Yeah, you're right that it's of a piece with the overall tendency towards staying in your bubble (that sorting stuff that they talk about in the episode). I hate it.

I'm sure you feel the same way, but I would much rather my own fandom experience be curated by other fans. You do need help finding the stuff you want to experience--that's why we created rec lists and delicious tags and LJ/DW communities and all that fun stuff! I love when my friend says, "You should give this book/fic/fandom a try!" I hate when a company's website recommends things to me (mostly because they're almost always wrong).

I feel like algorithms don't curate. There's another word that's needed there--maybe just "promote"? But curation is such a thoughtful process, one that members of fandom have always invested a lot of time and effort into. It can't be replicated by algorithm!