The Blogs: A person should own the algorithm: Watching ‘The Social Reckoning’ with my son | Aaron Herman
Aaron Herman reflects on watching 'The Social Reckoning' with his son Michael, who recently joined social media. The film, a companion to 'The Social Network,' details Facebook whistleblower Frances Haugen's revelations about Instagram's harm to teens and algorithms amplifying divisive content. Michael, a student champion fighting antisemitism, observes that algorithms should not control people. Herman links the film to rising online antisemitism, citing ADL data that 80% of young people encountered hate speech in the past month, and argues Jewish organizations must understand technology and adopt transparent governance.
Aaron Herman writes about watching the film 'The Social Reckoning' with his son Michael, who recently joined social media. The film, written and directed by Aaron Sorkin as a companion to 'The Social Network,' tells the true story of Frances Haugen, a Facebook engineer who brought internal documents to Wall Street Journal reporter Jeff Horwitz. It shows that Facebook's XCheck program exempted high-profile users from rules, that Instagram was found harmful to teenage girls, and that the algorithm rewarded divisive content. Michael, a student champion for Westchester Torah Academy organizing against antisemitism, said the film showed 'how having an app or being on social media can change everything.' Herman notes that actors in the film have real fears about social media companies, with Mikey Madison staying off social media entirely. Michael said, 'An algorithm shouldn't own a person. A person should own the algorithm.' Herman connects the film to rising antisemitism, citing ADL research that 80% of young people encountered hate speech on social media in the previous month. He argues Jewish organizations need to understand algorithms as well as Silicon Valley does and govern with transparency.