Algorithm: the new god?

Marta Peral Ribeiro – Communications Consultant – We hear a lot about algorithms, but the truth is that it isn't a subject social platforms are very explicit about – even though it determines everything we see. Why do we hear so much yet know so little about how they work? How do they shape our experiences, and what impact do they have on the lives of digital influencers and people running online businesses?

In the age we live in, algorithms are present in practically everything, because every day we use devices that run on them: smartphones, smart TVs, computers, tablets, smartwatches and other gadgets. As we use them, we leave behind a trail of data – which is then carefully organised and developed by those same algorithms.

When you move from the perspective of the “ordinary” user, quietly browsing the internet, to a broader and deeper view of how algorithms operate and how they influence our lives (well beyond the digital sphere), all sorts of questions start to arise about algorithmic power – and anyone with an online business, whose prosperity depends on the Algorithm, will tell you as much.

It seems clear that algorithms are gradually shaping our reality and even our personality. And it is in that sense that this piece compares the algorithm to a god.

A brief definition of Algorithm

In tech circles, and put simply, an algorithm is a mathematical model that follows a pattern based on a set of data. That pattern keeps repeating and, if errors come up, they are corrected and refined through Artificial Intelligence.

In the beginning was the Word: the creation of the algorithm

In this jargon-free video, Cathy O’Neil, an irreverent big data scientist, explains how algorithms work. As well as reiterating that they are based on a set of data (our online activity), she adds that the second key element is the algorithm's objective (set by whoever built it, who builds their own interests and values into it), which changes everything. Video: The Truth About Algorithms by Cathy O’Neil The recommendation Algorithm

When people talk about “the Algorithm”, we usually take it to mean the recommendation algorithm, heavily developed by Google and the social networks – and one they are increasingly staking everything on.

Again, through our online activity (what we searched for, how we reacted, who we interacted with, what we liked, what comments we left and where, which pages we abandoned, what we listened to, what we bought, and so on), the algorithm maps things out so that relevant content is put in front of us rather than something else. Dynamically (and certainly because of the preferences users have shown), there are a few criteria worth bearing in mind on social media.

The commandments of the social media Algorithm

The social media Algorithm is governed essentially by four principles when deciding which content is potentially relevant to a given user:

what format the content is in;
how long the user stays with a given piece of content:
how popular the content is;
what relationship/interaction exists between the user and that content, or whoever published it.

It's worth pointing out that this is a general overview, because at heart each social network has its own algorithmic quirks. Some people say, for example, that TikTok has a more advanced Algorithm than its competitors, one that lets users reach a large audience even without a big follower count.

The many faces of the Algorithm

For the ordinary user

A reality recommended by algorithms

So everything we do online counts. On the one hand, this optimises our online experience, because the information is more personalised, which saves us time and leads to interesting discoveries.

It also makes it easier for us to take part in the social and political conversations we identify with – whether through the communities we find on social media or on other platforms, and sometimes even outside the digital world.

On the other hand, from a more human, less digital perspective, it gives you pause for thought: how is our reality being shaped by these recommendations? And how aware are we of that algorithmic power in our day-to-day lives.

For influencers (and for brands)

The visibility game

The challenge facing digital influencers, especially when they work with brands, is not an easy one: they have to create authentic content, satisfy the interests of the brands sponsoring them and, at the same time, keep up with the tempo dictated by the logic of numbers. Their success depends on their digital visibility, which has to comply with at least those four principles/commandments mentioned above.

And this is where the Algorithm appears as a kind of god, rewarding and punishing in turn. Here, the reward is the visibility influencers get if they meet the requirements (which also include the Community Guidelines).

When their performance in the digital sphere is threatened with algorithmic invisibility, the influencers who are most aware of the algorithm's power and most willing to take it on – partly for lack of an alternative – enter the “visibility game”.

In an article on the subject, the American researcher Kelley Cotter observes that, while influencers acknowledge that follower numbers and engagement rates dictate visibility, their approaches to pleasing the algorithm differ. Some opt for more personal interaction with their followers and potential followers, showcasing their authenticity to the Algorithm; others try to prove their popularity to it by emphasising their personal achievements.

So who actually sets the rules of the game on social media?

There is, then, some room for manoeuvre for users – in this case, digital influencers – to stand out on social media by moving strategically in line with algorithmic guidelines.

But if the algorithmic system is based on expectations about how users behave, and users manipulate it, how can the Algorithm interpret the results effectively? Are influencers breaking the rules of the game?

In the same article, Cotter states categorically that they are not. On the contrary, they play by the rules, recognising that this is a means to an end (namely, their visibility), even if some of the spirit of the game is lost along the way.

In fact, the “rules of the game” are themselves made available (or withheld) strategically by the platforms themselves, in their “Terms of Use”. And they are obviously underpinned by the algorithmic architecture. What's more, through the feedback loop the platforms feed back to the algorithm, the guidelines keep changing too.

And it is through that dynamic that the Algorithm – like a god who punishes the believer whose behaviour strays from its laws – strips visibility from anyone who fails to follow them. So there is no point trying to demonise influencers.

The future of algorithms, influencers and humanity

The technological unconscious

Whether you're an influencer or an ordinary user, it's clear that we only see what the platform owners want us to see, given how limited the information within our reach is. And that, in turn, shapes our reality.

That is precisely one of the most interesting points in Cotter's article: the reference to the “technological unconscious” produced by the algorithm. It exerts power over our daily lives without us noticing, creating a social phenomenon that makes us believe in something regardless of whether it is true.

Really, it's hardly surprising, given that algorithms are developed to recreate human intelligence itself.

Trust in the Algorithm and hope for the best…

Going back to Cathy O’Neil, the data scientist, she states categorically that algorithms are opinions embedded in maths, not facts – as we tend to believe. Characteristically forthright, she points out that private companies create private algorithms for equally private ends. In other words, algorithms lead to private power.

And precisely for that reason, and in more detail, in a TED Talk on big data O’Neil warns of the danger of trusting the algorithm too much, given that it tends to be used over a long period and isn't necessarily reliable. It stops being reliable because reality changes in the meantime and the mathematical formula becomes obsolete – and, often, unfair.

So anyone using digital for commercial purposes, whether brands or influencers, needs to strike a balance and not devote themselves entirely to algorithmic rules, on pain of succumbing to its merciless judgement.

This brings us to the ethical question. If algorithms are part of everyday life for the masses, yet are created by a small group with a particular objective/profit in mind, how do we guarantee the moral integrity of what we are deliberately shown, whose impact is predictable, especially on younger people? If influencers are expected to be authentic, we should also demand that the owners of the big tech companies act on ethical principles.

Where does all this leave us?

Up to a point, the Algorithm is very convenient in our daily lives, filtering information for us and recommending interesting content that, who knows, we might never have come across otherwise.

But we have to recognise that every time we give up the privacy of our data in exchange for access to the content of the moment or subscriptions to web pages, we are, so to speak, “selling our soul” to the Algorithm.

Even though algorithms don't act unilaterally, thanks to the dynamic between them, users and the platforms that connect them, it is crucial that we become aware that, as we passively accept the Algorithm's recommendations, we hand over more and more of the power to decide for us. Not just what we see and hear, but also who we relate to, what we buy and, ultimately, how we think and behave. Because in that process we disconnect from ourselves, from our own consciousness.

Between human intelligence and human consciousness

However fast algorithms and Artificial Intelligence are evolving – at an unprecedented rate – there are still people behind the machines: individuals with power, true, but made of flesh and blood like everyone else.

Perhaps the answer lies in consciously deciding who we give our power to, and how much: what information do I choose to share? What images? How do I feed my social media profile? Which cookies do I choose to accept? Which websites do I decide to visit and use to shop online?

Just as in life outside the digital world, we have to make choices every day. And in the case of influencers, one answer may be to accept that, just as life has its ups and downs, because everything is impermanent and there are external conditions beyond our control, the Algorithm can also change unpredictably. So it may not be worth trying to follow it blindly, as if it were a deity.

Finally, for anyone interested in the subject of algorithms, here's a reading suggestion – one that partly formed the basis for this piece). It's the book “Homo Deus”, by the acclaimed Yuval Noah Harris. In this work exploring the evolution of humanity, Noah Harris looks at “dataism”, a kind of new religion based on the flow of data and on the value of each person and each thing according to their part in processing that data.