There are no gods, aside from those we've built ourselves
When describing computerized recommendation systems, we tend to do so in ways that lift them into some kind of metaphysical status, which we call "The Algorithm". The Algorithm, however, is neither a singular entity, nor did it appear out of nowhere, unchanging and fully formed. There are many Algorithms and they all were made by human beings with the specific intention to erode and obfuscate true human connection.
Imagine a friend who lives far away has sent you a letter, but your letterbox looks more like a slot machine. You pull a lever and some arcane mechanism will extrude a letter that it claims fits your interests. There's a chance that it produces your friend's letter and you learn how they're doing and what has been happening since you've last spoken. You could also get a letter meant for someone completely different, or a catalogue with products meant to cater to your specific interests. It is possible that you will never get your friend's letter and will forget about them in time, and they might forget about you.
To avoid this sad occasion, you and your friend do your best to make sure that your letters to each other are phrased in such a way that the slot machine picks it first. You shape your sentences, avoid specific words and topics, because you desperately don't want to lose that connection you've built. Over time, this too will erode your connection, because you end up not talking to each other, but to the slot machine instead, who serves as some kind of unreliable in-between.
Algorithms erode connections between human beings. Instead of human recommendations, that we seek out because something resonates with us, we allow mechanistic arbitrators to make decisions about what we should and should not be interested in. In turn we shape ourselves and our work in such ways that the system feeds it to what we hope are the type of people who might like it and in turn might like us as well.
We shape ourselves into products and offer ourselves to the machine, hoping that it directs us to other human beings, only to realize that there are no humans left to connect to, only products to be sold.
Like everything that has been created by people, "The Algorithm" is a reflection of the interests and desires of its creators. For a long time, they hid their intentions in the language of kindness. Their tools were built to "help" and "empower" you, and while those who already fit their vision of the future human, did indeed benefit, the rest of us are forced to either carve themselves into shape or be lost in the void.
We should neither mystify, nor deify these systems, because it makes us forget that we have built them ourselves and infused them with meaning.
We've already lost so much, and it feels that the final preparations are made to completely sever the connection between us. We cannot let this happen. Refuse to be shaped, refuse to let a system decide who and what in your life is worth caring about. Don't let go of your humanity, ever.
If "The Algorithm" was created by people, then it can be unmade by people. If it is meant to erode human connection and self-guided actions, then this is what we must seek out more than anything.