Sandro, very insightful and thoughtful piece. I agree with the first commenter that the mindset that can be created by the limits of algorithms can become a barrier to creative and innovative thinking to address challenges, whether in the arts, healthcare, and other domains.
Also, a corollary concern is that "AI" will get smarter if we are getting dumber by being tethered to the limits of the algorithms.
Sandro, this is a fantastic piece about the hidden costs of algorithms.
You clearly explained the silent danger of the internet: the promise of finding anything has been replaced by the guarantee of finding only what we already like.
You perfectly identified how this filtering hurts us.
To build on your point about having "intellectual blind spots": The computer program doesn't just limit what opinions we see; it actually limits our chance to see new problems and different solutions. Important ideas, like solving a public health crisis, often come from mixing totally different fields (like combining city planning with disease science).
If we only see what’s inside our own bubble, the algorithm keeps us from the outside knowledge that sparks new ideas.
Also, research supports your concern: A 2021 study found that people who get most of their information from what an algorithm recommends have a hard time with "knowledge correction."
This means they become less likely to change their minds or accept new facts, even when they see proof.
This makes it really difficult for important public health campaigns to work.
Your three suggestions - Be Deliberate, Be Skeptical, and Be Ready to Change the Talk - are the perfect roadmap for taking back control of our minds.
We need to intentionally look for challenging ideas, which is the only way to break the comforting spell of content that is made just for us.
We can't solve the world's most difficult health issues if our thinking is only being trained by an echo of our own beliefs.
Thank you for pushing us to think outside the machine.
Sandro, very insightful and thoughtful piece. I agree with the first commenter that the mindset that can be created by the limits of algorithms can become a barrier to creative and innovative thinking to address challenges, whether in the arts, healthcare, and other domains.
Also, a corollary concern is that "AI" will get smarter if we are getting dumber by being tethered to the limits of the algorithms.
Sandro, this is a fantastic piece about the hidden costs of algorithms.
You clearly explained the silent danger of the internet: the promise of finding anything has been replaced by the guarantee of finding only what we already like.
You perfectly identified how this filtering hurts us.
To build on your point about having "intellectual blind spots": The computer program doesn't just limit what opinions we see; it actually limits our chance to see new problems and different solutions. Important ideas, like solving a public health crisis, often come from mixing totally different fields (like combining city planning with disease science).
If we only see what’s inside our own bubble, the algorithm keeps us from the outside knowledge that sparks new ideas.
Also, research supports your concern: A 2021 study found that people who get most of their information from what an algorithm recommends have a hard time with "knowledge correction."
This means they become less likely to change their minds or accept new facts, even when they see proof.
This makes it really difficult for important public health campaigns to work.
Your three suggestions - Be Deliberate, Be Skeptical, and Be Ready to Change the Talk - are the perfect roadmap for taking back control of our minds.
We need to intentionally look for challenging ideas, which is the only way to break the comforting spell of content that is made just for us.
We can't solve the world's most difficult health issues if our thinking is only being trained by an echo of our own beliefs.
Thank you for pushing us to think outside the machine.