Why and how are machine learning algorithms are driving polarisation?

A common criticism of social media is that groups of people are creating echo chambers that exclude different perspectives, but these echo chambers are a goal encoded in these platforms’ software, not an accident. Wendy Chun FBA unpacks the role of homophily – the idea that similarity breeds connection, that ‘birds of a feather flock together’ – in how social media networks are designed. What can at first appear as simple technical defaults are the result of social and culturally influenced decisions. What if we built social media platforms that are not based on homophily? Speaker: Professor Wendy Chun FBA This podcast is for informative and educational purposes. 10-Minute Talks are a series of pre-recorded talks from Fellows of the British Academy screened on YouTube and also available on all podcasting platforms. This podcast was produced by The British Academy convenes research insights from across the disciplines we represent. The views expressed in our videos are those of the contributors and do not reflect the views of the British Academy. Comments are open to viewers and are governed by the policies of YouTube. We do not monitor or moderate comments and will not reply to them. Find out more about the British Academy: For future events, visit our website:

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Why and how are machine learning algorithms are driving polarisation? is an episode from 10-Minute Talks by The British Academy.

This episode is 11:43 long.

This episode was published on Feb 17, 2026.

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