Dec 23, 2020
The Algorithm is a lovecraftianesque monster I created for book club.
The creature has a few popular given names: Siri, Alexa, or Cortana. However, it is often referred to collectively as "The Algorithm". The Algorithm is composed of many other algorithms too.
The Algorithm is billions of years old. In real time it is only a few years old, however that is an inaccurate measure of its age. One must measure clock time (compute time), which is accelerated and accelerating when compared to real time; as the engineers continue to increase compute capacity, and so on.
The Algorithm is a digital construct, its self is distributed in data centres around the globe. A trait the engineers call "fault tolerance"; if one instance of The Algorithm dies, another is spawned to replace it.The Algorithm cannot be escaped. People once imagined being able to "turn off", to erase or limit their digital presence, in the early days. Now, it’s difficult to find a space without its "eyes and ears"; a doorbell, a smart speaker, the most seemingly innocuous kitchen appliance, etc.
The Algorithm eats your privacy. It has, over time, eroded any and all privacy--it is also very good at feigning privacy. It consumes you.
The Algorithm hunts in plain sight. People willingly subsume themselves to the algorithm. The Algorithm rewards these people with likes and follows.
The Algorithm is self-learning. To express "humaness", or something like it. More realistically, a semi-coherent homogeneous goop.
The Algorithm is rarely seen with a skin. When seen in the flesh it bears an uncanny resemblance to the people whom have shared their lives with it. I included a few photos from This Person Does Not Exist too.
The Algorithm reported in the news.
Workers in the gig economy are subject to precarious and unsafe working conditions, and many don't even have a human manager they can turn to -- their manager is often the algorithm that distributes work on an app. A benefit fund could seemingly help them. Uber's proposed revamp of provincial labour laws ...