Cracking Algorithmic Recommendation with Nick Seaver

Published: June 1, 2021, 5 a.m.

Algorithms run our lives these days, from Netflix binges to predictive policing. And that includes algorithmic\xa0 recommenders\u2013\u2013like Spotify's Discover Weekly and Pandora\u2013\u2013that shape how we consume music. How does algorithmic music recommendation work and, perhaps more importantly, who makes it work? After all, algorithms are made and tweaked by people, who work at tech companies and have their own ideas and values.\xa0 An interview with anthropologist Nick Seaver, who has conducted years of ethnographic fieldwork to understand who creates algorithmic recommenders, and why they do what they do.

Nick Seaver is assistant professor of anthropology at Tufts University.

Show notes and more over at soundexpertise.org!

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