Knowledge Organization (KO) is published by IMR Press from Volume 52 Issue 1 (2025). Previous articles were published by another publisher under the CC-BY licence, and they are hosted by IMR Press on imrpress.com as a courtesy and upon agreement.
Ethical Issues in Control by Algorithms: The User is the Content
Rosa San Segundo 1, Daniel Martínez-Ávila 2, José Antonio Frías Montoya 3
Affiliations
Article Info
1 Universidad Carlos III de Madrid – Library and Information Sciences C/ Madrid 126, Getafe, Madrid 28903, Spain
2 Universidad de León – Artistic and Documentary Heritage, León, Spain
3 Universidad de Salamanca – Library and Information Science Salamanca, Castilla y León, Spain
Abstract
In this paper we discuss some ethical issues and challenges of the use of algorithms on the web from the perspective of knowledge organization. We review some of the problems that these algorithms and the filter bubbles pose for the users. We contextualize these issues within the user-based approaches to knowledge organization in a larger sense. We review some of the technologies that have been developed to counter these problems as well as initiatives from the knowledge organization field. We conclude with the necessity of adopting a critical and ethical stance towards the use of algorithms on the web and the need for an education in knowledge organization that addresses these issues.