I spend so much time complaining about technology, it’s time I said something good.
Here it is: the algorithm is a useful, potent aid to learning.
Suppose the problem is a physical ailment; you google your symptoms to try and gain understanding of what your body is going through, and just from looking it up that one time, for the next few weeks, every ad or reel or video or news story that pops up while you’re scrolling through social media or reading the news online pertains to your ailment. It’s like having your own private physical therapist, or in my case, martial arts instructor.
My current “teacher” is this guy online who does Qi Gong. He wears the long robe-type uniform, but that’s where the mysteriousness ends. Every movement he demonstrates is so simple and straightforward, so gentle and effective. When I come across one that resonates, I copy the link and save it. So, now I have 43 different shoulder exercises saved on a “Notes” page on my phone, and while it may not be speeding up my recovery, it is raising my awareness.
Even if you are not so interested as to actively search out information on some topic, it doesn’t matter. Any sign of casual curiosity and the algorithm will bring the information to you.
One should keep in mind that the page, site, company, organization or influencer supplying you with the information is selling you something, and it’s not necessarily the truth.
“No, but this was on the news site,” she said. (Yeah, and how do you think news sites and online publications survive? Through ads.)
We must learn to distinguish between editorial and advertising; between trustworthy and questionable, reliable and unreliable sources of information. That’s what the librarian tried to help teach us when we were young, and in school.
They differ though, the librarian and the algorithm, in that one brings or directs you to the information, and the other brings the information to you. Also, unlike the librarian, the algorithm cares not whether the information is true or correct. And so, what is good about technology is also what is bad about it.
People speak about “the algorithm,” as if it is one thing and one thing only, some sort of singular, all-powerful, all-knowing force, like the Wizard of Oz. But all an algorithm is, is “a step-by -step procedure for solving a problem or accomplishing some end” — a set of instructions, if you will. It says things like, whatever causes that person to stop and read or listen or look at something for more than a few seconds, and especially whatever they might click on, take note of it and deliver more of the same to them.
On the one hand, it saves you time and sorts through a lot of information to give you what you’re interested in and also connects you with others who may be similarly interested. On the other hand, rather than opening us up to new ideas and expanding our horizons, awareness and perspectives, the algorithm may be serving, merely, to reflect our already-held beliefs, positions, preferences, prejudices, and views of the world back at us.
We are ensconced in technology, spending half our waking hours, and some of our sleeping time too, connected to our phones, tablets, computers and other streaming devices. We are engulfed in information — like the universe itself, it is ever-expanding, doubling twice each day. The sheer volume and constant barrage of information is a major source of stress, and stress, as we have come to learn, is a major cause and contributor to sickness and dis-ease.
So, while I can sit here and find plenty of good things to say about technology, and while the myriad positive benefits are obvious, I am reminded that there is a difference between information and knowledge, knowledge and wisdom, wisdom and truth, truth and love.
