Scan barcode
vaibhav_tripathi's review
dark
emotional
informative
reflective
tense
medium-paced
4.0
4.5/5 #recommended
Overall a phenomenal book, Unlike the book Stolen Focus whose focus is on the negative impact of social media technology on an individual's life, this book's focus is more on the entire society how even if we want we can't actually stop or escape the negative consequences that are happening collectively. We are in a grand experiment result of which no one can predict.
There were nit pics and problematic things the author said but in the end it's a terrifying tale of how Social media is dismantling our society by algorithms, the power they have over humans and governments, in the history of mankind we humans may never face a bigger threat except for nukes themselves. The most powerful private, only for profit, money hungry organisations whose only goal is to suck up every second of our life till death. ☠️ I not exaggerating, I was not aware that the problem is so big until I read this book. A must read in its genre, I hope it has some impact.
Overall a phenomenal book, Unlike the book Stolen Focus whose focus is on the negative impact of social media technology on an individual's life, this book's focus is more on the entire society how even if we want we can't actually stop or escape the negative consequences that are happening collectively. We are in a grand experiment result of which no one can predict.
There were nit pics and problematic things the author said but in the end it's a terrifying tale of how Social media is dismantling our society by algorithms, the power they have over humans and governments, in the history of mankind we humans may never face a bigger threat except for nukes themselves. The most powerful private, only for profit, money hungry organisations whose only goal is to suck up every second of our life till death. ☠️ I not exaggerating, I was not aware that the problem is so big until I read this book. A must read in its genre, I hope it has some impact.
ekruzel's review
5.0
Deeply researched and well cited, the authors present global evidence as to the destructive forces of social media platforms -- as they amplify dangerous conspiracies and fascist propaganda, promote terrorist radicalization paths and fascist hate speech, resulting in myriad cases of real-world violence.
This is an excellent and terrifying book. And, the problem is even worse than I could have imagined
The algorithms keep people watching/clicking to drive revenue, while at the same time they manipulate their audience en masse towards hate and violence.
I recommend reading this book, disabling "auto play" settings in your apps (YouTube, etc), and that you be vigilant as to what shows up in your feeds.
It turns out, some of the worst information has the highest rates of recommendation and it isn't without consequence.
It's time to disable the algorithms and regulate tech.
I also hope the authors will do a parallel investigation of TikTok.
This is an excellent and terrifying book. And, the problem is even worse than I could have imagined
The algorithms keep people watching/clicking to drive revenue, while at the same time they manipulate their audience en masse towards hate and violence.
I recommend reading this book, disabling "auto play" settings in your apps (YouTube, etc), and that you be vigilant as to what shows up in your feeds.
It turns out, some of the worst information has the highest rates of recommendation and it isn't without consequence.
It's time to disable the algorithms and regulate tech.
I also hope the authors will do a parallel investigation of TikTok.
krichardson's review
4.0
A good look into social media and its effect on our brains and world. Not a lot of new information for me, but still a good review of everything in one place. I liked the author's analysis of the changing culture of Silicon Valley over time and how venture capitalists steer the decisions made there. I wish he had spent more time exploring and explaining how social media changes our thoughts because to me that is the scariest and least understood aspect of The Algorithm. If anything, this book reaffirmed my decision to stay off TikTok.
nickelwing_td's review
challenging
dark
informative
medium-paced
4.0
As a political communications professional, I know I'll be reflecting on The Chaos Machine for a looooong time. It's a tough but important primer on the very real societal risks of mass social media, with some glimmers of hope and encouragement about the techniques we can use to claw back some of the damage already done.
sadiebroussard's review
challenging
dark
informative
sad
slow-paced
5.0
Everyone who uses social media needs to read this book.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Genocide
Moderate: Rape and Murder
Minor: Pedophilia