The algorithms involve us, but they do not know what they actually do. Google presents search results in a certain order and orders Facebook news and updates on our timeline according to certain criteria, but these recipes are secret and are jealously guarded by those who use them.
Should companies explain in detail what those algorithms? Some argue this option and make the analogy with the free software, a philosophy in which the code is published, shared, edited and redistributed freely. The debate on the transparency of the algorithms is more fashionable than ever.
Facebook in the spotlight
The Trending Facebook feature is a good example of such algorithms. Although it is assumed that who you really are that algorithm power users and how they use the social network, the operation of this program is totally unknown.
Facebook algorithm has a limitation: it is created, managed and fed by humans. Are we or rather Facebook- employees who decide what data is valid, what is done with them, and what response you get from them. An algorithm behaves better or worse shape is not just the fault of Facebook, but our, users, we feed this algorithm with our activity and our comments.