public policy advocacy group at MoveOn.org states that your filter bubble is the bubble that you live in online. You receive personal filters based on what you already search for online, creating a bubble so that you only see certain information, information that the web thinks you should want to see. The problem with this filter bubble is that we are not being exposed to new information, you only see the same information you always see. There is no standard way to search information anymore because it is tailored to you personally when you search.
This is a problem because you don't get to see any other information than what is tailored to you. You aren't the controller of the information that gets edited out. So how are you supposed to know the information that you are missing if you don't even know what is being edited out? This is where the biggest conflict is presented. There is a want for a balanced information diet but it is hard with the gate keepers keeping out information from us leaving us with an unbalanced information diet. Algorithms have replaced traditional gatekeepers, which is a problem when it comes to not showing us information that makes us uncomfortable- we need a flow of information.
There is a need for the new gatekeepers to be transparent. As the biggest platform, we need the internet to give us the opportunity to learn new things and meet new people but without a healthy algorithm program, we will not be able to achieve this goal.
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