The Rhetoric of Machine Learning

TL;DR

This paper analyzes machine learning through the lens of rhetoric, arguing it is inherently persuasive and examining its role in manipulation as a service in business.

Contribution

It offers a rhetorical perspective on machine learning, highlighting its persuasive nature and analyzing its implications in business models like manipulation as a service.

Findings

Machine learning is inherently rhetorical, not neutral.

It plays a significant role in manipulation as a service.

Rhetorical features influence how machine learning is used in practice.

Abstract

I examine the technology of machine learning from the perspective of rhetoric, which is simply the art of persuasion. Rather than being a neutral and "objective" way to build "world models" from data, machine learning is (I argue) inherently rhetorical. I explore some of its rhetorical features, and examine one pervasive business model where machine learning is widely used, "manipulation as a service."