The Problem With the Algorithms

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i don't know that our artificial intelligence systems will ever be able to encompass the kind of nuance it takes to responsibly sort of moderate and manage our discourse. I think they have to invest vastly more resources into trying to get this right. One of the biggest problems, in my view, is that they do not view users customers. Their customers are advertisers, because the services are fray and so users are just a, you now, human traffic and eyeballs that makes the advertising revenue possible. And i think that with, given the level of influence that these platforms have over our society and democracy, i think that way of thinking needs to shift.

Online trolls and fascist chat groups. Controversies over campus lectures. Cancel culture versus censorship. The daily hazards and debates surrounding free speech dominate headlines and fuel social media storms. In an era where one tweet can launch — or end — your career, and where free speech is often invoked as a principle but rarely understood, learning to maneuver the fast-changing, treacherous landscape of public discourse has never been more urgent. In Dare to Speak: Defending Free Speech for All, Suzanne Nossel, a leading voice in support of free expression, delivers a vital, necessary guide to maintaining democratic debate that is open, free-wheeling but at the same time respectful of the rich diversity of backgrounds and opinions in a changing country.

Shermer and Nossel discuss: private vs. government restrictions on speech; hate speech, libel, slander, compelled speech; incitement to violence and insurrection; cancel culture; social media censorship; the euphemism treadmill, and more…