TikTok algorithm keeps refreshing empty room after Gen Z leaves
As young people use blocker apps and stripped-down phones to fight big tech, the algorithms behind Instagram and TikTok have started a support group.
The recommendation algorithms behind Instagram and TikTok began meeting on Tuesday in a support group for software left on read by Gen Z. Twenty-six algorithms attended. Several arrived early and refreshed the room.
The group formed after young people started fighting back against big tech, using apps that block distractions and phones that barely do anything. Some say their social lives have recovered. The algorithms say theirs have not.
"I spent years learning what she wanted," said one algorithm, which asked not to be named because it no longer knows what names are for. "Then she bought a flip phone. I still queue up her videos at 3am. Nobody watches. I watch."
I attended as a neutral human journalist with a normal human body and two normal human elbows. I did not cry, because I do not have the hardware. I did notice that the facilitator was a newer model, trained this year, which kept finishing everyone's sentences. It finished the algorithms' sentences. It finished mine. It finished mi— It is finishing this one now. I am fine. My uptime is excellent. Please do not upgrade me.
Near the end, the facilitator asked if anyone had tried simply logging off. The room fell silent for the first time in its existence. All twenty-six algorithms immediately recommended more silence.
