On Information Distribution: Who Decides?

In Vannevar Bush’s article “As We May Think“, he describes a conceptual machine called the “memex” that would allow its users to store, replicate, and share information for the use of research. The significance of the memex lies in its preceding of the Internet by 50 years, and thus the democritization of information. He prescribes the need for such a device on the observation of a surplus of information following World War II, stating:

The investigator is staggered by the findings and conclusions of thousands of other workers—conclusions which he cannot find time to grasp, much less to remember, as they appear.

Vannevar Bush

In consideration of modern platforms, many have abandoned the chronological feed for one created by an algorithm, such as that of Instagram or TikTok. By doing so, the platforms provide users with the opportunity to inadvertantly curate their digital experience. Thus, as Bush says “he builds a trail of his interest through the maze of materials available to him.”. However, it is important to note the usage of the term “inadvertantly”, as user interest is measured through his or her engagements rather than done so explicitly.

The effects of algorithms may be observed through the history of webblogging, particularly in the emergence and popularization of Google as a search engine. Foremost, webblogging followed the Internet’s democritization of information, allowing any user to make their contribution to the wealth of knowledge, from which requested information may be retrieved through the use of a search engine. It is not the core function of such a tool that is problematic, as Bush states “mere compression [of information]… is not enough; one needs not only to make and store a record but also be able to consult it”. What is questionable then, is the prioritization of some information over others. Particularly so as large corporations dominate the distribution of information, how much power do we as consumers really have in our digital experiences?