You may feel there is something scary about an algorithm deciding what you might like. Could it mean that, if computers conclude you won’t like something, you will never get the chance to see it? Personally, I really enjoy being directed toward new music that I might not have found by myself. I can quickly get stuck in a rut where I put on the same songs over and over. That’s why I’ve always enjoyed the radio. But the algorithms that are now pushing and pulling me through the music library are perfectly suited to finding gems that I’ll like. My worry originally about such algorithms was that they might drive everyone into certain parts of the library, leaving others lacking listeners. Would they cause a convergence of tastes? But thanks to the nonlinear and chaotic mathematics usually behind them, this doesn’t happen. A small divergence in my likes compared to yours can send us off into different far corners of the library
* rut: 관습, 틀 ** gem: 보석 *** divergence: 갈라짐