Originally published in Real Life Mag, May 12, 2022. Treating “the algorithm” as a kind of divine power misunderstands where algorithmic power comes from. When TikTok first began to amass media attention, a narrative about its “eerily accurate algorithm” became so popular it was almost a self-fulfilling prophecy. Users talked about its algorithm as if
Originally published in Wired, Dec 2, 2021. A New York City law requires algorithms used in hiring to be “audited” for bias. It’s the first in the US—and part of a larger push toward regulation. Algorithms play...
Originally published in Rest of World, Oct 7, 2021 The Indian food delivery giant changed riders’ beats without warning, crashing their earnings and exposing some to crime. On September 30, around 60 delivery riders wearing the red...
Originally published in Gizmodo, Aug 13, 2021. For the second week in a row, Facebook killed a project meant to shed light on its practices. A Berlin-based nonprofit studying the ways in which Instagram’s algorithm presents content...
Originally published in DoorDash Engineering Feb 13, 2018. To A/B or not to A/B, that is the question Overview On the Dispatch team at DoorDash, we use simulation, empirical observation, and experimentation to make progress towards our...
TikTok Wednesday revealed some of the elusive workings of the prized algorithm that keeps hundreds of millions of users worldwide hooked on the viral video app. Why it matters: The code TikTok uses to pick your next...
Originally published in Wired.com, June 18, 2020 Facing criticism over workplace safety, the company is using cameras, sensors, and augmented reality to warn employees when they’re too close to one another. Covid-19 sent Amazon scrambling to adapt...