Future Tense

Future Tense

Research Notes: When Knowing More Means Doing Less

Behind the Algorithm Awareness Paradox Essay

A Z Mackay's avatar
A Z Mackay
Nov 19, 2025
∙ Paid

Started researching this expecting to find media literacy working. Found a Harvard Kennedy School study showing r = -.40 correlation between algorithmic knowledge and perceived content reliability. People who understand algorithms trust content less but also do less about it. That flip from “knowledge enables action” to “knowledge paralyzes action” is t…

Keep reading with a 7-day free trial

Subscribe to Future Tense to keep reading this post and get 7 days of free access to the full post archives.

Already a paid subscriber? Sign in
© 2025 A Mackay
Privacy ∙ Terms ∙ Collection notice
Start your SubstackGet the app
Substack is the home for great culture