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Rabbit Hole: What Is the Internet Doing to Us? (NYT Kevin Roose)

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Credibility Rating

4/5
High(4)

High quality. Established institution or organization with editorial oversight and accountability.

Rating inherited from publication venue: The New York Times

Journalistic series relevant to AI safety concerns about recommendation algorithms, persuasion, and epistemic autonomy; useful background for understanding real-world harms from deployed AI systems shaping information environments.

Metadata

Importance: 42/100opinion piecenews

Summary

A New York Times column and podcast series by tech journalist Kevin Roose exploring how algorithmic recommendation systems, online radicalization, and digital life shape human behavior and belief. The series investigates how platforms exploit attention and push users toward extreme content, with implications for autonomy and persuasion.

Key Points

  • Investigates how internet algorithms and recommendation systems influence beliefs, behaviors, and radicalization pathways
  • Documents real case studies of individuals drawn into online rabbit holes, illustrating persuasion and autonomy risks
  • Explores the societal consequences of moving life increasingly online, including mental health and political polarization effects
  • Relevant to AI safety discussions around persuasive AI, recommendation systems, and erosion of epistemic autonomy

Cited by 1 page

PageTypeQuality
AI Preference ManipulationRisk55.0

Cached Content Preview

HTTP 200Fetched Apr 7, 20261 KB
Rabbit Hole - The New York Times 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
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 What is the internet doing to us?

   

 Credit The New York Times 
 One: Wonderland 

 A young man finds escape on the internet. He doesn’t realize that on the other side of the screen, a force is pulling him in.

   

 Credit The New York Times 
 Two: Looking Down 

 “The truth is down there, and you’ve got to go down and dig for it.”

   

 Credit The New York Times 
 Three: Mirror Image 

 Five years into a rabbit hole, Caleb goes from one side of the screen to the other.

   

 Credit The New York Times 
 Four: Headquarters 

 A trip to YouTube for a conversation with the woman trying to change it.

   

 Credit The New York Times 
 Five: The Accidental Emperor 

 How one outsider came to rule the internet — and eventually embody its battle with mainstream culture.

   

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 Six: Impasse 

 An interview with PewDiePie, as he comes to grips with his influence.

   

 Credit The New York Times 
 Seven: ‘Where We Go One’ 

 QAnon believers, united in a battle against what they see as dark forces of the world, reveal where the internet is headed.

   

 Credit The New York Times 
 Eight: ‘We Go All’ 

 One QAnon believer’s journey through faith and loss — and what becomes of reality as we move online.

   

 Credit The New York Times 
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