Viacom's Kodi Foster Warns of Living in a Data Echo Chamber

The Internet Is DeadViacomamp160is focused on understanding the current themes of technology and one theme is clearamp160 quotThe internet is deadquot Foster chillingly declared quotWhat I really mean by that is that the World Wide Web is deadamp160 It is essentially cloud storage and social mediaamp160 When you really think about it how many times are you on a dotcom nowadaysamp160 Maybe Google but everything else you are doing is on an appquotamp160 Or he added messaging which is poised to be even bigger than apps in the next year or soamp160 He also believes that surfing the web is quotnot a thingquot anymore and will probably not come backamp160 The overall direction of the internet is decidedly evolving as with everything elseTechnology Moves Our CheeseFoster believes that the tech landscape is changing as people use apps and messaging rather than sitesamp160 quotWe don39t market to people anymorequot he saidamp160 quotWe are marketing to the devices that are between us and peopleamp160 We game theory the algorithms of these technologies so we can get our marketing and content in front of a human beingquotamp160 Because of this marketers are actually not trying to understand human beingsamp160 Instead they are trying to understand the biases of these technologiesIf you are in marketing understanding the biases of these technologies has become your job Foster assertsamp160 quotYour job is not toamp160not understand human beingsquot he warnedamp160 This is leading us down a dangerous analytical path where he saysamp160the data we create every day quotis shitquot and quotwhen you put shit in you get shit outquotLosing Focus in the Echo Chambers of DataSo when you use this bad data to make predictions and craft insights there is the risk that the outcomes will be wrongamp160 quotMachines are not trying to connect people they are usually promoting somethingquot Foster explainedamp160 Promotion is curatedamp160 quotWho is deciding that curationquot he askedamp160 It becomes a selffulfilling prophecy within ecosystems because the algorithms are only putting up only certain things they wantamp160you to see and when you click and engage on them they reaffirmamp160the algorithm even if it is not something you wanted to see in the first placequotSocially connected people tend to be similarquot he posited so there is the danger of creating quotan echo chamberquotamp160 When you are fed information and you agree with it the algorithm will calculate to feed you more of the sameamp160 quotIt39s giving you what it thinks you want because that is the only stuff you are seeingquot he explainedamp160 This creates a social contagion especially when it involves false informationamp160 It is only starting to come to light but even now we may not be fully aware of the ramificationsamp160 The data we are gathering and using from this echo chamber may be biased and suspectAmplifying Bad ResultsThe advent and growth of fake news is especially troublingamp160 quotWe assume because of these finely structured networks that everyone within our network believes the same thing that we believequot Foster continuedamp160 quotWe assume that the belief is bigger across the world than it actually is and that more people share that belief because the only people we are around believe the same thingquotamp160amp160That is the danger of social echo chambersWe may not be taking this war on reality as seriously as we need to despite the discovery of the privacy transgressions of Facebook and Cambridge Analyticaamp160 The reliance of the harvested data collected in stagnant social pools and analyzed without context is leading us into dangerous territory How can you have an accurate reflection of peoples39 behaviors if the data is not accurateamp160 quotWhat happens to human civilizations when the connected tissue on reality becomes more and more fragmentedquot Foster askedamp160 quotHow do you create a predictive algorithm for anything when there are tens of thousands of different versions of realityamp160 Whose reality are you predictingquotKnowing that this is happening and seeing the ramifications leads us to a stark juncture pointamp160 Should we just keep calm and continue to play the same marketing gameamp160 Or is complacency at this time a grave mistakeamp160 If we are being led astray now with humancreated algorithms wait until machine learning and artificial intelligence really ramp up in the next few yearsamp160 Sleep tight childrenPhoto Credit ColleMcVoyClick the social buttons above or below to share this story with your friends and colleaguesThe opinions and points of view expressed in this content are exclusively the views of the author andor subjects and do not necessarily represent the views of MediaVillagecomMyersBizNet Inc management or associated writers

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Viacom's Kodi Foster Warns of Living in a Data Echo Chamber

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Charlene Weisler

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Viacom's Kodi Foster Warns of Living in a Data Echo Chamber

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Charlene Weisler

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