What is the algorithm?

And what does it have to do with your privacy?

Ahh…the good ol’ algorithm aka “the algo”. I find myself blaming the algorithm for lots of things - that perfect 90’s nostalgia reel presented to me so delicately in my feed, a subreddit suggestion that hits so good that I should have been a member of all along, a phone case advertisement of the beautiful desert scenery which speaks to my soul. Yet none of things thing seem inherently bad - after all, if I’m going to get advertised to, it may as well be things I’m actually interested in…and a targeted Furby and Legends of the Hidden Temple reel is actually bringing joy to my life. This targeted content is an example of the algorithm at work.

So what is the algorithm, anyway? And how do the algorithm + privacy fit together? Let’s take a deeper dive.

The algorithm, explained. By me.

I’m going to explain to you what it is in my own words. You can google the definition, or ask ChatGPT, but that’s not what you come here for. This newsletter is called, “Hannah on Privacy”, so that's is what I deliver. Do not use this definition of algorithm when trying to pass your leetcode interviews, ok?

The algorithm is not any one thing, but are set of inputs that get passed into a digital system, processed, and then influence what you are shown (or influence a decision made in a system).

The algorithm that Google uses to influence the content it shows you is probably a bit different from the one Meta uses, and so on. But make no mistake that they very likely all have you pretty well targeted, and it’s this targeting that influences what we see, both in the digital world (think web browsing, targeted ads, social media feeds), but also in the physical world (smart TVs, Alexa, even some in-store advertisements).

The algorithm both shows us things we find interesting, and limits the content we see - so it has a large influence on what we can feel is our reality. If all of the major algorithms have you dialed in, and you interact with certain content (which further feeds the data they have about you), the algorithm serves up more juicy, irresistible content to get you to engage. There is a lot of money behind targeted advertising - and the more ads you watch, pages you click, things you add to card, coupons you click (ok, those are the ones that really get me…frugality ftw), the more future “sticky” things will be shown to you. “Sticky”, in digital terms, means that it’s something that you keep coming back to. So once the algorithm figures out what is sticky for you, you’ll continually get shown that sort of stuff, and it’s like a perpetuating cycle.

Vision a little cloudy? Could be the algorithm. You see what it wants you to see.

The algorithm is not static. It doesn’t have you figured out, and just rolls over and gives up. Oh, no no. The algorithm is constantly learning. Understanding what makes you tick, what makes you engage, what fires you up. So as your interests change over time, the algorithm is well aware, and adjusts accordingly. This is how it can suggest things to you that seem so magical - things you were maybe only just thinking about are suggested to you - how does Meta know? That’s the algorithm at work. It’s a giant prediction engine, and with enough data to go off of, I guess humans are predictable creatures.

Privacy + the algorithm

I’ve already alluded to it, but the more data we feed the algorithm, the better it knows us and can target content accordingly. All of us have those friends and relatives who seem to think [thing X] is a really. big. deal, and swear all of their friends also think it’s a big deal, but no one else is freaking out about it? Did they mention that all of their friends are…friends from Facebook and Reddit? It can be hard to tell what is real life and what is the algorithm. I am very privacy aware. I work in digital identity, for goodness sakes. And I’ve honestly said things that I later realized were probably very algorithm driven, and made to feel like a big deal in my little world. But when I put my head up, look around, and examine things outside of what is being fed to me by the algorithm…reality looked a little bit different.

That’s where I take issue with the algorithm. I don’t want my worldview, my digital existence, etc shoved down my throat based on what big tech thinks will make me engage. It’s important to realize that an algorithm fueled reality is one where everyone is in their own silo, and it becomes easy to forget that we are all humans with more in common than different. I think realizing that this is happening (and it does happen to all of us, it’s unavoidable to some degree) is the first step. Algorithms aren’t just used to target ads and influence what content is presented to us. Decisions algorithms make can affect important aspects of our lives, like loan approvals, job opportunities, or insurance rates. The less data you feed the algorithm, the better.

One thing I don’t really understand to this day…how do I completely “get rid” of the algorithm and its influence? It would be an interesting experiment, to completely delete accounts, use a new email address, change my IP address/use a VPN…I’d have to see if the 90s nostalgia reels still followed me. Somehow, I think they might.

Until next time,

Hannah