I'm curious to see how this plays out. I signed up.
That said . . .
> a personalized news feed that uses machine learning to understand your interests and will soon let you discuss those articles with friends
Am I the only one who sees these platforms that curate content based on existing interests as a dangerous trend for our society?
Here's what I mean: I used to be somewhat of a far-leftist. I'm far from that now, but looking back, I think one of the reasons why I held some of the unreasonable/divisive views I held was due to the invisible bubbles I was stuck in. These bubbles were powered and reinforced by my social media networks (especially Facebook). These platforms effectively help turn so many of us into ideologues rather than critical and independent thinkers. It's been many years now since I last had an active social media account and I lean more conservative now, but I'm very fearful of bubbles. I think they're dangerous and hold folks captive to one-dimensional perspectives, not to mention enabling extremism on all ends of the political spectrum. Because of this, I intentionally make sure my circle of friends is as diverse as possible (including everything from socialists to libertarians to hardcore conservatives). Even though I'm conservative now, I still study the leftist perspectives of different issues to make sure I come to what I consider the best conclusions possible without being subconsciously coerced into any conclusions due to being stuck in a bubble.
Absolutely: ideas reinforce if you're around them long enough. I don't think it was Facebook's intention for echo chambers to occur, but it was too profitable for them to stop it once it had.
That said . . .
> a personalized news feed that uses machine learning to understand your interests and will soon let you discuss those articles with friends
Am I the only one who sees these platforms that curate content based on existing interests as a dangerous trend for our society?
Here's what I mean: I used to be somewhat of a far-leftist. I'm far from that now, but looking back, I think one of the reasons why I held some of the unreasonable/divisive views I held was due to the invisible bubbles I was stuck in. These bubbles were powered and reinforced by my social media networks (especially Facebook). These platforms effectively help turn so many of us into ideologues rather than critical and independent thinkers. It's been many years now since I last had an active social media account and I lean more conservative now, but I'm very fearful of bubbles. I think they're dangerous and hold folks captive to one-dimensional perspectives, not to mention enabling extremism on all ends of the political spectrum. Because of this, I intentionally make sure my circle of friends is as diverse as possible (including everything from socialists to libertarians to hardcore conservatives). Even though I'm conservative now, I still study the leftist perspectives of different issues to make sure I come to what I consider the best conclusions possible without being subconsciously coerced into any conclusions due to being stuck in a bubble.