Social Algorithms: why we need them and how friction will get us there

TechnologyAI
Written By Maria Cury

“We can uncover and advocate for the tools, features, design principles, and strategies for a healthy human-algorithm relationship – one that has more agency, control, and dynamism – through friction.” – ReD partner Maria Cury, EPIC2023 Kickoff.

Businesses often assume that people want algorithms to be frictionless. Our work, however, shows something different: people want to have relationships and dialogues with algorithms and hack them toward different ends – in other words, social algorithms.

See the full video below, or for a more in-depth discussion on how our relationship to algorithms is changing and how these insights can help businesses make better strategic decisions, you can listen to our podcast on algorithms here.

Maria Cury

Maria is a lead on ReD’s technology practice, studying the role of new technology (hardware, software, social media) in daily life to advise on product development, visioning, and strategy. Her research interests include advancing applied ethnography and developing mixed methods approaches to ReD’s work, an area she is widely published in. She is an active member of the Ethnographic Praxis in Industry Conference (EPIC). Maria received an MSc in Visual, Material, and Museum Anthropology from Oxford, and a BA in Anthropology with Visual Arts certificate from Princeton.

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