Sandi L Boucher discusses how social media algorithms trap us in filter bubbles that reinforce judgment. She references Theo E.J. Wilson's experiment posing as a white man to expose algorithmic bias, then argues we should treat each person as a 'present' rather than a stereotype, replacing hate with curiosity.
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Foreign. I find it absolutely hilarious that my Mac is having a Monday. Hi, everybody, it's Sandy Boucher here once again. I'm Red Thunderbolt, woman of the Loon clan, a proud member of Seine River First Nation in Northern Ontario. Today I had something really super important to talk to you about, and I just wanted to give you a little bit of background on it. I love TED Talks. I don't know about you, but they're very informative. You could Google TED Talks. There's a whole website of all on a variety of topics. And it just keeps me informed and allows me to learn new stuff. And I actually subscribe, subscribe to their email list. So every weekend I get an email and it suggests five videos that they think I'd be interested in watching. And they're usually pretty accurate. So this weekend I've got a note here. So I get his name right. I watched a video by Theo E.J. wilson. So he's a young, very outspoken, dynamic black man who realized, and I'm hoping all of you realize this, he realized that the algorithm algorithms on Facebook work so that if you are a very conservative person, like conservative in your politics, then they're going to show you the program is set up to show you things that they think agree with your political mindset. If you're very liberal, the same thing. What that means is you're not seeing everything. You're seeing this tunnel vision. So he realized that what he was seeing as a black activist was very slanted, and he was running into white supremacists, these white people who were very actively against black people. And he, instead of hating, which would have been so easy for him to do, he wanted to understand, and he knew that he had to get past the social media algorithms, I hate that word, algorithms, to be able to do that. So what he did was created a fake profile. And I'm not suggesting you do this, but he created a fake profile profile as a white man, and started posting things that he saw these problematic white people posting. And he ended up seeing a whole bunch of different things in his news feed. And what he came to realize, and this is the part I wanted to share with you, this is a quote from him. And Again, it's Theo E.J. wilson. And the quote is, why should I be hated for who I cannot help to be? And what he discovered, he ran into a lot of white males who felt they were now living in a world where to be a white male is to be hated, that people are going to assume you're prejudiced. And assume that you're racist and all these other horrific things. Things. And that got me thinking. If there's one thing I've come to realize in all my years of doing my work, is that I run into way too many people who believe that they are a slave. They are helpless to their thoughts or their emotions. And that's just not true. What it requires is self awareness. I am feeling this way. Why am I feeling this way? Why did I just have that thought? Why am I reacting this way and starting to really get in touch with what's going on with you so you can unpack it and if it's problematic, discard it. So here's my question for today, because I know this happens and I really think it needs to change. I was sitting on my front step all weekend just enjoying the sun and people watching. I love doing that. If someone walks by, our brains are geared. They're going to try to classify things to make it easier. Our brains are like a supercomputer and they want to categorize things so we can react appropriately and quickly. So when you see a person, our brains would automatically male, female, or if they're more androgynous, that could be problematic. Race may play into it. Whether you think they're going to be a threat or not may play into it. And that's the part I want you to be aware of. Because as Theo shared in his video, so often on site, we see someone either that we hate in the extreme case or that we judge. And that just blows my mind. And I'm certain I did that at one point, and there's a really good chance I still would in some cases. And I hope to unpack that when it happens. What I'm suggesting we get to, and that's where I live now, is when you see a new person, it's like a present on Christmas morning. I don't know anything about this person, but if I wanted to, I could find out. If they wanted to let me in, I could find out. I don't make any assumptions about that person because assumptions are so often wrong. I have been judged based on assumptions before. People even hear a word I say, and I know that's happened to you. So instead, if we could just get to that point where we realize that every single person that crosses our path, whether it's in real life or online, is a gift from creator and a teacher. Now, they might be an example of what you don't want to do or what you don't want to say, but that's a valuable lesson, too. Instead of this automatic categorizing and labeling and assuming. Is that easy to do? No. Does it happen quickly? No. But any skill we carry that's worth having took a while. It took us a while to learn how to talk properly, how to walk, how to ride a bike, how to drive a car. We can do this if we want to. And I'm really, really hoping that you want to, because hate and judgment have got to go. And let's replace it with all these presents. I don't know about you, but I love receiving presents. And thanks to the change in my mindset, I receive them every single day, including you. I hope that made sense. I love you. I will see you tomorrow, hopefully with a lot less computer problems. Take care. Bye. Bye.
