The Chaos Machine
The Inside Story of How Social Media Rewired Our Minds and Our World
Get The Book — Amazon, Opens in a new window. Other retailers & formats ↓About The Chaos Machine
Max Fisher investigates how social-media platforms shape behavior and public life through the design of their systems and incentives.
Drawing together reporting and research, the book examines how engagement-driven algorithms can intensify conflict and distort people’s understanding of events.
The selection extends the technology sequence from infrastructure and surveillance to the effects of digital platforms on everyday judgment and collective life.
Why I include it
Why does politics feel louder, and consensus harder to reach? Fisher’s reporting on algorithms and amplified outrage helps make sense of that change. The concern here is our ability to understand what is real, not simply the technology on our screens.
