[ weird things ] | algorithms
articles tagged: algorithms
how social media algorithms turn us and our politicians into trolls
# tech

how social media algorithms turn us and our politicians into trolls

A study of American politicians’ tweets shows they’ve become angrier and more crass over the last decade. Why? Because social media algorithms reward them for it.

the real reason why hate continues to flourish on social media
# tech

the real reason why hate continues to flourish on social media

What's holding the tech giants back from addressing racists and bigots trying to overrun their platforms isn't the limits of their technology. It's fear.

how cranks cheat algorithms and silence their critics
# tech

how cranks cheat algorithms and silence their critics

It’s not your imagination, social media and product rankings are being gamed with very obvious tricks tech companies are refusing to stop.

why recommendation algorithms are a necessary evil
# tech

why recommendation algorithms are a necessary evil

Experts are worried we’re ceding too many decisions to recommendation algorithms and are on a slippery slope to exploitation and learned helplessness. In reality, we’d be lost and very frustrated without them.

why a conspiracy theorist and his money are soon parted
# oddities

why a conspiracy theorist and his money are soon parted

Thanks to modern technology and streaming platforms, conspiracy theories are big business, meaning that you’re quite literally paying to have people mess with your mind.

do we need a crackdown on stock trading bots?
# tech

do we need a crackdown on stock trading bots?

To keep the stock market under human control, should we crack down on high frequency trading algorithms and what they can do?

do trading algorithms create a shadow market?
# tech

do trading algorithms create a shadow market?

High frequency trading algorithms are creating market patterns humans can barely follow. As they get even faster, the market may be under their control more often than it's under ours.

mining biology for a communication model
# tech

mining biology for a communication model

How accurate are the comparisons between how our brains work and how computers calculate? A trio of researchers decided to find out.

oh great, just what we need; sarcastic robots
# tech

oh great, just what we need; sarcastic robots

Computers that can tell when someone isn't being genuine or mocking them, that's exactly what we wanted...

how to fail at biology and computer science
# evolution

how to fail at biology and computer science

The Discovery Institute and its merry band of pseudoscientists seem to believe they can overturn the science of evolution by filibustering courts with meaningless buzzwords.

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