A1103
Title: Monoculture and social welfare of the algorithmic personalization market under competition
Authors: Xin Tong - University of Southern California (United States) [presenting]
Abstract: Algorithmic personalization markets, where providers utilize algorithms to predict user types and personalize products or services, have become increasingly prevalent in their daily lives. The adoption of more accurate algorithms holds the promise of improving social welfare through enhanced predictive accuracy. However, concerns have been raised about algorithmic monoculture, where all providers adopt the same algorithms. The prevalence of a single algorithm can hinder social welfare due to the resulting homogeneity of available products or services. The aim is to address the emergence of algorithmic monoculture from the perspective of providers' behavior under competition in the algorithmic personalization market. It is found that competition among providers could mitigate monoculture, thereby enhancing social welfare in the algorithmic personalization market. By examining the impact of competition on algorithmic diversity, the contribution is to a deeper understanding of the dynamics within algorithmic personalization markets and offers insights into strategies for promoting social welfare in these contexts.
