NXS #4: Algorithmic Anxiety

‘NXS #4: Algorithmic Anxiety’ explores the spectrum of algorithmic authority over our lives (whether perceived or not). They question or reveal the inconspicuous influence of algorithms, in their various forms, on our behavioral patterns, emotions, and self perceptions of our position in the world. Are algorithms really rational and only virtual? Are they better than we are in drawing up a reflection of ourselves? Can they predict our future selves? Are we at risk of losing our agency to act and think, of being increasingly controlled and programmed through social credit systems, surveillance, and Big Data rankings? Are we on the path towards digitally structured totalitarianism? What does that mean for the conception of the autonomous self?