Merkel Wants the Algorithms
Although many commentators in the United States have started to question the expanding influence of Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB) and Alphabet Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG), the latest attack came from none other than German Chancellor Angela Merkel.
While speaking at a media conference in Berlin on Tuesday, Merkel told RT that she sees a “narrowing perspective” brought on by tech giants like Google and Facebook. (Source: “Merkel Accuses Facebook, Google Of “Distorting Perception”, Wants Access To Algorithms,” Zero Hedge, October 27, 2016.)
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Merkel thinks these social media platforms warp our sense of reality by feeding us information that confirms our own biases. In making these arguments, she has unwittingly taken up the cause that many Americans have been making for this entire presidential cycle.
“The algorithms must be made public, so that one can inform oneself as an interested citizen on questions like: what influences my behavior on the internet and that of others?” said Merkel.“These algorithms, when they are not transparent, can lead to a distortion of our perception, they narrow our breadth of information.”
Everything searched on Google enters a black box, in which the algorithm “decides” what results are most pertinent to the user. It then spits out a range of answers without telling us how it “decided” to rank those answers. Facebook’s algorithm is equally, if not more, opaque.
Moreover, the algorithms adapt based on a user’s past searches, clicks, and likes. The algorithm molds itself to the reader, such that identical searches on two different profiles will yield completely different results.
Merkel thinks this presumption—that algorithms can decide what is best for us—is inherently wrong. She considers those decisions to be editorial in nature, which means that Facebook and Google can’t simply hide behind the moniker of “tech.”
“The big internet platforms, via their algorithms, have become an eye of a needle which diverse media must pass through to reach users,” she said. “This is a development that we need to pay careful attention to.”
Part of Merkel’s frustration comes from her own political problems. She is facing internal pressure over the influx of refugees from Syria, as well as a political movement that has crystallized into a far-right movement similar to Donald Trump’s in the United States.
