If...Then

• Cathy

  2020-07-13
  This is precisely what Hayden seems to touch on when he claims that people are not a math problem: People are more complicated than an equation, more complex and unpredictable than what can be broken down into a few steps of instructions for a computer. In fact, Hayden thinks algorithms are fundamentally not that smart. They were not able, for example, to parse the fact that “views” means beautiful scenery, while it also happens to be the name of the rapper Drake’s newest album. So, when Hayden uses the hashtag “views” for all his recent images of sunsets and landscape pictures on Instagram, he is not interested in following a bunch of Drake fans, which an algorithm apparently suggested. What became apparent in many of the participants’ responses, then, is not just how algorithms are capab...
• Cathy

  2020-07-13
  The problem with algorithms, Ryan suggests, is “that they are just based on trends and past behavior. It can’t predict for you in the future, it just assumes you are going to repeat everything you’ve done in the past.”
• Cathy

  2020-07-13
  Memory is a powerful thing. It lives in the flash of a second and the duration of a lifetime, it emerges in lifelike dreams and the drowsiness of mornings. Memories can be recalled at will or willfully withdrawn. A memory is an event that connects us to the past and makes it possible to project a path for the future. Memory is an encounter, a distraction, an opportunity, a daydream, or a denial. In the digital age, memories can be made, encouraged, and programmed to make people participate more, share more, engage more. For Albert, this is where machines fall short—“just maybe, there isn’t an algorithm capable of capturing human experience,” he tweets. When asking Albert to provide some context to his tweet, he explains:‘I was tweeting about Facebook’s recent “Year in Review” fiasco, wher...
• Cathy

  2020-07-13
  The problem with algorithms, Ryan suggests, is “that they are just based on trendsand past behavior. It can’t predict for you in the future, it just assumes you are goingto repeat everything you’ve done in the past.”