We are locked in a system without poetry
Arsen ECA
Create a freedom indicator
Becoming aware of our freedom implies realizing the extent to which algorithms, particularly those of Google, shape a reality that is not truly ours, but rather theirs. This awareness is essential to understanding how our perception of the world is influenced and often directed by external forces who have their own agendas and goals. It is with this in mind that I sought to understand to what extent Google only shows us what it wants, with the ultimate goal of stimulating our consumption.
In 2013, I created a unique product: boiling water to defrost. I am the only one in the world to manufacture and market this product. The lack of competitors for this boiling water to defrost is precisely what pushed me to put it on sale.
The idea behind this was to test how Google would process and display search results for the query “Boiling water to defrost”.
Since 2013, the product has remained unchanged, as has its description, down to the smallest comma.
The result in 2013
When querying “Boiling water to defrost”, Google presents a unique result: my product. Thus, boiling water to defrost is positioned as the only and first result in this specific search
Results since 2013
Year after year, I have made the request “Boiling water to defrost” on June 23. Gradually, I observed that Google relegated this result, moving it from 40th position in 2018 to 216th in 2020, until it completely disappeared from search results from 2022.
Every time the query “Boiling Water to Defrost” is entered, Google interprets the question and directs the user to other topics, such as suggesting methods for defrosting pizza or other foods. For the Google algorithm, the query “Boiling Water to Defrost” does not correspond to a frequent or relevant search, and therefore does not deserve a top position, at the risk, according to their logic, of losing money or efficiency in their search results.
Standardization
Surreptitiously, even within museums and galleries, subtle seeds of standardization are disseminated, and otherness, the clinamen, is no longer valued. Art, in this era of homogenization, has lost its captivating essence and has become annoying.
The disappearance of poetry
What can we make of this, other than that the general indifference is disturbing? Google draws us a commercial reality, erasing the anomalies or divergences which could enrich our culture beyond a simple commercial interest.
This situation has always seemed alarming to me, but what worries me more is the total lack of reaction. This indifference is explained, in my opinion, by Google’s ability to offer us precisely what appeals to us, what satisfies us, thus relieving us of the need to choose, because it offers us what it considers to be the best. choice for us.
And the poetry in all this? It is relegated to 212th place, accessible only to those who, after having defrosted their pizza 211 times, are looking for something different.
