World-Filter

The internet, with its recommendation algorithms, has captured humanity. Each of us lives in a smoothed-over and, in essence, depersonalized world, filtered through algorithms. These algorithms determine what songs we listen to and which friends we stay in touch with. They increasingly influence not only what culture we consume but also what culture is produced. Journalist Kyle Chaika gives readers an engaging tour through the history of the emergence and development of algorithmic information presentation, discusses today's realities in which it plays a crucial role for our culture, the pros and cons of this state of affairs, and offers conscious solutions that will help preserve one's own "self" in the era of algorithms.