The algorithms are not the problem. We are.

Lately, I have seen an awful lot of news postings regarding the use of computer algorithms and the resulting impact on shaping how we each individually view the world around us. From written articles in specialist IT news publications to mainstream media, everyone seems to be concerned about the unintended consequences of companies personalising/tailoring the services we use to our specific needs.

Just today, The Young Turks ran an op-ed on an ARG-gone-wrong and how people are now falsely accusing random celebrities of having committed serious crimes as a result:

What people seem to forget (especially us folks in IT and infosec) is that the personalisation/tailoring of services is almost invariably in everybody's best interests. For example, when a car enthusiast wants to search the web for "Golf" or "Polo" they're likely not interested in the sport but in a specific model of car. Personalisation in this instance means that people can get better, more useful results from less specific search queries. If you're interested in video games, stores like Steam will make recommendations and offers based upon other games you have played or (in the case of multiplayer game enthusiasts) what you are likely to play with friends.  For music and movies, this is even more important, as services like Netflix and Spotify will automatically identify genuine interests, to make navigating through an all-you-can-eat buffet of multimedia that much easier. This all works in our favour to deliver exactly what want.

Everything is working as intended when people want to follow down a rabbit hole for pure fun and entertainment and that is what an ARG is. As you're reading this this very article, you most likely have free access to multiple online archival services, as well as commercially-backed search engines to easily locate the point of origin for this madness. Even mainstream journalists have done their job (for once) and documented the origins of this hilariously crazy fan-fiction (which I shall deliberately not name). We can surmise from this, that the real problem in this instance is the result of an education system which does not encourage people to always do real research; which begins by determining the provenance of assumed information, while weighting this alongside the prominence of the source and trustworthy peer review.  If it did, there is no way that we would be seeing American politicians risking mainstream majority votes to appeal to a far less educated, niche voter base.

Google, Spotify, Netflix, Amazon, Facebook and Twitter are all very popular worldwide, are all eligible scapegoats and yet we're not seeing the same American madness across all of the other countries they're dominant in. It should be obvious to all that this is because the problem isn't an algorithmic one, it's a human one. The problem is us. But thankfully, we're also the solution. The Internet gives all of us instant and immediate access to a vast, ever-expanding quantity of data, while simultaneously enabling anyone and everyone to publish what they want. It's time we started teaching people how to better utilise this privately-maintained public commons for the public good - and started rewarding people for doing so.