Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey says ‘free speech debate’ a distraction as algorithms take over

The founder of Twitter has shared the grim truth about humanity’s dangerous addiction, warning we may have already lost a key battle for our minds.

The founder of Twitter has made some eye-opening comments this week in a discussion about the future of social media and the power it has over billions of users across the globe.

Jack Dorsey, speaking at the Oslo Freedom Forum fitted out in slippers and what appears to be an intentionally ripped baseball cap, is clearly not your average billionaire.

After leaving the helm of one of the most powerful social media platforms ever created, Dorsey has ramped up his criticism of major players in the social media sphere.

He has also given glowing support for open source software, which at its core promises more freedom and rights for internet users across the globe.

Speaking with macroeconomics expert Lyn Alden, Dorsey shared his thoughts on the current social media model which tailors content to individual users by constantly pooling together information about what they like and dislike.

“This is going to sound a little bit crazy, but I think the free speech debate is a complete distraction right now. I think the real debate should be about free will,” he said.

“We feel it right now, because we are being programmed.

“We are being programmed based on what we say or are interested in.

“And we are told through these discovery mechanisms what is interesting. And as we engage and interact with this content, the algorithm continues to build more and more of this bias.”

The technology behind social media companies’ ravenous desire to keep you on their platform is immense, and a little scary if you believe in ancient principles like privacy.

Everything from your average viewing time for each video, how often you share things to friends, even when your eyes stray from the screen while a piece of content is playing, is up for grabs for the social media giants.

Open up Instagram right now and head to the reels tab.

Your feed may appear similar to your friend’s beside you, but not quite. Just like a fingerprint, your algorithm is unique and expands every second you remain on the platform.

This data is regularly sold off to the highest bidder to market you products, which coincidentally appear every ten or so videos you scroll through depending on the app.

It’s brilliantly convenient, almost like a shopping centre made just for you and your (hopefully) impulsive spending habits.

But the fact we have rapidly transitioned into this brave new world of data collection, presided over by a handful of tech billionaires, is something humanity needs to rethink, according to Dorsey.

The founder of Twitter has made some rather eye-opening comments this week in a discussion about the future of social media and the stranglehold it has over billions across the globe.

While the economic benefits are staggering, the 47-year-old believes our right to understand how we’re being manipulated by algorithms outweighs even our right to free speech.

“But the algorithm, even if it is open source, is effectively a black box. You cannot predict 100 per cent of the time how it’s going to work, or what it’s going to show you,” he said.

“And it can be moved and changed at any time — and because people become so dependent upon it, it’s actually impacting the free agency we have.

“I think the only answer to this is not to work harder at open sourcing algorithms or making them more explainable, but to give people choice.”

Almost everything you do while using an app is up for grabs.

The former Twitter CEO says we are ‘being programmed based on what we say or are interested in’.

Over the past few years, we’ve seen instances where groups with nefarious interests have used social media algorithms in attempt to sway elections. In 2021, the MIT Technology Review released a report revealing overseas troll farms had reached 140 million Americans a month leading up to the 2020 election.

This came after the platform began feeding users content from pages had not initially been following.

That phenomenon opened up a smorgasbord of opportunity for those who put the time in to understand exactly what the algorithm prioritised.

The bigger the organisation, the more resources it could allocate to figuring out the fine details to push their content further.

“Instead of users choosing to receive content from these actors, it is our platform that is choosing to give [these troll farms] an enormous reach,” wrote Jeff Allen, a former senior-level data scientist at Facebook.

As such, Dorsey says future iterations of technology should be built with the dignity of each individual user in mind.

“(We need to) give people choice of what algorithm they want to use, from a party that they trust,” he said.

“Also, give people the choice to build their own algorithm that they can plug in on top of these networks to see what they want.

“(It would) give people a choice to have a marketplace around an algorithm you can choose.”

There has also been a lot of talk around whether social media apps are listening to your conversations, with users sometimes saying they see ads for things they had only just begun talking about, mere hours after the fact.

It could be a new barbecue you discussed with your partner, or a pair of boots that you were looking to get on sale. Next minute, ads for those products are appearing in your feed.

But Meta, the company that runs Facebook and Instagram, insists they are not eavesdropping.

“No. We understand that sometimes ads can be so specific, it seems like we must be listening to your conversations through your microphone, but we’re not. We only use your microphone if you’ve given us permission and are actively using a feature that requires the microphone,” Meta said.

“If you want more control over how your information influences the ads we show you, there are a few places to do that. You can view some ad-specific settings in your ad preferences, or you can view your information and remove things that you don’t want us to use.”

What is open source?

Open source refers to software that is made freely available to the public, with the source code openly shared so that anyone can inspect, modify, and enhance it. The concept of open source extends beyond software to include any project or product where the design and implementation details are accessible to everyone.

Dorsey has long been an advocate for open source software, arguing that the online world would be a much more cohesive environment if the tools to create software was freely distributed without any restrictions.

This ensures that the software can reach a wide audience and be used in various contexts, allowing developers to study how the software works and make modifications to it.

The philosophy is thoroughly anti-patent, argues that a monopolisation of software is against the best interests of humanity as we make the shift online.

Originally published as Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey says ‘free speech debate’ a distraction as algorithms take over