The text is reading you: teaching language in the age of the algorithm

Most accounts of the way digital technologies have changed practices reading and writing focused on surface aspects texts (such as hypertextuality, multimodality development new registers). There are, however, less visible communication environments that had an equally profound effect – namely algorithms lie behind monitor actions readers writers alter form content they are exposed to. Algorithms potential to affect not just local practices, but also broader social work encourage reinforce patterns language use, consumption. This paper describes results a two-year long participatory project, in which university students Hong Kong United Kingdom explored inference forming engage when interacting with algorithms. The participants articulated six primary metaphors through their classmates understand how work: (1) Algorithm agent; (2) authority; (3) adversary; (4) communicative resource; (5) audience; (6) oracle. Engaging learners articulating ‘folk beliefs’ govern people’s interaction algorithms, it is argued, can contribute kinds literacies will need better ways information to, inferences about this information, own acts be used by manipulate them.