Assignments > IDJ 4: AI & the Election

Due on Sun, 11/10 @ 11:59PM. 3 Points.

Today is election day! As we’ve learned in this class, computer-mediated systems (Facebook, SnapChat, WhatsApp, Twitter (X), Instagram, TikTok, Google Search, etc.) have a huge impact on the news and media we regularly see. And this has a huge impact on our beliefs, including what’s wrong with the world, who is to blame, and what should be done. Given this, answer the following questions:

1. How are you feeling about the election?
2. Do you think that the algorithms that power social media have impacted civic discourse? Why or why not?

3. In this article, Hany Farid, a disinformation scholar, critiques Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, which holds that internet service providers and platforms are not legally liable for material disseminated on their sites. Farid argues that this is a problem, and that platforms should have some liability:

   Farid: And I’m saying: “Facebook, if over 50% of people who join a hate group do so because you recommended those groups to them, then you have a responsibility for what comes after that.” That’s actually true, by the way. Over 50% of people who join white supremacist groups on Facebook do so because Facebook says, “I see that you like Donald Trump. You might also like these groups.” How do you not have responsibility?

   What do you think?