Optimising for "engagement". I don't think, at least to start with, that Machiavellian intentions were behind it. But it turned out that optimising for the thing that got the most likes, the most retweets, the most emotional reactions, and the most views from people was a shit way of deciding what information should propagate the furthest.
That is a paperclip maximiser. I don't think we, collectively, have fully come to terms with how damaging it is.
That is a paperclip maximiser. I don't think we, collectively, have fully come to terms with how damaging it is.