Marseille edit
To know the dark side of Web in an instructive and playful way? Such is the project based on Oracle of the net, a plug-in to install on the Web browser. Discovery.
"Data, data … Ah here is somebody. 10 hours, is it the time for your coffee break? Do not worry, I will tell nothing to your boss ".
The beginning conversation turns out a little awkward. Too bad, I continue. My interlocutor appears. His name: Hally. Is he a distant cousin from Hal? In any case, his multicolored eye is warmer than the red and black disturbing ones of his predecessor. His profession: Oracle of Net. Only that. In turn, I am running.
Taquine, she points out that, my cookies are activated, other oracles should have fun. In spite of these unfriendly words, I download the plug - in to my browser. At the moment, it works only on Chrome. Firefox an Opera versions are under development, what will not prevent Hally from commenting on the choice of these browsers (we bring you the pleasure of discovery).
Does the design halalli sound non-ethical?
It is necessary to say that Hally is promising. According to the designers, Victoria Duchatelle, a designer in association with the Laboratory of Digital Innovation of the IT National Committee and the Freedom (CNIL), its function is "to reveal the nature and the functioning of the site mechanisms which we browse daily on Web". In fact, the objective of Duchatelle is to raise awareness of the designer’s role to the Internet users “in the behavior formatting the individuals and their ideas". The latter have a great power: to guide the uses and the behavior of human beings.
Yet, if the interfaces are simpler and simpler to use, they escape more and more our control because of their complexity. Consequently, there is a risk of erosion of our liberties because "the less we shall be involved and aware of the way with which our technologies are made, the narrower our choices will become". To counter it, Hally "will tell the visitor the on-line prediction, interpreting the behavior on the page, analyzing its past data, predicting its identity future ".
The inspector Hally
First try: Twitter destination. When we click the plug-in, a window opens below on the right and promises "to reveal the algorithms which hide behind comments ". To do it, we have a cursor similar to the painting option in a software of graphic retouch. In fact, we "scratch", what is more logical because we are supposed to discover what is hidden behind the interface varnish. In this particular case, the Oracle learns that we see only the tweets that the algorithm selected for us on the basis of the accounts and messages with which we interact.
Other remark: the colored zone is blue. Hally classifies the algorithms by color according to their functioning and effect. In this case, it is about a "medium" which "analyzes the behavior used as predicting the future behavior". For example, the behavioral advertising works in this way by offering us supposed links sticking on our centers of interest. This "algo" type has the effect of standardizing and modeling our actions because we make use of the services more and more which are advanced on search engines and social networks.
Here we are warned
Facebook Management now. This time, Hally suggests "scratching" right zone where there are invitations, suggested pages, advertisement… The purpose is to inform the socionaute about the data use via Facebook. The latter tries to build a profile which the announcers can target.
On Google, Hally serves us a real price on ….the natural referencing (SEO)! She learns how the request results typed in the search engine are ranked. In this domain, the algorithms are of green color and qualified of "démago". They rank and classify the information according to the interactions with the users to make out the quantitative on the qualitative, the source of cultural standardization. The results "on the front page" are also a matter of this category.
In the pink, "knowledge graph" and the results are qualified as "boss". There is even a question of ranking and classifying according to the links at this time. Here the effect is the behavior standardization of the contents. Hally allows herself all the same a nuance by specifying that if "other eminent Web sites on Web are bound to the page, it is a good sign, the information is of quality" (be more than to define the "eminent Web site"!).
To read
If we explored corners and hidden recesses of the interface, we have the right to pass at the level 2 which "reveals the big trends which hide behind its design". With Neo-, you go off to explore the matrix! Governance algorithmic, economy of the attention, the critic of self-quantified (quantified-self), distrust towards the popular contents …
Hally turns out to be a plea for the private life protection and personal freedoms. In addition to instructive contents, she wants to be practical by sending back the links which are such advice to loosen the vice algorithmic: Regulation of its parameters of confidentiality, download of extension blocking the tracking, the use of alternative search engines …
If it is not sufficient and you have the appropriate skills, you can enrich the accessible project to all in Open Source on the collaborative platform GitHub.
Article written by Thierry Randretsa