Authenticity and exclusion: social media algorithms and the dynamics of belonging in epistemic communities

TL;DR

This paper uses agent-based simulations to reveal how social media recommendation algorithms systematically disadvantage minority researchers, leading to exclusion and bias within epistemic communities.

Contribution

It uncovers the systemic biases of recommendation algorithms against minority groups and highlights the need to consider AI's role in epistemic injustice.

Findings

Algorithms harm minority researchers' visibility

Greater visibility for majority-like users within minority groups

Content by minority researchers is less visible to the majority

Abstract

Recent philosophical work has explored how the social identity of knowers influences how their contributions are received, assessed, and credited. However, a critical gap remains regarding the role of technology in mediating and enabling communication within today's epistemic communities. This paper addresses this gap by examining how social media platforms and their recommendation algorithms shape the professional visibility and opportunities of researchers from minority groups. Using agent-based simulations, we investigate this question with respect to components of a widely used recommendation algorithm, and uncover three key patterns: First, these algorithms disproportionately harm the professional visibility of researchers from minority groups, creating systemic patterns of exclusion. Second, within these minority groups, the algorithms result in greater visibility for users who more closely resemble the majority group, incentivizing assimilation at the cost of professional invisibility. Third, even for topics that strongly align with minority identities, content created by minority researchers is less visible to the majority than similar content produced by majority users. Importantly, these patterns emerge, even though individual engagement with professional content is independent of group identity. These findings have significant implications for philosophical discussions on epistemic injustice and exclusion, and for policy proposals aimed at addressing these harms. More broadly, they call for a closer examination of the pervasive, but often neglected role of AI and data-driven technologies in shaping today's epistemic communities.