Eli Pariser: Beware online "filter bubbles"
the chief executive of Upworthy
Upworthy = a website for "meaningful" viral content
political and internet activist
his career as a political activist began when he and David H. Pickering launched an online petition calling for a nonmilitary response to the attacks of September 11.
half a million people had signed the petition.
concerned about the development of web personalization
personalization of information content based on relevance to a specific internet user
developed the concept of a “filter bubble” which he defines as a danger that people do not get exposed to viewpoints different from their own
In 2013, Pariser joined the board of advisors for tech startup state.com, creating a network of structured opinions
Eli Pariser: Beware online "filter bubbles"
http://www.ted.com/talks/eli_pariser_beware_online_filter_bubbles.html
internet is meant to be a connection to the outer, greater world
ideals that it could be a great way to disperse information online
instead though, are editing what you see based on relevance to you
invisible algorithmic editing of the web
used by Facebook, Google, yahoo news, Huffington post, Washington post, New York Times
different search results will come up depending on who you are, what computer you are using, what kind of browser you are using,
no more standardized Google
different people get different results
this type of personalization moves us very quickly toward a world in which the internet is showing us what it thinks we want to see but not necessarily what we need to see.
problem because all of these filters and algorithms create a filter bubble where you get your own unique universe of information that you live in online
what’s in your bubble depends on who you are and what you do
you don’t have control as to what you see or, more importantly, what gets out
it is important to hear other people’s viewpoints
its important to have a balance between your information – between dessert information i.e. Justin Beiber and information vegetables i.e. political news
algorithms do not have embedded ethics
they need to show us things that are important, challenging, other points of view as well as relevant or fun
need a better flow of information
we need the internet to connect us all together, introduce us to new ideas, different perspectives, and it won’t do that if it leads us isolated in our filter bubbles.
