Algorithms rule us all - VPRO documentary - 2018

Whether you get a job or a mortgage, who is released early from prison: algorithms increasingly determine the big decisions in our lives. Algorithms rule us all, algorithms rule everything. Because algorithms are faster and more efficient than people. But do they always make better decisions? And what does a society look like in which we are sent by big data and computer code?
Companies, and increasingly governments too, use algorithms to automate bureaucratic processes. These algorithms, sets of instructions and rules that are fed by big data, unnoticeably determine our lives more and more. For example, the algorithm of Facebook determines which (political) advertisements we see and see large groups of employees in the on-demand economy never even a boss. From an application procedure to a dismissal request they are controlled by an algorithm. Where should they complain if something does not go as it should be?
Legislatives are also emerging in the judiciary. For example, an American prisoner had to sit longer than comparable prisoners because the algorithm, which establishes a risk score, gave him an inexplicably high outcome. And unlike the decisions made by a judge, it turns out to be virtually impossible to challenge the assessment of an algorithm. Recently the British company Cambridge Analytica appeared to have developed models based on large amounts of Facebook data, which could influence the voting behavior of voters. These psychographics show that algorithms can not only steer individual lives but also democracy.
The mathematicians and programmers begin to realize that the algorithms that are among all these automated decision systems are not neutral and may contain errors. Because the smart code may then decide more quickly than people, the results are not only sometimes defective, but sometimes downright dangerous. Should we be blindly guided by the decisions of the algorithm?
Originally broadcasted by VPRO in 2018.
© VPRO Backlight April 2018
On VPRO broadcast you will find nonfiction videos with English subtitles, French subtitles and Spanish subtitles, such as documentaries, short interviews and documentary series.
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Credits:
Director: Martijn Kieft
English, French and Spanish subtitles: Ericsson.
French and Spanish subtitles are co-funded by European Union.

[@s70rk]

Hey VPRO.. just wanted to say thank you so much for all the content. Keep it up! :)

[@chopper421]

Vpro Amazing work as always !!!!

[@vprodocumentary]

Thank you chopper421!

[@not_a_human_being]

Got this video recommended by KZbin. Well played... well played :'(

[@phayferssutil]

Recommended by the algorithm! :D

[@vprodocumentary]

Hi everybody, thanks for all the comments! If you are interested in algorithms you might be also interested in this documentary: kzbin.info?o=U&video_id=ed2FWNWwE3I ! Check it out!

[@skreutzer]

That's an internal link to your video manager, which doesn't resolve if the user has a KZbin channel, so you might want to change it to kzbin.info/www/bejne/m5WVd4qEjNx4aas

[@vprodocumentary]

skreutzer thanks and very attentive!

[@peterashley3332]

Just discovered this channel, Keep up the good work. Great content!

[@elkiinricon8378]

Genial documental.....

[@TravelChannelOne]

This KZbin Algo is on point for sending me here. Gripping docudrama nice narrator

[@MiotaLee]

I was watching this with auto generated subtitles and was kind of impressed how much they've improved since they were implemented. But at 19:40 ish minutes in, there is this tense beat that the subtitle generator thinks is applause xD

[@xoukas]

Great documentary. Thanks for sharing.

[@mikesunboxing]

Very interesting, thanks

[@WolfgangVonKempelen838]

Very nice documentary as per normal; well done ! ! Keep them coming ! !

[@vprodocumentary]

Thanks Pietro!

[@michaeldelisieux5252]

A nightmare in the making...

[@togbeosagyefo8705]

Thank you vpro

[@gustavomartinez6892]

Great video!! I like the way it make the marketing putting you tube in the back of the presentation photo

[@aprilized]

VPRO.. best channel on KZbin

[@vprodocumentary]

april68, thanks a lot! :) If you are into documentaries check out our other channel as well: kzbin.info

[@minimal2224]

❤️ Another Beautifully done doc ❤️

[@vprodocumentary]

Thank you Minimal! ❤️❤️❤️

[@jeffreycohen7139]

This is journalism at its finest. Here are a few ideas I have for what the nerds do: FAPA - Forensic Algorithmic Predictive Analysis FADA= Forensic Algorithmic Deconstruction Analysis The algorithms will be used for evil. Our worth is already commoditized as "data". Like this video said the humanity, the value of life for the love of fellow man will eviscerate. Our usefulness score will rest within our data, and we will only be valued if that data can be turned into profit through consumption of goods and services. Add to this the premise, articulated very well in the video, that these pscyhos make more money by enslaving us to negative emotions, we will end up killing each other so the Oligarchs can have more, more, MORE! It can never be enough that's why the algorithms will be used for evil. You fired me up.

[@joysoul352]

gratitude

[@alexanderworkchannel]

Great info - Thanks

[@Changetheling]

The criminally low amount of views and subscribers of this channel frightens me. This information is critical to sort ourselves out ASAP. Plus Subtitles? This is compulsory view!

[@algoriticus]

This video hits the spot in the first 5 minutes. Algorithmic economies, personal risk/gain/profit. I subscribed, at least!

[@MB-ke9mi]

@Sblami Well stated.

[@icefire8458]

I just found today. Will spread the word(documentary)

[@katehillier1027]

Gréât helpful documentary authorative scholarly yet gloriously accessible.

[@alfredhitchcock45]

FB Watch eventually replaced FB Marketplace because it didn't sell too much. It was an upgraded version of the Explore Feed. The algrotihms kept on showing me the same show or contents it's like an infinite repetitive loop of more of the same content based on the past behavior or data that they have with me. And I couldn't get out of it. I couldn't explore or watch new content because the algorithm is locking me in.

[@user-xx7pg3vw9k]

Worth watching...

[@ravindersembi3955]

Amazing really enjoyed that! Giving our free will to algorithms? It already started to effect my industry, just means less people will be hired. But always a human needed for quality check results.

[@vprodocumentary]

Thanks Ravinder Sembi, really appreciated!

[@stevelawrence5268]

Quite interesting and insightful ms O'neil but would't a subjects data waste support the somewhat challenged aspect s of algorithms ? tks doll

[@almostcin6667]

THIS! (5 minutes 30 seconds): "talk to the machine..." Too many people shrugging their shoulders because the computer program doesn't give them the "option". TIME FOR HUMANS TO OVERRIDE, WHILE THEY STILL CAN.

[@pilzli6962]

this was a great doc

[@pamelasupanick2620]

very good video, extremely informative

[@cognitiumone]

The editing on this is super interesting

[@mboyer68]

Totally agree! Someone sure is creative!

[@tertiary7]

Fascinating ... philosophical questions for the digital age.

[@hlomphomota8055]

Im taking notes on all your items.

[@kathyhoyer4586]

BINGO! FINALLY WORTHWHILE INFORMATION THANK YOU VPRO

[@Najib101010]

Subscribed!!

[@sellout87]

she left her job during the financial crisis of 2018?? have i missed something?

[@SteveBalbonisHammer]

sellout87 maga

[@vm9056]

from her book ‘weapons of math destruction’: “and so i left the hedge fund in 2009 (...)”

[@9SmartSand6]

They 'mispoke' or somebody mistyped it in the text she was reading from; It was the financial crisis of 2008. Relax; there wasn't a 'financial crisi' two years ago you 'missed'.

[@shantellelee7684]

Great documentary! :) The dirty screen at 27:18 tho. :(

[@davids7909]

“Never have to drive again” - she calls a good thing. Driving is one of the most freeing liberating things a person experiences. Maybe Algos will liberate us from having to breathe.

[@georgitaylor2922]

I agree but I always loved driving- yet my sister + mom never did. (liked conceive of a car) but never got one or drove for many years until needed to & even then found a car pool so she wouldn’t have to drive? My mom was dangerous/just wanted to have a lic/but lucky for all = never did🤫

[@formerlyknownasanessential2623]

i think a lot of this changes if we as individuals can sell our data to those who want it rather than it being collected with no questions asked

[@georgitaylor2922]

I wish I had paid MORE attention to data collection- fb especially deceived us-well ME! When I kinda became AWARE I stopped posting pics/personal info n used it to see what was happening n kept it to interesting subjects - moved to Skype/Twitter n Pintrest = then Ftime n texting 💬 but probably made little difference or not at all!! I became agitated when I heard of face recognition MORE than ALL else as that WOKE me up!!!

[@formerlyknownasanessential2623]

@@georgitaylor2922 haha its all around us now. its the new business model. wait until these smart cars, smart homes, and even smart cities start coming out. better to try to get ahead of it and create a platform for the average consumer to sell their data so they can treat it like they own it. because govt isn't gonna do it, too heavily lobbied

[@RandoMGuy-zg8px]

17:00 If he stayed out of prison, he would not be a high risk factor. Wouldn't that be favourable? As the risk of him applying violence appears to be low or very low in public, the odds were nearly nil that he would enter a prison again (in terms of violence / no violence).

[@cis5111]

Hi, Who are the production staff who worked on the doc?

[@sejnb1]

The unseen hand of our free-market plutocracy thrives on negativity.

[@corneliuschoong6349]

wouldn't have come across this beautiful video if it weren't for the youtube algorithm though

[@vprodocumentary]

Haha, well not everything is bad about it, right?

[@wunderlichcatt4420]

tops

[@szmknr]

5:53 EXACTLY

[@punchthedog]

At 4:47, "....the algorithm is not a human being, it just has been programmed to do one thing....". Yes, but it has been programmed by a human being(s). Most of the people you hear complaining about algorithms taking over, always present algorithms as it they are some sort of self-aware, malevolent entities, that came into being all by themselves. Algorithms are nothing more than a set of instructions. Instructions conceived by humans to achieve a specific goal. Computers then carry out these instructions quickly and without emotion. But ultimately, an algorithm is just doing the bidding of its human creators.

[@lucPIERROTalias01]

à 12:08 ce que je cherchais à mettre en lumière : ici en France c'est le passage à " la Comptabilité analytique " problème imposé au passage (années 1988-92) : appliquer rétrospectivement le nouveau plan comptable pour la partie "analytique" (post-résultat et pour affiner le résultat) au résultats antérieurs : années N-1, N-2 jusqu'à parfois N-5 à cause des amortissements de plus en plus courts sur les matériels informatique(s) par exemple... Une gageure et on tourne en rond sur lesdits investissements en informatique(s) de plus en plus "indispensables" lesquels n'avaient jamais fait l'objet d'aucune "étude analytique comme prévisionnelle" dans ces domaines !

[@lucPIERROTalias01]

J'ai acheté un PC pour "la Fête d'Internet" en 1998 et dès que connecté à Internet, selon ce que je savais des expériences ALCATEL-TELNET-TELIC etc. en France auparavant, la seule question que j'ai trouvée à poser au moteur de recherche disponible : " Etes-vous Dieu ?"

[@lucPIERROTalias01]

L'on oit également remarquer que dans des séries de questions présentées (malheureusement) comme des tests d'embauche pour un poste de travail par exemple, les réponses sont simplifiées à l’extrême en mode-réponse "oui" ou "non" Là on travaille déjà en système mathématique BINAIRE (1 ou 0) et que lorsque ces questions se rapportent de plus en plus à votre vie privée, vos goûts et vos couleurs et donc votre intimité de vie privée, en système BINAIRE pour les réponses vous êtes déjà à l'INTÉRIEUR DES CIRCUITS ÉLECTRONIQUES DU PROCESSEUR DE L'ORDINATEUR QUI LES ENREGISTRE TELLES QUELLES, soit : par une décharge électrique ou pas !!!

[@lucPIERROTalias01]

J'ai eu à faire à cette problématique de subjectivité extrême dans une série de plusieurs centaines de questions-test du genre. Lors de la question : "avez-vous déjà eu envie de tuer quelqu'un" j'étais déjà passablement exaspéré par les précédentes et j'ai répondu " OUI ! ". En suivant logiquement par " avez-vous encore aujourd'hui envie de tuer quelqu'un " : je ne me souviens plus ce que j'ai répondu dans ce cas mais certainement "OUI ! " . Restait que pour la Balance de Justice en ces cas extrêmes j'estime que la 3° QUESTION n'a pas été posée pour faire contre-poids au jugement à savoir : SINON POURQUOI ?

[@algoriticus]

8:01 that big data lady has a single braid. Had to be an algolriz to generate that!

[@dineratsixish]

Crazy short Handle Bars there ...Yikes !

[@basileusmcfadden8152]

Great Documentary indeed,...its amazing how mathematics is always used to frighten us to stay away,..however much of the work that goes into algorithms is just basic everyday arithmetic: @ 20:10 the lady looks like a Cyborg,..like a real Cyborg,..

[@aperezNWO]

Favor corregir. "Los algoritmos nos gobiernan". Gracias por su excelente documental

[@vprodocumentary]

Thank you Pablo for this comment!

[@robinabernathy2829]

"Negativity equals more engagement and more profit" Drop the mic on that one. That segment with him could have been a video by itself. "If we're not seen as high value customers we do not exist" That pretty much says it all.

[@hubpillz]

38:30 i wouldn't say aggregative algorithms make 'accurate predictions' as much as they suggest on a very loose success ratio what we want and don't want. as internet users see themselves encapsulated in digital environments by these same systems without knowledge of how they operate and with no practical alternatives they mold their own behavior to whatever the algorithm is suggesting to them, suggesting in the feedback loop back to the algorithm that it's conclusion was 100% correct.

[@MrzimGlupeLjude]

Algorithms bring me here to watch 'bout them

[@johnbaran4428]

This is horrific

[@panzer1H]

why is her laptop so dirty?

[@takensense5276]

Algorithm, algorithm, answer me plainly: What is 13%, but also 50%?

[@RFLCPTR]

fascist...

[@mboyer68]

The bicycle delivery people...why do you use those 1" tires that take 120psi??? You're asking for flat tires. Use a bigger tire that uses less pressure and you'll very much less flats. I'm not saying you don't deserve more money, just saying you can help yourselves spend less on maintenance.

[@haroldnazario1751]

So those 2 middle numbers of your social security means who gets what in the world

[@Johnycabal]

Los algoritmos nos "goviernan"... ?

[@MrPedur]

youtube is making me crazy - the search engine is broken !----------- the topics dont change and when you try to renew the page ,--- it just stays the same. after google took over it has become out right stupid ------ hope that someone makes a new youtube . a newtube:-)

[@skreutzer]

There are several of them, but probably not quite what you expect from a video site.

[@terenterenteren8301]

Financial crisis of 2018?

[@nick2902]

Just watch Season two, episode 24 called, “The Ultimate Computer” of the television show Star Trek. The M-5 multitronic computer system. What a mess and its not a hot mess, Just a mess. What we really need is Compassionate A.I. Using (MMT) Modern Monitory theory solving climate change before it collapses. Helping humanity, all humanity equally! That’s going to take time to achieve. Corporations just get it wrong, because they are in a rush to get A.I. out to the masses to make a profit (Mindlessly). Mistakes and all, another externality!

[@davidmuchina6180]

26.5 yrs. Boy that's loong

[@elliotwilliams8250]

in singapore smoking weed 3rd time in a row gets you 7yrs ..do it again? 14yrs and again? 21yrs. yeah so i feel his pain. im super glad he is helping kids now.

[@jesantonihevileon8611]

The more a human beings knows , the more his suffering .

[@frawldog]

🇺🇸

[@pamelahomeyer748]

The same prejudice is incorporated into the algorithms. Many assumptions are pure trash

[@zorba9428]

Gobiernan, con "B" (larga)

[@williamwhiteside5748]

10:23 When a personal bias is not confirmed by an algorithm, do you just conclude the algorithm is biased?

[@RandoMGuy-zg8px]

the evil scientist / brain-in-a-vat

[@vadzimuh1351]

Social dilemma-Netflix💯

[@katehillier1027]

Oh dear the algo doesn’t like this. Rinse repeat five star top marks.

[@christineadams2256]

GARBAGE IN GARBAGE OUT. WHAT MADE ANYONE THINK IT COULD POSSIBLY BE ANY DIFFERENT.

[@BryanChance]

Imagine this with self driving cars. You commit a crime, the car just drive you to the police station. Or you didn't take the vaccine shots and you are not allowed to drive outside a county, the car just shut down when you get to the county line. Or get your car shutdown for any number of reasons, driving too fast, a democrat or republican, low social credit score?

[@davidversey4484]

What does Vpro stands for ?

[@vprodocumentary]

Hi Flash Tv show, it stands for a former Dutch political party: Vrijzinnig (liberal) Protestantse (Protestant) Radio Omroep (broadcaster)

[@user-es7jj7pt9w]

Liberal Protestant Radio Broadcasting, it's a radio and tv-channel from the Netherlands. It was founded in 1926, now it's actually just a Public Broadcast Company.

[@rangerjenny1278]

financial crisis of 2018 don't you mean 2008

[@mboyer68]

She said "we don't arrest white people for smoking pot as much as we arrest black people for smoking pot" I have a friend who's a police officer and she said that so many times when she pulls over a black person she can smell the weed before she gets to the car window. I asked her about white people and she said very rarely. So do black people smoke pot while driving more and thus the higher arrest rate for smoking pot? I don't know? But her observations are valid I think. And if it were the other way around I still would've mentioned it so lay off the racist accusations..

[@dhgfffhcdujhv5643]

Oh he is such a good boy isnt he ? 26 and a half years behind the bars, on tax payers money, and he gets releaced. And what about persones life he took away ? Does that get a comeback to life ? Life for life, there would be significantly less crime.

[@HemantPandey123]

AI is not fair but designed to optimize. Even if that means exterminating humanity.

[@christineadams2256]

THEY ONLY RULE YOU BECAUSE YOU ARE NOT FREE AND YOU THINK YOU ARE. AND THEN YOU FOLLOW THEIR RULES. JEE YOU SOUND LIKE YOU CAN THINK OUT OF A BOX.

[@rajinderchauhan364]

We need more people's to deal with this hyped and accelerated technology.......

[@WolfgangVonKempelen838]

That is not going to happen am afraid, the profit and money these things make is too powerful to hold back; unfortunately :( Good remark though.

[@WolfgangVonKempelen838]

@@Hassan-vj3rx It already is, look how many people live in complete and unacceptable poverty whilst other are thinking about buying the next £100 million yacht to entertain their so called "friends".

[@user-vb2jr4vh6d]

After you snort the coke 37:40

[@jangelbrich7056]

So it is a Kafka World of the Absurd, just automated. Bias automated. Interesting insights. Oh, and to the antisemites in the comment section: yes, Kafka was an Austrian Jew but he definitely never ruled the world. Instead he wrote about the absurdity of those rules, as world literature.

[@ricknelson3607]

Depressing, you could have given a vision of potential good or something to work towards.

[@skreutzer]

It's called "Free Software movement".

[@DJBaBoresds]

lol, the bike man protests for working 168 hrs, being paid less than minimum wage gets angry, while thinking and talking about it. That was funny, especially as I'm sitting here thinkin of why don't they just quit? Then again they enjoy being on their bikes, riding, while getting paid. Things we become comfortable with as adults are interesting. And they called the company "Delivery Hero"? Does Marvel knows that heroes in London are getting paid minimum waves?

[@higreentj]

We can manipulate our DNA so that we are healthier and more intelligent, and removing certain genes would likely stop the aging process. There is a limit to what we can do with biological systems so merging with intelligent machines seem inevitable. The more data we have the better the algorithms are and therefore better machines. One advantage I can see is in translation software so that these excellent documentaries can be viewed and understood by everyone.

[@vprodocumentary]

Hey Tj Green, thank you so much for this comment. You rock!

[@CC-xf4pz]

Tj Green... the reason why Noah built the arc... human dna was no longer pure.

[@tcsiwula]

Hand over your soul 👽

[@PaulJones-oj4kr]

Chomsky was right: computers were introduced as being a convenience. That was the selling point. The corporations, however, who made computers knew that these devices would, could, be used to surveil and eventually rule populations. AI, for example, runs the US economy, Wall Street and the investment/elite wealthy class, in particular, as well as the central banks.

[@belmundoable]

You have to define "SUCCESS" first for an algorithm so it can find it for you... Algorithms doesn't rule us at all, we are just lazy.

[@miltononyango]

no one can out -do one computer made by God ...human being

[@sergeantsillypunches1090]

I don't trust anyone with blue hair.

[@michaelwilson4804]

Sounds like you might be a biased algorithm lol

[@lilmaxAlarcxn]

His grandmother is very disappointed.

[@Nmethyltransferase]

Enchant Young Children & Drive Away Assholes With This One Weird Trick

[@andym28]

@@lilmaxAlarcxn his grandmother has blue hair and hates her asshole grandson.

[@k8sl]

It matches her eyes!!

[@AudioPervert1]

Ask .. Why use facebook? Feed a vicious capitalist machine, much of your time, content, data and personality ... Trash this digital duh ..a non future..

[@Tereb1]

The documentary is good, but I gave a thumbs down for the too distracting (borderline annoying) visual effects. Less is more, people.

[@angelinasouren]

Yeah, they usually don't do this in these documentaries. Maybe a little bit at times, but in a way that you may not even notice as it's functional. Someone was playing around a little bit, LOL. Does that really deserve a thumbs down? Btw, did you see this one? kzbin.info/www/bejne/nnq7maGNitKArNk

[@woxnerw]

Anyone who Supports this Idea has to be OUT of THEIR Minds.. Our personal date is being used against us weather we chose to Grant IT-or-NOT.. We post on these Apps. then they BLAST us with Advertisements.. Even our Governments pay for Ads with Public Funds.. Tech Giants and Governments go home on the Same Bus, at the end of the DAY.. sigh..

[@zapatajz1]

Not good....for crazy people

[@richardwilmotph.d6747]

Pornography makes privacy frivolous. The world may have seen my sphincter but my hard drive is private.

[@robinabernathy2829]

"But why did you do what you did" Love it. Wish I could meet a woman who was a data scientist or a programmer.

[@sergeantsillypunches1090]

12:30 She's upset that an algorithm might not reflect constitutional rights but complains that we can't completely remove human nature from the data. She is very conflicted and doesn't even realize it.

[@StonedApe420]

Take your phone and smash it to piece's,do it right now, no... you dont won't to. You just made your choice. I hereby pronounce you Transhumanist ,and may the algorithm force be with you.

[@Gega93]

44:25 Psycho-Pass fans I see, people of culture xD

[@marselshtylla]

I JUST TYPED a long ass review on this entire 1 hour video by explaining in detail how the entire video is bullshit with naive thinking and flawed arguments and lots of cherrypicking BUT AUTOPLAY WAS ON so i lost it

[@skreutzer]

This and similar things happened to me several times as well, the Google/KZbin comment system is total crap (and it's 2018, and they're one of the largest "Internet" companies!). Time to build something better.

[@m4dpr0ph3ss0r]

28:11 what a filthy screen! That is just terrible. No self-respecting nerd would let their screen look like that, myself included! 邏

[@luisortega4991]

goBiernan