An algorithm suggested this stock pic too. Seriously. No clue why.
Some creepypasta:
Months ago, I was on Audible the entire time and kept getting this recommendation wherever I clicked:
I kept ignoring it, it looked weird, and I felt fed up with superheroes at that time. And have I told you how much I hate furries? I do. I really do. I don’t understand them at all.
Anyway, at some point I saw some review somewhere and I probably listened to something by Jeff Hays, so I relented and bought Super Sales. I absolutely loved it, so much in fact that it inspired me to get to writing my own series, Cyberpink. I hadn’t discovered the GameLit/Harem genre yet at that point, this was probably late 2017. And since then I’ve devoured the genre, with some notable titles, some meh, some awful, and some stunningly good. I’ll make another post at some point with my recommendations, but you can probably find them scattered in my social media.
My point is, that the algorithm knew me far too well. And it suggested what had become the turning point in probably my career, since my last releases are killing it in sales.
Another time an algorithm suggested something, was with LoFi radio. Youtube knew that I like ASMR videos, they help me relax. And I kept seeing this:
And I was like, “Stop suggesting stupid crap to me, Youtube. I don’t like Studio Ghibli and I certainly don’t like hip hop.” Yes. Those words were said out loud. By me.
Anyway, at some point, yet again, I stumbled on an article that talked about the sudden appearance of such relaxation channels. And, suggestible that I am, I finally checked it out and it has been playing non-stop since then.
This is not something profound. I simply realized how algorithms slowly impress upon our lives, affecting them in important ways. A Tinder swipe can get you close to the person you’ll marry, or it might just get you the next person you’ll rub genitals with and promptly forget all about. An algorithm can get your house foreclosed. An algorithm decides if your business will be shown to millions or just to a sparse few customers.
It’s powerful stuff, and I don’t think people realise how immense the effect is.
Thankfully, Facebook still suggests crap (ads/friends/pages/everything) to me so the AI apocalypse is still far away.
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