Facebook serves as a gatekeeper of the information diets of more than 200 million Americans and 2 billion users worldwide.
Academic rigor, journalistic flair
Articles on Algorithm transparency
Displaying all articles
Rather than revealing an advertiser targeted you by your phone number or email address, Facebook may tell you it showed you a particular ad because you like Facebook. That's not much help.
People – individually and in groups – were not as good at facial recognition as an algorithm. But five people plus the algorithm, working together, were even better.
When algorithms are at work, there should be a human safety net to prevent harming people. Artificial intelligence systems can be taught to ask for help.
A legal loophole could grant computer systems many legal rights people have – threatening human rights and dignity and setting up some real legal and moral problems.
Google News does not differentiate search results according to users' politics – but it does favor mainstream news sites, which are seen as leaning left, and doesn't clearly disclose how its algorithms work.
Information on social media can be misleading because of biases in three places – the brain, society and algorithms. Scholars are developing ways to identify and display the effects of these biases.
It could seem attractive to try to teach computers to detect harassment, threats and abusive language. But it's much more difficult than it might appear.
It can be unpleasant to be mistaken for someone of a different gender. When an algorithm does it secretly, it's even more concerning – especially for transgender and gender-nonconforming people.
Social media companies arose from libertarian, free-market origins but must embrace social benefits and democracy to survive.
Top contributors
-
Associate Professor of Computer Engineering and Computer Science, University of Louisville
-
Assistant Professor of Informatics, University of California, Irvine
-
Professor of Informatics and Computer Science, Indiana University
-
Shirley Papé Chair in Emerging Media, School of Journalism and Communication, University of Oregon
-
Associate Professor of Communication Studies, American University School of Communication
-
Assistant professor, department of Computer Science and Engineering, University of South Florida
-
Postdoctoral Research Fellow in Multimodal Neuroimaging and Machine Learning, Harvard University
-
Professor of Public Administration and Policy, American University School of Public Affairs
-
Postdoctoral Research Associate in Information Systems, University of Maryland, Baltimore County
-
PhD Student in Information Science, University of Colorado
-
Associate Professor of Computer and Information Science, University of Oregon
-
Ph.D. candidate in Communications, Columbia University
-
Assistant Professor of Communications (Social Media) & Magazine, News and Digital Journalism, Syracuse University
-
Ph.D. Student in Computer Science, Boston University
-
Professor of Computer Science, Boston University
