The Modern Era is a living testament to the history of the 1930’s. The Long Civil Rights Movement and the impact of feminism from the 1930’s remain prevalent to social and political movements of today. The Long Civil Rights Movement set the stage for Martin Luther King Jr.’s walk, and emphasized the importance of the set up. There are decades of set up before there is actual change within a society. Then to the modern Era those changes continue to develop and grow into movements like the Me Too movement and the Black Lives Matter movement. However, these movements and changes in society and political policy can be severely hindered by technological algorithms.
Algorithms essentially create a pattern of habit and keep people in it. An Algorithm is “Opinionated math”. This habitual box keeps the system from growing and changing with the needs of the times. On top of that people are not allowed to know how the Algorithms work. If Algorithms from the 1930’s were used in the same way they’re used today in systems then the definition of rights would have never changed for the better. There is no room for growth in a closed system.
There is no room for change unless there is revision of the algorithms.
Civil Rights and Feminism were a critique of the behavioral “algorithms” of the 1930’s, and if people treated behavior in the same way people treat technological algorithms of today there would have been no change. We take our history for granted and don’t take notes.
But there is a call for the reevaluation of how and why algorithms are written and administered. People treat algorithms as TRUTH rather than what they really are, “Opinionated Math”. Math and technology is only as good as the people behind it. In the same sense they are fighting for the value of equal treatment and American values of freedom. They’re fighting in very different ways but for the same ideas. Different times same issues. Algorithmic Criticism is fighting for substantial growth, Today we are taking our knowledge of humanity and showing people the human behind the mask of math and Technology. Algorithmic Criticism reintroduces the humanities into the sphere of technology. I believe part of the reason we have had such an issue with the revision of Algorithms is due to deification of math and Technology and the disregard for the place of humanities within the system.
