#8 - Predictions
Predictions
It has always been a difficult task to predict where the future is headed whether it be in media or streaming. With the rise of Artificial Intelligence this has increased the possibilities of what can come in the future. The social media we know today will not be the same in a year or even five, there is always inevitable change that will occur, but that doesn’t stop us from being able to predict where its headed.
One way I believe that media will change and evolve is the involvement of Artificial Intelligence in algorithms. The algorithm is something everyone has heard of or knows about on social media. The algorithm takes the things we view everyday on social media, whether it be an Instagram posts, a thread on X, or one of your favorite TikToks, and puts that content into the stream of media you see everyday. I’m sure many viewers of TikTok are familiar with the phrase “I built this for you page from the ground up,” and they are actually more right than they know. For years now apps like TikTok incorporate Artificial Intelligence in their algorithms as a way to analyze and learn what a user watches and consumes. They do this by analyzing what's called engagement metrics such as watch times, likes, and shares. This system is how algorithms such as TikTok are highly praised and seem to know exactly the type of videos you watch, what trends you see, and the TikToks you share with friends.
In the future regarding this, I wouldn’t be surprised if AI and machine learning is incorporated in more algorithms, with the limits being pushed farther in ways that are hard to imagine. Regarding algorithms, everyone on social media is separated into what they see and share, this produces social media bubbles or echo chambers. Echo chambers happen when a group of people online are in a group with other people who share their beliefs and opinions with no outside interference, creating a bubble. This becomes a problem when discourse inevitably happens on social media through tribalism and differing of opinions. I believe in the future with the continuation of evolving algorithms, the concept of echo chambers will only expand with some communities drifting off to other apps and other areas of the internet.
When talking about the future of social media, it is difficult to predict with the ever changing climate across media, especially with the rise of Artificial Intelligence in recent years. I predict that AI will become more prominent in algorithms and become more advanced at picking up a user’s habits and maybe even be able to predict what their thinking. I also predict a byproduct of this will be an increase in social media bubbles and echo chambers, creating more discourse and differing opinions online, leading to a separation of debate on social media. Overall, the future of social media should not be considered a bad thing or feared, it is just inevitable change that will surely bring some interesting and welcome changes, along with the less wanted ones.
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