Abstract

Recommender systems, search engines, and other modern information discovery and access technologies have broadened both access to information and the ability to disseminate new information. In this talk, I take up the question of why we develop and deploy such technologies: when we build a recommender system, what purpose(s) do we intend it to serve?. As information, entertainment, and technologies for discovering them have profound impact on both individual people and the societies they shape and inhabit, clearly defining the goals of such systems is necessary to properly evaluate them and to ensure that they promote healthy, well-informed, and democratic societies.

I will discuss several different and possibly-conflicting goals that may be set for an information discovery system; how those may support or oppose broader economic, political, ethical, or social objectives and principles; and how specific goals affect the evaluation of the effectiveness, behavior, and impacts of information access systems.