Investigating "filter bubbles"

Background - what is a "filter bubble"?

In 2011, Eli Pariser gave an influential TED talk on a relatively new phenomenon: the online "filter bubble":


Since then, a number of writers on both sides of the Atlantic such as Katherine Viner and Frank Bruno have claimed that society is becoming more polarised and cite the Brexit vote and the rise of Donald Trump as examples.

Here is an attempt to summarise how Facebook selects news for its users by TechCrunch writer, Josh Constine (click to enlarge):

Experiment 1

Divide into groups of 4 or 6.

Think of 2 opposing views, e.g. Donald Trump versus Hilary Clinton supporters.

Divide the group against one another. Create 2 sets of social media accounts using the email addresses provided for you by your teacher.

Seed those accounts by visiting websites and liking things that reinforce your chosen ideology.

Let things roll - record what happens to your Facebook news flood, Google searches, etc. Document what happens by taking screen shots and saving them as evidence.

If things are going slowly, you'll need to click on more items!

Compare what you see with  the opposing members of your group. Are Pariser et al correct? Is there a filter bubble in operation?

Further instructions to follow, depending on the outcome of the experiment...

Experiment 2

Watch this about Eliza: https://youtu.be/dZ9DridFLCE?t=1h17m16s

See who can have the most interesting conversation with a machine:
http://psych.fullerton.edu/mbirnbaum/psych101/Eliza.htm

Paste interesting conversations in Classroom: https://classroom.google.com/c/MTY1MjMzOTQyM1pa/p/MzAxMDgzMDA1OFpa/details (login required)

Sources

Bruni, F. (2016, May). How Facebook Warps our Worlds. New York Times. Retrieved from: http://www.nytimes.com/2016/05/22/opinion/sunday/how-facebook-warps-our-worlds.html

Constine, J. (2014, April). Why Is Facebook Page Reach Decreasing? More Competition And Limited Attention. TechCrunch. Retrieved from: https://techcrunch.com/2014/04/03/the-filtered-feed-problem/

Pariser, E. (2011, March). Eli Pariser: Beware online "filter bubbles" [Video file]. Retrieved from: https://www.ted.com/talks/eli_pariser_beware_online_filter_bubbles

Viner, K. (2016, July). How technology disrupted the truth. Guardian. Retrieved from: https://www.theguardian.com/media/2016/jul/12/how-technology-disrupted-the-truth

Thurs 24 Nov 2016, 17:00-20:00 (21:00) Virtual and Augmented Reality, IoT, and Machine Learning

Interesting seminars and hands-on learning for free!

If you're interested in technology and can get down to Stockholm after school, this could be a great opportunity:

https://www.eventbrite.com/e/tech-frenzy-virtual-and-augmented-reality-iot-machine-learning-tickets-28222543387

Register for a free ticket if you'd like to come along and let me know if you need to borrow an SL card.

The company behind the event are the software consultancy, Jayway. I assume their target audience include programmers, developers and business customers.

I've registered and so has Marcus (our IT admin). Add your name and let's expand that target audience to include Hagaberg!