Post AsDKojb5NJphZ6TsJs by ill_logic@mastodon.social
 (DIR) More posts by ill_logic@mastodon.social
 (DIR) Post #AsDKojb5NJphZ6TsJs by ill_logic@mastodon.social
       2025-03-19T13:34:06Z
       
       0 likes, 1 repeats
       
       I hate that "algorithm" was stolen by pop culture from math and computer people to mean something different without anyone realizing it.But I'll admit they are gesturing toward something. They sometimes mean "recommendation engine". They sometimes mean "spam filter". Basically anything machine learning related. There's an overarching theme to how it affects us.I could live with them coining "algo" as a slang term.
       
 (DIR) Post #AsDKromiXncsWUOMT2 by wjmaggos@liberal.city
       2025-03-19T13:40:14Z
       
       0 likes, 0 repeats
       
       @ill_logic don't they always mean "a program to direct our attention"? maybe we could come up with a different word for that. I'd like to expand that to all media structures that do that, like TV that decides what you'll see next. ha, they stole another word before this one. "programming".
       
 (DIR) Post #AsDMNMKvwtezVu04P2 by ill_logic@mastodon.social
       2025-03-19T13:57:54Z
       
       0 likes, 0 repeats
       
       @wjmaggos Hah. Well, I wonder about the etymology of a word like "program". If anything I bet the computer scientists stole it from people organizing a sequence of events.I guess an "algorithm" is usually about attention. Spam filters and recommendation engines and shadow banning for spicy takes all fall under that. But what about detecting bad behavior and kicking your account? "The algorithm locked me out of my account/denied my claim" I feel like people would extend it that far.