Portfolio!Essay!Juliette!Sentis!R302D! 4

Portfolio!Essay!Juliette!Sentis!R302D!

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Portfolio(essay$

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Essay$

! ‘The$filter$bubble$keeps$people$isolated$from$the$real$world’$ ! It!is!not!uncommon!knowledge!that!the!digital!world!is!fundamentally!changing.!In!2009! Google!began!to!customize!the!search!results!for!users!in!its!search!engine.!Google! personalises!search!results!on!what!it!believes!is!relevant!for!that!particular!user!based!on! previous!online!search!behaviour!and!personal!information!with!algorithms!such!as:!name,!age! and!residence.!Due!to!this!personalisation,!people!will!get!different!search!results!whilst!typing! the!same!word!in!Google.!People!begin!to!live!in!their!own!unique!information!universe!called! ‘the!filter!bubble’,!named!by!Eli!Pariser.!These!filters!are!invisible!so!people!do!not!know!all! that!is!kept!hidden.!Although!some!people!are!aware!of!the!filter!bubble,!it!keeps!them! isolated!from!the!real!world.!! ! On!first!review!it!does!not!sound!too!bad!that!Google!personalizes!search!results!with! algorithms!for!individuals!that!use!the!search!engine.!These!algorithms!are!written!into!the! application!source!code!by!the!designers!and!start!by!looking!at!certain!“signals”.!(The!Sun! Herald,!Sydney!Australia,!2014)!Google!uses!fifty\seven!signals!to!customize!the!search!results,! for!example:!the!user’s!location,!what!kind!of!computer!the!user!has,!user’s!past!search! behaviour!and!the!time!of!day.!(Pariser,!2011)!A!simple!search!result!as!‘the!weather’!in!Google! will!give!individuals!a!different!result!based!on!the!user’s!location.!The!problem!is!that!Google! does!not!stop!with!personalisation,!because!it!gets!more!and!more!information!the!longer!the! user!searches!on!the!search!engine.!Eventually!all!the!search!results!are!based!on!what!Google! thinks!is!relevant!for!the!user!and!creates!a!‘bubble’.!People!do!not!know!what!results!are! deleted.!According!to!Eli!Pariser!such!a!bubble!is!harmful!for!democracy!because!people!could! not!get!information!that!challenges!or!expands!their!own!worldviews! anymore.!(Depaul.digication.com,!2013)!As!a!result!it!isolates!them!from!other!information!and! cannot!form!an!objective!opinion.!! ! People!can!be!overwhelmed!by!all!the!information!they!get!by!searching!something!simple!like! ‘the!news’!on!Google.!Even!similar!people!get!different!search!results!when!typing!the!same! word!in!a!search!engine.!(The!Times,!London,!2011)!Everything!has!been!personalised,!also! articles!in!the!newspaper.!For!example,!some!people!are!not!interested!in!information!about!a! war!in!the!Middle!East!and!just!want!news!about!their!neighbourhood.!There!is!a!difference! between!the!personalisation!algorithms!Google!uses!and!an!editor!of!a!newspaper.!An!editor! of!a!newspaper!just!filters!the!news!for!that!particular!newspaper.!With!a!newspaper!people! get!to!choose!which!paper!and!article!they!read,!but!with!the!filter!bubble!people!do!not!get!to!

Portfolio!Essay!Juliette!Sentis!R302D!

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! ! choose,!that!has!been!done!for!them.!The!whole!point!of!the!Internet!is!that!people!have! access!to!all!kinds!of!information!around!the!world.!!As!a!result!by!personalising!the!search! results!of!people!it!isolates!them!from!all!kinds!of!information.! $ Algorithms!can!make!someone’s!life!easier!and!save!a!lot!of!time!by!helping!him!or!her!find!a! specific!item!or!piece!of!information!that!is!needed.!!Living!in!a!world!with!an!information! overload!is!not!easy!and!can!be!exhausting!if!people!have!to!search!through!irrelevant! information.!Even!though!it!seems!to!make!life!easier!it!also!creates!a!world!with!information! that!matches!the!user,!everything!according!to!him!or!her!based!on!previous!search!behaviour.! The!problem!is!that!it!is!not!a!realistic!world.!Google!knows!what!a!user!likes!online,!but!does! not!know!what!a!user!reads!or!does!offline.!A!user!can!be!using!the!Internet!only!for!fun!stuff! after!being!at!work!all!day.!This!user!just!wants!some!fun!and!searches!entertainment!like! funny!videos!or!the!next!holiday!destination.!Google!will!think!that!this!user!is!only!interested! in!this!kind!of!information!and!filters!that!information!for!its!user.!Eli!Pariser!compares!this!to!a! diet!heavy!on!junk!food!and!explains!that!people!need!to!eat!vegetables,!too.!“The!Internet!is! showing!us!what!it!thinks!we!want!to!see,!but!not!necessarily!what!we!need!to!see”.!! (Emagister.co.uk,!2013)! ! The!filter!bubble!created!by!algorithms!can!be!useful!from!time!to!time!and!clears!a!path! through!the!information!overload!people!get.!Users!cannot!see!what!is!kept!hidden!from!them! and!Google!causes!an!isolation!of!information,!which!it!thinks!is!relevant!based!on!previous! search!behaviour.!This!creates!a!problem!according!to!Eli!Pariser!for!democracy!because! people!do!not!get!information!that!challenges!or!expands!their!own!worldviews.!The!filter! bubble!creates!a!unique!universe!where!people!don!not!get!to!choose!which!information!will! be!visible.!The!isolation!of!the!filter!bubble!is!created!by!algorithms!based!on!signals!and!shows! people!what!it!thinks!people!want!to!see,!but!not!necessarily!what!people!need!to!see.! ! ! (786!words)!

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Summary$

Google!personalises!since!2009!search!results!of!its!users!based!on!previous!search!behaviour! and!personal!information!with!algorithms!such!as:!name,!age!and!residence.!It!creates!a!filter! bubble!that!gives!users!only!information!that!suits!them!and!isolates!them!from!the!real!world.! Due!to!this!time!with!an!information!overload!it!can!be!useful!for!users!by!saving!time!when! searching!for!information.!The!problem!is!that!Google!does!not!know!the!person!outside!the! online!world.!People!sometimes!need!other!information!then!what!they!want!to!see!otherwise! people!can!not!expand!their!own!worldviews,!which!means!democracy!can!get!endangered.!!

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Portfolio!Essay!Juliette!Sentis!R302D!

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1.3

Sources$

! The!Times,!London.!(11!juni!2011).!‘Web!cookies!leave!a!bad!taste;!nonfiction!Is!the!increasing! 'personalisation'!of!websites!such!as!Facebook!and!Google!a!threat!to!democracy?’!Saturday! edition.!Geraadpleegd!op!29!oktober!2014.!Van:!http://academic.lexisnexis.eu/??lni=532P\ JW51\JCC9\V037&csi=280434&oc=00240&perma=true!! ! The!Sun!Herald,!Sydney!Australia.!(14!april!2013).!!‘Online!habits:!what!they!feed!you!is!all!part! of!the!equation’.!Sunday!edition.!Geraadpleegd!op!29!oktober!2014.!Van:! http://academic.lexisnexis.eu/??lni=5866\KF41\JD34\V1RG&csi=8411&oc=00240&perma=true!! ! 1.3.1 Extra$$ ! Emagister.co.uk.!(2014).!‘Eli!Pariser:!Beware!online!filter!bubbles’.!Geraadpleegd!op!29!oktober! 2014.!Van:!http://www.emagister.co.uk/blog/beware\online\filter\bubbles\with\eli\pariser/!! ! Pariser,!Eli.!(2011).!‘The!Filter!Bubble:!What!The!Internet!Is!Hiding!From!You’.!Geraadpleegd!op! 29!oktober!2014.!Van:! http://books.google.nl/books?hl=nl&lr=&id=\ FWO0puw3nYC&oi=fnd&pg=PT3&dq=filter+bubble&ots=g3HqCrtRW1&sig=WKDkKU6h67DxJm 81lJvBUI8I11g#v=onepage&q=filter%20bubble&f=false!! ! Depaul.digication.com!(2013).!Summary!of!“Beware!Online!‘Filter!Bubbles”.!Geraadpleegd!op! 29!oktober!2014.!Van:! https://depaul.digication.com/miner_zhang_wrd104x_portfolio/Summary_Beware_Online_Filt er_Bubble! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! !