Re:New political polarization casts rivals as alien, unlikab...
by throwaway13337 on Saturday October 31, 2020 @08:35AM
(#24950899)
Yes, the problem is obviously media and social media stoking up tribalism and rage.
No, the problem will not solve itself by simply telling the public to think more critically.
These media and social media companies are incentivized by engagement metrics - which becomes money through ads - to destroy society via enraging their user against one another.
The algorithms that measure engagement and then feed it are the tools of our destruction.
This is not intentional on their behalf but an emergent result of what they've optimize for.
It's something that seems to be happening throughout the west - not just America.
This monster is probably our biggest existential threat today. The question is how do we stop it?
No, the problem will not solve itself by simply telling the public to think more critically.
These media and social media companies are incentivized by engagement metrics - which becomes money through ads - to destroy society via enraging their user against one another.
The algorithms that measure engagement and then feed it are the tools of our destruction.
This is not intentional on their behalf but an emergent result of what they've optimize for.
It's something that seems to be happening throughout the west - not just America.
This monster is probably our biggest existential threat today. The question is how do we stop it?