Ethics by Algorithm

"Mr. Spencer, I wanted to check for information from the Arizona Bar Exam, but it's blocked." Sure enough, I stop by the computer and anything with the title "bar" is blocked for references to drinking. Students looking up crime statistics can't access their information, either.

More recently, I am seen people getting outraged when Facebook deletes pages of people breastfeeding while allowing people to post content that is far more offensive toward women. Often, this is accompanied by commentary on what America values and doesn't value. 

But here's the thing: It's not an issue of values. At least not in the traditional social values that we think about. The real issue is a value system that is based on a technocratic belief that systems and structures can regulate all human behavior. It's the same idea that governs WebSense. It isn't a new concept. Disneyland perfected social engineering in ways that Twitter still can't figure out. 

As someone who participates in social media, I tend to imagine it as a neutral place where the users define the social norms and mores. I am tempted to believe in the Google idea that "the web is what you make of it." 

But it's not that easy. The truth is that the ethics that guide what we can and cannot do are based largely upon legal policy in design and algorithms in enforcement. It is a part of social media that is anything but social. I tend to forget, in the moment, that my interaction with other users is dependent upon the structures, systems, policies and algorithms of transnational corporations that want to know my data and sell me stuff.

Still, it never works quite like the social engineers would like. If people acted according to the design of Facebook, we would be positive and optimistic (there is a like, but not an unlike, button). Instead, users find ways around the design. Like the vines that crawl up concrete, the natural, social, messy, organic reality of relationships reshape social media platforms.  

And then it hits me right now. The ethics-by-algorithm mindset isn't just true of social media. The tension that I feel about platform design and authentic relationships is the same tension I feel as a teacher.