Every so often, someone proudly declares that they’ve “quit algorithms.” They’ve left Facebook, stopped using Spotify, deleted Instagram and Twitter — and feel liberated from the invisible code that shapes our attention. I understand the impulse. Social media recommendation engines can be addictive, manipulative, and mentally draining. But to say you’ve opted out of algorithms altogether is a comforting illusion. Algorithms are not just the feeds on your phone. They are the quiet, unseen logic that keeps modern life running. The GPS that shows you the fastest way home runs on sophisticated graph algorithms. The payment systems that move money between your bank and a shop depend on cryptographic algorithms to stay secure. Hospitals schedule surgeries and analyze scans using algorithmic decision tools that save lives. Energy grids use optimization algorithms to balance wind and solar power so the lights don’t go out. Every time you take a photo, a bundle of algorithms sharpens, brightens, and stabilizes it. Even the most analog-seeming experiences rely on them. Airline routes, package delivery, and train timetables are optimized by complex code. Climate models and weather forecasts — the ones we trust before a weekend trip — are massive algorithmic simulations. Noise-canceling headphones? Algorithms. Automatic braking in your car? Algorithms. Your phone’s spell-check? Algorithms. Avoiding algorithmic feeds might be wise for mental health. But algorithms themselves aren’t optional. They’re infrastructure — as fundamental as electricity or roads. The real question isn’t whether to use them, but how to use them well, with transparency and restraint, instead of letting them quietly shape our lives without oversight. You can log off Instagram. You can delete Spotify. But you can’t live outside algorithms. They’re woven into the modern world — often invisibly, often for your benefit.

09/28/2025 14:22:22