TikTok Algorithm

 Modern machine learning is a process which everyone should understand and be fascinated by. It is essentially darwinism applied to computers. CGP Grey has a great video I recommend watching here on the topic. The same process described on the YouTube algorithm applies to TikTok, but this one has a much different job. Instead of having to decide what options to show a user to click, the algorithm has full control over what content is shown to the user. So it has to be good at it's job. I learned through the EOTO presentation about how the TikTok algorithm knows a lot more about the individual than what you may think. Your attention span, political beliefs, usage patterns, and a multitude of other factors are tracked through your usage.

This is worrisome, because if the algorithm knows all these things, then the people who own the algorithm, the Chinese government, also know all these things. As I write this in my dorm room, I can hear 2 of my roommates scrolling through their TikTok feeds in their rooms. TikTok is pervasive in the modern American teen's media diet. This means the algorithm is collecting and storing data on millions of Americans. If the Chinese government is smart enough and forward-looking enough, which based on the history of the Chinese, I believe they are, then they are likely working on ways to use this wealth of information at their disposal to their advantage. For now, their interests align with ours and it isn't a clear, present issue, but the implications are worrisome.