Big Data, Algorithms, and The Confirmation Bias
By
Staten Island, NY Posted: 4/30/2017 1:00:00 AM
We all have a confirmation bias. Unfortunately Big Data, and algorithms make it worse.
We are all hard wired to have at least some confirmation bias. Mosts of the time, we don't even realize it, but it's only natural for us to seek out things that already fit our wold view. If you step on two scales, and one reads 175 pounds, and the second one reads 165, chances are most people would trust the one with the lower weight.
Our confirmation bias tends to strengthen when we are only exposed to information sources that already fit our existing point of view. So, if you have a conservative or liberal point of view, and only read conservative or liberal news sources, this will only feed your bias towards that perspective.
While it's definitely an issue when you only follow liberal or conservative news sources offline, it's even harder when you do it online, because search engines and social media sites will use Big Data and algorithms to feed increasingly more biased news sources to you in order to increase their click rate (and earn higher advertising profits).
Simply stated, if search engines and social media sites like Facebook think you are a conservative, they will earn more money by showing conservative information because you will be more likely to read them, giving them more opportunities to show ads.
As time goes by, they will not only show you more conservative (or liberal) content, they will eventually filter out everything else. Your built-in confirmation bias will lead to more clicks, and a feedback loop where they in-turn feed you more of the kinds of things you've reacted to.
The only way to insure you still see balanced information is to actively seek out alternative viewpoints, so that search engines and social media sites will have a harder time profiling your viewpoints. This will result in more balanced items in your news feed and in search results.
Joe Crescenzi, Founder
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