Filter Bubbles and Personal Autonomy: A Philosophical Inquiry into How Algorithmic Personalization Undermines Frankfurt’s Necessary Conditions for Personal Autonomy

Abstract

Due to the need for filtering of the increasing amount of information provided online, users are becoming blindsided by the façade of algorithmic personalization. The one-sided information provided by personalized algorithms leads to the intellectual isolation represented by the term “filter bubble”. In the present treatise, I argue that this phenomenon is particularly threatening to the user’s capacity of self-governance, i.e., personal autonomy, by relying on existing literature and conceptual analysis. In the first chapter I offer an extensive analysis of one of the most prominent accounts of personal autonomy, namely Frankfurt’s hierarchical theory of personal autonomy. From this, I discern three conditions deemed necessary to self-governance, namely 1) self-evaluation, 2) perseverance, and 3) critical reflection. In chapter 2, I proceed to inquire whether algorithmic personalization undermines these conditions. It is my view that these conditions are, in fact, weakened due to the lack of transparency and control of algorithmic personalization. Finally, I conclude that filter bubbles are a threat to the necessary conditions of personal autonomy and I suggest that the ensuing implications are broader than they initially seem. Political and moral theories based on the concept of personal autonomy are, for instance, as much under fire as accounts of personal autonomy. I end with a call for action: to safeguard personal autonomy, it is essential to raise awareness among users about the workings of the filtering process; such insights may help users gain more influence and control over algorithmic personalization.