What is algorithmic amplification and why should we care?

A symposium and a primer on social media recommendation algorithms

Which type of AI shapes our online experiences the most? Probably recommendation algorithms, which are used to generate our social media feeds by predicting what we’re most likely to engage with. This logic helps us find relevant information, but has also been blamed for stoking division and making us addicted to our phones. We haven’t talked about recommendation algorithms in this newsletter, but they are the focus of my project this year at the Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia University, where I’m a visiting senior research scientist. Recommendation algorithms inevitably…

related reading

• The Myth of The Algorithm: A system-level view of algorithmic amplification | Knight First Amendment Instituteknightcolumbia.org
• How to Prepare for the Deluge of Generative AI on Social Media | Knight First Amendment Instituteknightcolumbia.org
• TikTok’s Secret Sauce | Knight First Amendment Instituteknightcolumbia.org
• Amplification and Its Discontents | Knight First Amendment Instituteknightcolumbia.org
• Seeing Like an Algorithm - Remains of the Dayeugenewei.com
• Bridging Systems: Open problems for countering destructive divisiveness across ranking, recommenders, and governance | Knight First Amendment Instituteknightcolumbia.org
• Is Optimizing for Engagement Changing Us?medium.com
• What Will “Amplification” Mean in Court? | TechPolicy.Presstechpolicy.press
• The End of Social Media and the Rise of Recommendation Mediaevery.to
• What will be left for us to work on?normaltech.ai
• AlgoTransparencyalgotransparency.org
• Algorithmic Accountabilitydatasociety.net