Веб-разработчик Джереми Кит очень хорошо отвечает какому-то неизвестному мне человеку о том, как ощущается постоянный сбор данных о тебе, когда пользуешься гуглом (и не только):
Peter uses the metaphor of a record shop:
«The algorithm» is the best way to navigate a world of infinite choice; imagine you went to a record shop (remember them?) which had every recording ever released; how would you find new music? You’d either buy music by bands you know you already liked, or you’d take a pure gamble on something—which most of the time would be a miss. So you’d ask a store worker, and they’d recommend the music they liked—but that’s no guarantee you’d like it. A good worker would ask what type of music you like, and recommend music based on that—you might not like all the recommendations, but there’s more of a chance you’d like some. That’s just what «the algorithm» does.
But that’s not true. You don’t ask «the algorithm» for a recommendation—it foists them on you whether you want them or not. A more apt metaphor would be that you walked by a record shop once and the store worker came out and followed you down the street, into your home, and watched your every move for the rest of your life.
What Peter describes sounds great—a helpful knowledgable software agent that you ask for recommendations. But that’s not what «the algorithm» is. And that’s why it feels like a cage. That’s why it is a cage.
Мысль правильная.