By Rita Dong, Yihan Li and Lin Shui 

The arrival of the Information Age has led to subtle algorithmic listening from the machines we have integrated into our lives.   

Algorithmic listening is inevitable and can be seen anywhere there are technologies that can identify and interpret sounds. It’s more than just collecting information about users’ preferences through their phones or having a conversation with the smart device in your hand.  
  

Under algorithmic listening, the information is transparent, and users have almost no privacy. The excessive intelligence of these electronic products makes people anxious and panic, doubting whether any personal information had been leaked. However, this doesn’t mean it’s without merit. 
 
Algorithms push the content people are interested in and allows them to quickly find what they want, which is very convenient and saves time.     

 
How smartphone applications are used today  

In a survey conducted by Media and Communications students at Trinity College Foundation Studies, it was found that students depended on the algorithm for music recommendations and discuss retail purchases with my friends through the relevant apps. When asked, “Do you like your smartphone to be monitored and push relevant content to you?” students did not really mind it.  
 

The students surveyed are aware that they are being pushed to target ads based on their metadata, accepting that the algorithm will allow them to easily see what they want to see without having to search for it themselves. The collection of personal preferences helps some students to feel good both physically and mentally.  

 
TikTok: the algorithmic gateway drug 
 
Trending social media app, TikTok’s ‘For You Page’ is an accessible feature that enables everyone to see their liked TikToks, favourite content and related videos.   
 
When people keep swiping through or follow a category, the system will default to the users’ preferences and push them towards similar content. The reason a lot of people like this feature is that when people are bored, they don’t know what they want to watch, and that’s when the app pushes the content to us.  
 
It’s easy to not think about what you want to do and have fun. The same goes for other social media platforms like Facebook and Instagram. | 
 

How does the algorithm collect our personal information through our phones? 

Smartphones have many ways to collect our personal data. According to freelance reviewer, Jonas P. DeMuro, smartphones have mainly six ways to collect our personal information: geo-tracking, wi-fi tracking, virus software, malicious apps, camera watching and microphone listening. There are all kinds of sensors in our pocket which leave us with almost no secrets under the algorithm. 

This claim supports our survey findings, which shows that students always use TikTok, Facebook or Instagram during their free time which post content through personal accounts and covers valuable data in areas of entertainment, games, news and education. What’s more, they all have one thing in common: they always deliver the type of content we like and offer us something “different” every time we swipe – it’s easy. 

 
Some aspirations for our personal privacy 
 
Our smartphones may aim to use our personal data to create a better user experience and digital environment, but how can we be certain that they will not send our personal data to those we don’t know about? 

Let’s quickly revisit our survey:  

• 93% of students were aware that they were being monitored by their smartphones for targeted ads and content.  
• 50% felt bad about their phones monitoring them. 
• Around 40% feel that recommendations made by the algorithm did not make their user experience better.  
• Another 40% were angry knowing that their smartphones were collecting their personal data.  

• And lastly, 75% believed that personal privacy is one of the most important issues concerning human rights. 

So, as we can now understand – algorithmic listening is one of the most offensive behaviors to our personal privacy. Our phones often listen to our personal information without our permission, and this should be an alert for us to be concerned about our safety. 

In the end, the price is too high for us to pay. It’s uncomfortable to know that our smartphones are monitoring us 24 hours every day, 7 days a week. As the loss of private information continues, it is crucial for us to fix this problem before it’s too late to turn back.