Filterworld

Filterworld: How Algorithms Are Reshaping Our Reality

The early promise of a free Internet is long gone. Now, rather than allowing us a meaningful relationship with a range of content of our choosing, algorithms have not only removed genuine choice but de-texturized the world around us: smoothed its edges, planed down friction, and flattened differences. So coffee shops from Brooklyn to Beijing are inflected with a similar, ‘Instagrammable’ aesthetic. Airbnb rentals are decked out f…