Algorithms and the Reflexive Turn | Nieman Journalism Lab

From the Cambridge Analytica scandal to Google’s work on the Department of Defense’s Project Maven, from Tesla’s fatal autopilot car crash to Facebook’s massive security breach, the problematic ways in which technology companies handled their data and constructed their algorithms repeatedly made headlines in 2018. As a result, Mark Zuckerberg and other tech executives spent most of last year apologizing for their expanding impact on society, which had previously been a triumphal narrative.

The tone of the journalistic coverage of Silicon Valley changed dramatically as well. Previous years’ breathless enthusiasm and optimistic accounts of digital technologies gave way to critical assessments in mainstream newsrooms across the United States. News organizations covered instances of disinformation, polarization, and discrimination fueled by algorithms. Journalists offered more wary accounts of the efforts of technology companies to solve their large-scale problems. The current media mood — perhaps like the mood of the public at large — has become decidedly anti-algorithmic.

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