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Rise of the machines: How algorithms shape—and are shaped by—your online life

Rich Brooks explains how they work and why it matters

If you’re like me, you were first introduced to algorithms in a high school math class that now barely exists in the dim mists of memory. And if you’re like me, you never really understood them and were grateful to get out of that class with a passing grade.

The technical wizards at companies like Google and Facebook and Amazon don’t just understand algorithms—they make a living off them. When you do online searches for, say, lightweight gray sweaters, there’s a reason why you’ll immediately start seeing pop-ups ads for lightweight gray sweaters. The algorithms are tracking you…endlessly, silently, tirelessly.

Is that a good thing or bad? And is there anything you can do to keep the algorithms at least somewhat out of your life? Listen to what Rich Brooks of Flyte New Media has to say in our conversation.

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