ALGORITHMS OR AGENCY
- TELOS&today
- Feb 24
- 5 min read
Updated: Mar 23
Season One | Post 3
What is actually shaping me - Algorithms or Agency?
Whenever I do the Audit your Tech reflection exercise (part of the 40 DAYS guided experience), I get a little unnerved by the Analyze your Algorithms practice.
If the concept of algorithms is new to you, check out the rabbit hole below. If you have a general understanding of algorithms, skip to WAIT. What does this mean for me?
What is an algorithm & what does it do?
In general an algorithm is a 'step-by-step set of instructions or rules that are followed to perform a specific task or solve a particular problem' (ChatGPT, Feb 24, 2025). There are different kinds of algorithms . Something like ChatGPT uses a transformer algorithm that helps it answer questions and sound 'human like' while doing so. But how does this tie to the Audit your Tech exercise and the shaping of our thoughts, feelings, and behaviors?
To help me understand this better, I started a conversation with ChatGPT.
Me: How do algorithms influence what I am shown when browsing online?
ChatGPT: Algorithms play a huge role in shaping what you see while browsing online. Websites, social media platforms, search engines, and streaming services use algorithms to personalize and filter the content they show you based on various factors such as your search history and location.
Me: Do humans reinforce algorithms based on what they select online?
ChatGPT: Yes, humans do reinforce algorithms based on what they select and interact with online. This happens mainly through a process known as feedback loops. Here's how it works:
Selection and Engagement: When you interact with content (clicking on articles, liking posts, watching videos, etc.), you're giving signals to algorithms about what you prefer. The more you engage with certain types of content, the more the algorithm learns about your preferences.
Algorithmic Adjustment: Based on your choices, algorithms adjust the content they show you, aiming to present more of what you're likely to enjoy or engage with again. This keeps you on the platform longer and increases interaction, which is often the goal of these platforms.
Personalization: As algorithms collect data on your behavior, they personalize recommendations to try to match your interests. For instance, a video streaming platform might suggest shows or movies similar to the ones you've watched, or a social media platform will show you posts from accounts or topics you've interacted with before.
Reinforcement: Over time, these algorithms adapt to your behavior, reinforcing certain content, which can influence your future behavior. If you consistently click on a certain type of content, the system will show more of it, leading to more engagement with that content.
This creates a cycle where both your behavior and the algorithms continuously reinforce each other, often leading to a narrowing of what you see online, sometimes called a filter bubble. It can shape preferences, perceptions, and even beliefs, depending on the content being shown and how it aligns with what you've interacted with in the past.
WAIT. What does this mean for me?
So yeah, this is where things get real. As me and my algorithms interact - we create some feedback loops which can lead to filter bubbles - a narrowing of the content I see online. Pretty soon, my tech is only feeding me certain kinds of news, certain kinds of videos, certain kinds of ideas. While the information sent to me is getting more focused, it is also getting more narrow. Fewer perspectives are offered as my technology learns from my clicks and likes. My tech then gives me more of the same.
Now, if my tech is giving me good and life-giving content ... content that draws my attention to wholesome, nourishing stuff ... the feedback loops and filter bubbles are fabulous. Thank you, algorithms, for providing me with this content.
However, sometimes when I engage the Audit your Tech exercise, I find that the content my algorithms are feeding me is not all that helpful for my habits of thinking, feeling, and behaving. For example,
Is it any wonder that dissatisfaction with my beautiful home set in when the number one website that popped up for me was Edina Realty?
Or how about the year that I thought hydroponic gardening in our house was a good idea? Ask my husband. I'm sure he was not thrilled with my algorithms for the filter bubble they had created for me.
The danger of being fed instead of choosing what to eat
As I outlined in the last post, whenever my brain and body does something over and over again, I strengthen neural networks within me. These neural networks let me mindlessly move through life so I can use my brain to do other things. Again, this is great if my neural networks steer me toward wise, good, and loving ways of being.
If however, my neural networks have been shaped by my tech when I was tired, or bored, or apathetic about what I clicked, liked, or viewed, I may have a problem on my hands. The content fed me might not be helpful for living wisdom, contributing to the common good, and embodying love. Subsequently, this is the point in time where I need to use my agency.
What is agency?
In psychology, agency refers to the capacity of individuals to act independently, make choices, and exert control over their own actions and environment. It's essentially the sense of being able to influence or shape one's own life and circumstances. (ChatGPT, Feb 24, 2025).
When I analyze the content that is being served to me online, sometimes I realize I need to: act independently of my algorithms and make choices about content that is different than what is automatically dished up. Sometimes, I need to exert just a bit of control over my actions and online environment so that I don't become unrecognizable to myself.
A spiritual discipline for the 21st century
I think a spiritual discipline for this time in human history could be Analyze your Algorithms. In the past, disciplines like fasting brought to awareness a person's dependence on food instead of on Creator God. The discipline of solitude brought to awareness whose voice a person was primarily focused on. The discipline of analyzing your algorithms could bring to awareness how technology is profoundly shaping the essence of who a person is due to the repetitive content that is served up, ingested, and influencing a person on a neurological level.
Landing the plane
I'm spending a lot of time at the start of this blog focused on the influence of technology on our neurobiology because of how it also affects our psychology, spirituality, and ultimately our essence. Lots of interconnected ideas. Hang in there with me. If everything is still unclear, don't worry... the fog will eventually lift.
One thing you can do now to help you experience what I've been writing about is this:
Try the Find the Good morning intention and evening meditation each day for at least a week. Notice what begins to happen in your brain and body when you repeatedly focus on finding the good each day. Notice if and how your habits of thinking and feeling begin to change.
If you notice something changing in you, recognize that you are creating new neural networks that are looking for and finding what is good in the world.
I wonder what you would be like after Finding the Good everyday for a year?
Using your agency and the technology available to you,
what would you have trained your eyes to see?
Until next time...