Ethical Issues in Control by Algorithms: The User is the Content

Abstract

In this paper we discuss some ethical issues and challenges of the use of algorithms on the web from the perspective of knowledge organization. We review some of the problems that these algorithms and the filter bubbles pose for the users. We contextualize these issues within the user-based approaches to knowledge organization in a larger sense. We review some of the technologies that have been developed to counter these problems as well as initiatives from the knowledge organization field. We conclude with the necessity of adopting a critical and ethical stance towards the use of algorithms on the web and the need for an education in knowledge organization that addresses these issues.