The only reason it isn't an "algorithm" is because no one thought to use that language when it was created.

All "algorithm" means is "a process or set of rules to be followed in calculations"- computers don't need to be involved, nor does "AI".

The no-fly list is a process of looking up people in a list of names when calculating whether they can fly. That fits the definition as much as anything else the media calls an algorithm.

Honestly, as someone most of whose life is spent writing algorithms, when I hear any non-technical person say the word "algorithm" that's my cue to tune out. "Algorithms" seems to have a meaning that's approximately "super-intelligent runaway AI robots ... oh, and they're also racist".

Meanwhile, neural nets are accomplishing the great, hitherto-unreachable task of [checks notes] grade school math: https://www.tensorflow.org/datasets/catalog/math_dataset

Very true that this just obscures the issue with processing personal data. That of course happens already on large scales for years.