73 OVER THE TOP Extreme Algorithms
misogyny. Or from news about the suffering of refugees to the existential threat posed by foreigners. Once these anxieties are provoked, it’s very hard for a viewer to back down from them. It may be that the internet is not building us up; it is aggressively eroding us. Where there were only barely visible depressions in the terrains of our personality, the internet is quickly excavating canyons. Society’s fears about radicalisation are often directed at certain local groups, types of speech or travel to certain countries. But what if the engine for radicalisation is between the cracks of the content we
consume every day, contained in the device we pick up first thing every morning? RESPONSIBILITY There has been a furore over the ready availability of the footage of the Christchurch shooting, with calls for greater restriction and faster reaction to violent footage posted online. The French Council of the Muslim Faith is suing Facebook and YouTube for allowing the broadcast on their platforms. But who will be sued for the algorithms that help create other extremists? It would be a mistake to think of the Christchurch terrorist as a madman on a
spontaneous rampage. The attack was a carefully produced piece of content, designed to influence, operating across multiple media. It was aimed at a specific audience of fellow influencers and their followers, and it was designed to be shared and widely viewed online. The video will generate conversation and discussion among like-minded individuals and become a part of the digital conversation. As a global society – and as an industry – we need to take responsibility for that conversation. If we don’t, there are darker forces out in the world who are happy to do it for us.
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