Unveiling The Secrets Behind Algorithms: “They Don’t Want To Expose The Workings”

Ever wondered why the videos or social media posts you see seem perfectly tailored to your interests?

It’s all determined by algorithms, and companies like Meta and Google keep the details behind them tightly guarded.

A group of Australian researchers is determined to change that.

Click and listen the full episode below:

On today’s The Briefing, Professor Daniel Angus, a Digital Communication expert at the Queensland University of Technology and part of the Australian Internet Observatory, joins us. Angus is taking on the challenge of understanding these enigmatic codes.

These algorithms are responsible for curating the content people see online, creating personalised experiences that can be both captivating and isolating.

While they help individuals discover new content and communities, they can also limit people’s perspectives, reinforcing existing biases and creating echo chambers.

“The concern that we have, and that much of the other research speaks to now, though, is not about that kind of algorithm itself filtering towards us. Rather, it’s the manner in which we engage with it,” Angus said.

He also emphasised that there are several reasons why social media and search engine companies keep their algorithms secret.

“Quite logically, they don’t want to expose some of the workings and the details of them because they don’t want them to be gamed,” he said.

Angus suggested that social media companies might withhold data to avoid bad publicity, seeing it as a way to minimise the risk of negative headlines.

“And some of it is, I think, sometimes they just really don’t pay it much attention. They’re making so much money through their advertising and other mechanisms.”

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