Search engines and social platforms might have you believe their search and ad-delivery technology has evolved to the point where it can nearly read your mind. But in reality, current search and social vehicles are still controlled by non-human mechanisms and platforms, thus not serving people — individually or collectively — as well as they could. In order for the internet to more meaningfully contribute to peoples’ lives and forward progress, I believe humans need to innovate ways to exercise control over their search results and online social experiences. As the co-founder of a social cloud storage platform, here are some of the key problems I’ve identified — and the opportunities I see for others in the space to fill these gaps.
Who’s Controlling Search Results Now
Today, more than 20 years since the advent of the search engine, artificial intelligence (AI) is reportedly still controlling search results. Although I’ve seen that algorithms have evolved to more effectively eliminate spam and deliver relevant results, these mathematical constructs essentially function the same way — ranking material in their databases according to factors coded into the search engine’s proprietary algorithm and delivering ranked material for each query.
These processes are not usually completely objective. The algorithms ranking web content may reflect the values and priorities of the coders and not the human searcher.
The Problem With Zero-Human Search Results
Misalignment between the values and priorities of human users and search engines can create two problems for users:
1. Insufficient Ranking
Algorithms can only rank online content and metadata, much of which users can’t generally see and can be “gamed” to rank better. Algorithms, to my knowledge, cannot rank the human experience beyond the content, so search results don’t always reflect what deserves to rank well.
2. The Filter Bubble
According to Quartz, search AI uses search history to learn (what it assumes are) searcher’s preferences, using these preferences to further refine results delivered to the searcher. However, human searchers have no way of turning this off, so they experience the internet through a filter and their results are limited to those that conform to past interests.
The bigger problem I see is that users may only be aware of how their search results are restricted when they’re already subject matter experts.
When users perform a query on a topic they already know well, they:
1. May be trying to locate a specific resource they already know exists.
2. Know how to evaluate the quality of the search results.
When users are not subject matter experts, they’re unlikely to know how to evaluate search results or adjust their queries to get better-quality results.
To deliver more reliable search results, I believe humans need more control over how search results are generated.
Timeline Fatigue And Violations Of Trust
Evolving in tandem with search engines are social media platforms, which seem to offer the promise of human-mediated answers and recommendations. But these platforms, too, have shortcomings.
Social media platforms weren’t intended as primary archival or search tools. Consequently, information can be hard to find because it’s buried in a timeline. Perhaps for this reason, Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian asserts that the giant social media platforms have plateaued.
What may accelerate current social media platforms’ decline is users’ growing awareness of the inherent vulnerability of their data. Documentation made available from investigative hearings in the United States and abroad about potential scandals — and social media platforms’ responses — make it clear that social media platforms often don’t provide full transparency in their data practices. Users may know, for example, when and what information is being gathered but not how that data is used.
In order for social media platforms to deliver the kind of community users want and the data privacy they deserve, I believe humans need more choice in where and how they can share their lives online.
The Innovative Solutions We Need
Generally, we lack a way to meaningfully alter search parameters and easily maintain data privacy. Users can demand more transparency and increased control over their data, search results and social networks, but the reality is that without competition, companies may not deliver. Here’s the silver lining: The time is ripe for disruptive technologies and entrepreneurs who can deliver new search technologies and interest-driven social media.
Innovative thinkers already have what they need to create a more human internet — they know what’s missing from their internet experiences that would make search and community-building easier and what types of freedoms and privacies they would like to enjoy without question. To deliver a competitive platform, innovators should provide:
1. User Control Over The Content And Rank-Order Of Search Results
Right now, I believe it’s simply impossible for an algorithm to deliver results that reflect a user’s dynamic personality. Entrepreneurs should find ways to add human input into the “what” and “what order” of search results.
2. Intuitive Privacy Controls
User-centric search and social platforms should allow users to easily see and modify what identifying and usage data is collected, publicly visible or shared with third parties.
3. User-Friendly Presentation Of Platform Terms Of Service
In addition to the standard terms of service document, user-centric platforms should highlight the terms that most affect a user’s experience and privacy in novel ways while the user is active on the platform. For example, consider using periodic “Did you know …?” pop-ups, a terms-of-service “tour” or a quiz.
Developing the technology that will deliver the capabilities and online privacy that the current search and social giants lack is a creative exercise — the kind of challenge that innovators crave.
Entrepreneurs will still face the challenge of breaking into a market dominated by established internet giants. Ironically, SEO and optimization for e-commerce and app stores could help these new platforms gain visibility. Users seem to be looking for alternatives, and once innovators make platforms that offer full transparency and make more robust search and social network segmentation capabilities searchable, users can test-drive and adopt them. And that — the increase in competition and users’ ability to choose among multiple alternatives for their online search and social needs — is what I believe will usher in an era of a human-mediated, humane internet.