The Algorithm Tweaks Won't Save Us by Charlie Warzel - Galaxy Brain

I've previously suggested that algorithms that sort content are inherently driven by some goal. The only way to order content that is devoid of a goal, I would suggest, is in strict time order or random. Anything else, necessarily, must be programmed to some optimization target. You cannot create an algorithm without that.

As former Facebook Civic Engagement team leader Samidh Chakrabarti noted on Twitter, this work essentially requires a set of philosophical and ethical values about what ‘good’ and ‘bad’ content is and what the network should do to promote the former.

How can one platform do all of that for the entire world. At Facebook's scale, this is not possible.

What seems rather indisputable is that as currently designed (to optimize scale, engagement, profit) there is no way to tweak the platform in a way that doesn’t ultimately make people miserable or that destabilizes big areas of culture and society.

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