Spotify this morning announced a major change to how its playlists will operate, with the news that some of its previously human-curated playlists will now be personalized based on listeners’ tastes. Before, Spotify offered personalized playlists like Discover Weekly, Release Radar, and Daily Mixes, among others, to offer users a way to enjoy the music […]
View More Spotify expands personalization to its programmed playlistsCategory: Algorithms
YouTube expands test of its Instagram-like Explore tab to more devices
YouTube is expanding the test of its “Explore” feature, a new discovery tool it first introduced as an experiment within its iPhone app last year. Similar to Instagram’s Explore page, the new YouTube feature aims to introduce users to a diverse set of personalized recommendations so they can more easily find something new to watch. […]
View More YouTube expands test of its Instagram-like Explore tab to more devicesHow do you fight an algorithm you cannot see?
That question in the headline was the challenge posed by a group of open knowledge junkies in Germany who wanted to understand how a person’s Schufa was calculated. Schufa is a credit bureau that generates financial scores for potential borrowers in Germany, and it is roughly equivalent to a FICO score in the United States. […]
View More How do you fight an algorithm you cannot see?Solving AI’s ‘black box’ problem: Learning how algorithms make decisions
In 2017, a Palestinian construction worker in the West Bank settlement of Beiter Illit, Jerusalem, posted a picture of himself on Facebook in which he was leaning against a bulldozer. Shortly after, Israeli police arrested him on suspicions that he w…
View More Solving AI’s ‘black box’ problem: Learning how algorithms make decisionsLearn about dismantling algorithmic bias at Disrupt
When Netflix recommends you watch “Everything Sucks” after you’ve finished “Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt,” an algorithm decided that would be the next logical thing for you to watch. And when Google shows you one search result ahead of another, an algorithm made a decision that one page was more important than the other. Oh, and when […]
View More Learn about dismantling algorithmic bias at DisruptFinding the Goldilocks zone for applied AI
To find the right opportunity around which to build an AI business, startups must apply the “Goldilocks” principle to find the sweet spot that is “just right.”
View More Finding the Goldilocks zone for applied AIWhy social media surveillance isn’t the answer to our gun crisis
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In 2014, Tashfeen Malik’s family in Pakistan started to worry about her Facebook posts.
It was the religious extremism that concerned them, a family member told the Los Angeles Times. A year later, Malik and her husband, Syed Rizwan Farook, declared their allegiance to ISIS on social media. Then they killed 14 people in San Bernardino using semiautomatic rifles.
In the aftermath, 26 senators asked the Department of Homeland Security to conduct social media background checks when reviewing visa applications — something President Donald Trump approved last year. Read more…
More about Social Media, Gun Control, Algorithms, Mass Shootings, and Parkland Shooting
View More Why social media surveillance isn’t the answer to our gun crisisFacebook needs to kill the News Feed
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What is the Facebook News Feed for?
In 2018, the answer is less certain than ever. Mark Zuckerberg now says it should be “good for people,” like kale, polio vaccines, or any number of things that aren’t data-harvesting, Russian propaganda-boosting social networks.
And so, Facebook will alter your feed to favor content posted by friends and family — particularly if it’s generating a lot of comments — while minimizing stuff from brands. Everyone’s spent a lot of time parsing what this algorithm shift means, but here’s an educated guess: Not much! Read more…
More about Facebook, Instagram, Algorithms, Tech, and Big Tech Companies
View More Facebook needs to kill the News FeedYouTube is pulling Tide Pod Challenge videos
YouTube appears to be trying to get ahead of any wider societal outcry over (yet more) algorithmically accelerated idiocy on its platform — and is removing Tide Pod Challenge videos. Read More
New York City moves to establish algorithm-monitoring task force
New York City may soon gain a task force dedicated to monitoring the fairness of algorithms used by municipal agencies. Formed from experts in automated systems and representatives of groups affected by those systems, it would be responsible for …
View More New York City moves to establish algorithm-monitoring task forceGoogle will derank Russian media sites Russia Today, Sputnik in search
In response to Russia’s meddling in the 2016 presidential election, Google is deranking Russian news outlets Russia Today and Sputnik in its search algorithms. Alphabet chairman Eric Schmidt revealed the decision at the Halifax International Security…
View More Google will derank Russian media sites Russia Today, Sputnik in search