There is indeed a lot of talk going on about algorithms, as well as what people believe is possible with online platforms as a result of their default online experience. It was interesting to think about the "sorting" issue as I think that's quite true and I suspect it's particularly damaging since it offers a suggestion of action and decision making on the part of users when it's really just channeling them into a cattle tunnel.

So it isn’t simply the case that machines are better able to understand humans. It is also the case that machines are making human beings more like machines, that we are trying to rewrite our programming in such a way that we can be predicted. And for me, that’s the more frightening aspect of the shift from sorting to prediction.

Yes, it's troubling enough for the purpose of advertising but really gets alarming when it applies to political activity -- especially since for the most part politicians want activity to be suppressed rather than enabled.