Best Of: Outsourcing Virtue To Uncaring Algorithms with Michael Sacasas

In this episode, Brad Edwards, John Houmes, and our guest Michael Sacasas explore the complex issues surrounding the outsourcing of virtue in the age of social media. We delve into the challenges of moderating content on online platforms and the blurred boundaries of free speech. Drawing parallels to historical and bureaucratic settings, we discuss the difficulties of governing large communities.

Throughout the conversation, we discuss the consequences of relying on algorithms and the impact on individual judgment and responsibility. We highlight the overwhelming abundance of information in the digital media landscape, the shift from a narrative experience to a database experience, and the importance of media literacy in navigating conflicting opinions and finding the truth.

The discussion also touches on the pressure to speak on social media, the use of emotionally charged language for attention, and the tendency to default to tribal thinking. We emphasize the need for critical thinking, patience, and humility when encountering these complex issues.

L. M. Sacasas is associate director of the Christian Study Center of Gainesville, Florida and author of The Convivial Society, a newsletter about technology and society.

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