Starting a new week and a new topic, I started familiarising myself with the algorithms.
Even though the word algorithm is very common, I have limited experience of how it can affect our lives. One of the first articles I read was ‘Thinking critically about and researching algorithms’. Reading it, I found Steiner’s (2012, p. 214) opinion that ‘algorithms already have control of your money market funds, your stocks, and your retirement accounts. They’ll soon decide who you talk to on phone calls; they will control the music that reaches your radio; they will decide your chances of getting lifesaving organs transplant; and for millions of people, algorithms will make perhaps the largest decision of in their life: choosing a spouse.’
It hadn’t occurred to me that an algorithm can have such a big and important impact. Before I start playing with the algorithms, I spent the week to search my accounts (youtube, Instagram, twinkl etc.) both at work and home and check the recommendations and have a look in the history of my search. The most interesting account was my school’s youtube. Even though specific educational videos were used in a daily basis, the recommendations had nothing to do with them. This made me think that the variety of videos in the same category affects the algorithm more than the frequency that I play 1 specific video. Thus, I have a variety of pop music that I listen to in the morning and all the recommendations were about music. Using timer songs though (up to 3 different types) didn’t change the recommendations even though I used them in a daily basis and more than once every day.