The post-human condition of online polls

[grimjim]

Sometimes the velocity of current events is like a riptide, threatening to drag our attention down until we drown in a surfeit of coverage that may seem deep but is ultimately very narrow. It becomes a prison of the now, a constructed now at that. Social media has enabled the automation of cultural hegemony. Bots are the foot-soldiers in the current battle. It's no surprise that Goodhart's Law therefore extends to social media: when a measure becomes a target, it ceases to be a good measure. Polling and other online sentiment measures are tainted, contaminated by the constructed sentiment of bots.

Comments

[sabotabby]

when a measure becomes a target, it ceases to be a good measure.

Oh yes, excellent point.