Elon's Imagining the Internet Center partners with the Pew Research Center on "Code-Dependent," a new report that asked experts to weigh in on the increased dependence on algorithms.
A new report produced by Elon’s Imagining the Internet Center and the Pew Research Center has generated widespread attention by the media.
The report distilled responses from more than 1,300 experts who were asked the following question — “Will the net overall effect of algorithms be positive for individuals and society or negative for individuals and society?”
As the All Tech Considered piece notes, algorithms are becoming increasingly embedded in our lives and help people manage a wide variety of tasks, such as sending email, finding a new home or connecting with a potential love match. The piece pulled out a sampling of the opinions that were collected in July and August, such as one from Bart Knijnenburg, an assistant professor in human-centered computing at Clemson University, show said, “My biggest fear is that, unless we tune our algorithms for self-actualization, it will be simply too convenient for people to follow the advice of an algorithm (or, too difficult to go beyond such advice), turning these algorithms into self-fulfilling prophecies and users into zombies who exclusively consume easy-to-consume items.”
The report highlighted seven major themes that arose from the pool of responses, such as the idea that algorithms will continue to spread, but that deep reliance on algorithms could lead to a loss of humanity and human judgment.
In its article, Nextgov explains that the report found that more than a third of those who responded believe algorithms could have more negative impacts on society than positive. “Some tech experts fear the mathematical equations underlying much of today’s data analytics technology could ultimately be dangerous for individuals,” the article states.
The complete report, which was co-authored by Janna Anderson, the center’s director and a professor of communications, is available here.