TED talk; search engine invisible filters

I just came across the TED talk by Eli Pariser on "filter bubbles" -- the processes that search engines like google and yahoo are using (with logarithms) that filter results based on user criteria, such as location, what kind of computer is being used, and history of websites most frequently visited.  Pariser argues that a search engine filters for what it assumes the use "wants" to see, and not what the user "should" see.  It effectively narrows our view and awareness of the world, rather than following the axiom of the internet opening up the world.  He points out that in a worrying way, the new "gatekeepers" of information (electronic) or worse than the old gatekeepers (editors, academics, journalists with a code of ethics), and that users are largely unaware of this filtering process.  So, it is quite possible that 10 people doing the same search would come up with 10 different result lists, depending on who they are.  We would be searching within a "filter bubble" based on our past habits.  Worrying indeed.  When we were doing Lesson 3, I missed this.

http://www.ted.com/talks/lang/en/eli_pariser_beware_online_filter_bubbles.html