This is all true, and so obvious that one feels like slapping one's forehead. The algorithms are content-neutral, but they are based on the implicit judgement o

This is all true, and so obvious that one feels like slapping one's forehead. The algorithms are content-neutral, but they are based on the implicit judgement of the users: and the users engage more with what is extraordinary and outrageous. So we're in a Black Mirror-esque moment in which the nervous system of humanity is suffering of an anxiety disorder, possibly psychosis, caused by the subtle but constant amplification of emotionally negative thoughts and paranoid ideation. I think the system needs some form of biologically inspired attenuation mechanism, again based purely on engagement rather than content: for example reducing the amplification of nodes that are "always on", or reducing dissemination past a certain level (WhatsApp has already limited the number of forwards of a message, I think). The problem with these solutions is how to reconcile them with the commercial purpose of the platform. Probably we'll end up building some resistance, partly cultural and partly enforced by laws; hopefully before it provokes some major catastrophe.