Cracking the Code
EDITION II
Elliot Larky
11/30/20254 min read
Greed and overconsumption; two things that have subconsciously taken over our everyday lives. People have begun purchasing an influx of unneeded items, due to the high amount of advertisements (ads) one sees on a daily basis. We think that we control the media we view daily. In reality, it’s Artificial Intelligence (AI) that has control. Every click, like, search, and view is calculated. AI is found everywhere, most prominently on social media and throughout ads displayed.
To understand this concept, one must look into the algorithm itself. The code, referring to AI’s program, controls the algorithm that curates everything a user sees. The goal is to boost user engagement by providing content similar to what was previously liked. The algorithms on different media platforms differ in the standards they follow, depending on the relevance of the content. But the general consensus is that you, as a user, are being tracked on every movement to perfectly curate the ideal experience on the platform.
The power of algorithms needs something more complex than code: it’s your data. Algorithms need data in order to succeed, yet this fact scares many. According to a study conducted by Consumer Reports, on average, of the 709 volunteers, “each participant in the study had their data sent to Facebook by 2,230 companies.”(1) The study illustrates the intense detail algorithms devoted to curating the perfect feed. While this may be alarming, it has helped each user enjoy Facebook, as their posts and advertisements viewed are more catered towards their interest. If one follows a brand that produces winter coats, in the following weeks, they may see a multitude of ads for the item they have recently interacted with on their Facebook feed.
Algorithms can be beneficial, but also harmful to many users. Many companies now use the term “surveillance pricing,” which Senior Policy Analyst, ACLU Speech, Privacy, and Technology Project, Jay Stanley for American Civil Liberties Union explained that it is the company using the consumer’s date and knowledge about the person to adjust prices and potentially earn more money. (2) This is the aspect of AI that many fear. When is it not listening? Is everything adjusted? Uber rides? Flights? Many have the right to fear algorithms in this sense, as AI is using their own data against them to garner a profit for the business.
Social media is a business at its core. Their goal is to make money from their viewers. One of the easiest ways to do so is to sell ad space. For example, YouTube recently hit 10.3 billion dollars in advertising revenue in their third quarter, according to business reporter from The Hollywood, Cailtin Huston.(3) Thus proving ads importance. Algorithms are the filters that social media companies use to project ads to their users, hopefully predicting their high chance of purchasing the item.
A closer look at individual brands illustrates how closely they rely on algorithms and our data for profit. Advertisements are a major part of algorithms, as companies do not want to waste money on publishing ads for people not to purchase the product. The ad needs to be seen by the right consumer. According to Meta, the company Alo Yoga is running a total of 340 different advertisements across its platforms.(4) This may seem like a large amount of ads, but in reality, it is quite small. Alo Yoga sells clothing for many different people, so producing a single ad campaign is not effective. For large companies, it’s necessary to produce a multitude of ads to appeal to different demographics and run them across many platforms, allowing AI algorithms to push them out to the correct users based on their previous engagement. No viewer wants to notice the same advertisement over and over again. This marketing strategy is key to successfully utilising algorithms rather than working against them.
While larger companies tend to utilise algorithms through overproduction of advertisements, smaller businesses can still apply algorithms for their benefit. For these businesses, it’s important to review the analytics of their websites and social media pages, as Google Analytics columnist Dean L. Sampson of Score.org explained. The research from the website will help companies create more targeted content for their key demographics, rather than using their limited time to try to appeal to all potential viewers. In addition to using Google Analytics for demographic research, small businesses should incorporate AI to schedule posts based on their interaction statistics. They would utilize this feature by having AI post their content at the optimal time for engagement based on their data that would ideally be analyzed through AI as well. This would help save a significant amount of time for those busy owners.
Algorithms truly affect more than we realise. Instead of fearing them, we, as consumers, need to accept them, and businesses need to adapt to them and profit from their code. Consumers need to comply with the normality of algorithms, but simultaneously create unique opinions to limit impulsive purchases. Next time you see an ad for something you recently searched, think: do you really need the item or are you just seeing it multiple times?
(2) https:/www.aclu.org/news/privacy-technology/surveillance-pricing
Cover Design by Esther Kim
Cracking the Code-
How Social Media Algorithms Shape What We See and Buy
By Elliot Larky
