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I think the argument is much more nuanced. The danger isn't inherently in the filters themselves, it is in the way they shape people's beliefs unknowingly. Un

I think the argument is much more nuanced. The danger isn't inherently in the filters themselves, it is in the way they shape people's beliefs unknowingly. Understanding that these filters exist give you the ability to start to think about how your beliefs may be being modified. The next step is empowering users to change these filters, modify them, so that if they /want/ to, they can use these filters, or they could switch them, to experience the opposite side of the story. Again though, the first step is to acknowledge and raise awareness.

FilterJoe 15y ago
I get the idea about biases creeping in that you don't even know about. But it's pretty easy to do a search for the opposite of something. For example: google Palestinian view google Israeli view I would be surprised if personalized search results got so extreme as to make that not work. The problem of filtering out low quality or irrelevance is much harder. I believe I'm substantially better than the average person at finding things on the web yet I waste many hours per week trying to sift out high quality information on various subjects I'm researching. So I, for one, would welcome filtering that is far better and far more personalized than what exists today. And I don't want to have to spend hours per week fiddling with Yahoo Pipes or something along those lines in order to get there. Whether any of the new attempts at automated personalized filtering will greatly improve quality/relevance is a separate question. The answer to that probably won't be known for years. EDIT: inserted line break
- TeMPOraL 15y ago
  Well, in the TED talk there was example of two queries about Egypt made at the same time from different locations, and the first results page from one was completely missing information about unrests that were going on at that time. It's a little bit scary to me.

FilterJoe 15y ago

I get the idea about biases creeping in that you don't even know about. But it's pretty easy to do a search for the opposite of something. For example: google Palestinian view google Israeli view I would be surprised if personalized search results got so extreme as to make that not work. The problem of filtering out low quality or irrelevance is much harder. I believe I'm substantially better than the average person at finding things on the web yet I waste many hours per week trying to sift out high quality information on various subjects I'm researching. So I, for one, would welcome filtering that is far better and far more personalized than what exists today. And I don't want to have to spend hours per week fiddling with Yahoo Pipes or something along those lines in order to get there. Whether any of the new attempts at automated personalized filtering will greatly improve quality/relevance is a separate question. The answer to that probably won't be known for years. EDIT: inserted line break

TeMPOraL 15y ago
Well, in the TED talk there was example of two queries about Egypt made at the same time from different locations, and the first results page from one was completely missing information about unrests that were going on at that time. It's a little bit scary to me.