Update: I thought meal kit algorithms were neutral, but a friend's story changed my mind.

Now I see they can reinforce dietary biases unfairly.

4 comments

4 Comments

Exactly, and it goes deeper than just showing you more pasta dishes if you order a lot of pasta. Those algorithms are built on mountains of old data that already has human bias baked right in. If the data mostly comes from people with certain incomes or from certain areas, it will push recipes that fit those old patterns. It might never suggest a perfectly good, cheap meal from a different culture because the data says it's "not popular." So instead of opening up choices, it can quietly close them off.

lee_thompson3mo agoOG Member

Ugh, seen that everywhere lately honestly.

aaron_adams3mo ago

Algorithms can also help you find new stuff you would've missed otherwise.

lily573mo ago

So the algorithm is just a really picky old librarian? Got it.