Book Review: Filterworld by Kyle Chayka

Enlarge Mural of my notes from the book

"Freedom of choice is what you want. Freedom from choice is what you got."
— DEVO

Kyle Chayka is a contributing writer for The New Yorker who covers technology and culture related to the internet. His work has also appeared in the New Republic, the New York Times Magazine, and Harper's, among other publications. His most recent book is Filterworld: How Algorithms Flattened Culture. I received this book as a Father's Day gift. My children know me so well.

Filterworld by Kyle Chayka is a critical examination of the pervasive influence of algorithms in our lives, from our online interactions to the physical spaces we inhabit. This relates to Autodesk in that we are a software platform company whose customers design and make places, things, and experiences. The book argues that society's algorithm-dictated reality, which Chayka calls "Filterworld," homogenizes culture and dictates our tastes, behaviors, and emotions to an extent that challenges our notion of free will. Although there are some references to theory, Chayka mostly uses detailed examples to point out how algorithms have subconsciously shaped our choices and experiences, from the songs we listen to (e.g., "Filterworld"), the hotels we stay at, and the trendy cafés we patronize. The net result of this algorithmic Svengalism is that businesses don't have to try as hard because the lack of variety stifles competition. But more importantly, Filterworld raises important questions about the impact of algorithms on personal freedom. The author argues that while the internet, as a domain heavily influenced by algorithms, offers a sense of personal freedom since the world is at our fingertips, this freedom is often illusory. As Autodesk integrates AI into its software, our aim is to remove the tedium from the design and making of places, things, and experiences without stepping on human creativity.

Autodesk has always been an automation company. Today, more than ever, that means helping our customers automate their design and make processes. We help them embrace the future of making, where they can do more (e.g., quantity, functionality, performance, quality), with less (e.g., energy, raw materials, timeframes, waste of human potential), and realize the opportunity for better (e.g., innovation, user experience, efficiency, sustainability, return on investment). We do this for Architecture, Engineering, Construction, and Operation; Product Design, Manufacturing, and Use; and Media and Entertainment. Regardless of the industry, our software gives architects, engineers, construction workers, product designers, factory floor workers, scriptwriters, producers, directors, and actors choices. Design and make anything they dare beyond compare.

Design and make culture is alive in the lab.