Why understanding algorithms matters as much as reading the news

In the Jewish tradition, chasing knowledge has never been a passive task. Whether it's the intense, back-and-forth debates of the Talmud or the precision of modern science, there is a core belief that being truly informed means digging beneath the surface of any text. Today, that tradition of asking hard questions faces a fresh challenge. Because we get almost all our news and culture from digital platforms, the "text" we have to deconstruct isn't just a printed page; it’s the hidden algorithm deciding what shows up on our screens.

To stay informed today, we have to look closely at how different countries use data to shape what we see online. The internet isn't uniform; algorithms constantly pivot based on local laws and cultural habits. In South Korea, for example, the digital world is defined by strict regulations and a very specific gaming culture. People there who want clear, data-heavy insights into gaming trends and real-time odds turn to platforms like PokerScout.com. By tracking local traffic and site reviews tailored specifically for the Korean market, these sites show how complex data can be sorted to offer transparency in a high-stakes setting.

This need for local literacy shows up everywhere. In the United States, the healthcare system uses its own digital architecture to sort private insurance data and manage coverage for millions. A patient has to understand how their personal info fits into this massive corporate system just to get the right medical help. In both cases, you aren't just reading a webpage; you’re engaging with a calculated, localized data set. Recognizing these regional quirks and the code running in the background is the only way to really grasp how the world works right now.

Integrating these tools forces us to choose between easy convenience and the strength of our own minds. Maimonides argued that our intellect defines us; surrendering our ethical or social choices to unexamined code is a contemporary form of idolatry, where we treat our own inventions as infallible. While algorithms process data quickly, they lack the human depth and moral grounding necessary for true understanding.

The resulting echo chambers do more than isolate us; they threaten the shared reality a society needs to function. Because these systems prioritize engagement by mirroring our own biases, they wall us off from the difficult, diverse perspectives that spark growth. If we let automation curate our existence, we lose the agency required to pursue truth. Modern literacy means actively breaking these cycles, ensuring technology elevates our potential rather than narrowing our perspective.

These silent editors often warp how we see the world by feeding us more of what we already believe. An algorithm built to chase virality can easily push sensationalist claims or flat-out lies about Israel and Jewish issues, purely because that's what gets people clicking. To stay properly informed, you have to realize your news feed isn't a mirror of the world; it’s a curated experience run by math and data weights. Learning to spot how these digital patterns hide some views while highlighting others is today’s version of checking a newspaper’s editorial bias. If we don’t pay attention to this, we’ll end up mistaking a manufactured echo chamber for the actual truth.

Just as Jewish law encourages the questioning of sources and the seeking of multiple witnesses to establish a fact, the digital age requires us to question the code that shapes our worldview. We must move beyond the headlines and seek to understand the mechanisms that brought those headlines to our screens. By understanding the mechanics of algorithms and the localized ways they manifest in different nations, we move from being passive recipients of information to active participants in the search for truth.

This article was written in cooperation with pokerscout