It’s time for action before the algorithms eat us all

This happened in my constituency of Makerfield. One man jailed for actions at the Southport riots lives locally, and during the election campaign, after misinformation about a church being turned into a mosque, the building was set ablaze. Even the possibility of a house for migrants in a certain neighbourhood has led to wild speculation and incendiary language based on no evidence.

What matters is the algorithms built around engagement. They operate in an environment where Russian bots and the likes of Nigel Farage can tap into feelings of anger and resentment among a vocal minority. 

The Centre for Countering Digital Hate tracked the use of AI to create swathes of antisemitic content, and after reporting 140 posts promoting antisemitism last November to X, 85 per cent were still up a week later. Some of them included outright Holocaust denial.

The pushing of misinformation and hate can take many forms. Those jailed for social media posts during the unrest posted knew what they were doing, producing videos “roaring encouragement” at rioters or calling for asylum seeker hotels to be burned. 

There is often purposeful antisemitism too. The riots and counter-protests both included elements of antisemitism. Far-right networks were reportedly run by self-identifying Nazis and there were disturbing elements in the counter-protests in Finchley.

But other individuals are less aware of what they are doing. One woman who initially posted the incorrect name of the Southport attacker was filled with regret and had not understood the potential ramifications. Her story is a reminder that to create a healthier online world, when the volume and speed are so great, we cannot simply focus on individual reporting and punishment. We must build different algorithms.

Last year’s Online Safety Act is a powerful and important piece of legislation. But it is not enough. We must develop new legislation that focuses on societal benefits and impact. Whereas algorithms work at the social level, the duties the act establishes focus on individual harm, and tasks social media companies with creating their own terms and conditions, leaving the incentives social media companies have when building algorithms untouched. The regulator it empowers, Ofcom, generally works mainly retrospectively and slowly, whereas algorithms work at speed and scale.

The second challenge is about the physical rather than the digital. For years, UK Governments have fumbled in search of a social integration strategy they can stick to.

Earlier this year, Dame Sara Khan published an excellent review, following a succession of reports whose findings have been welcomed but not effectively implemented.

This must change. As Khan argues, communities across the United Kingdom need a joined-up, sustained, front-footed approach to social integration, with a cross-government body given the responsibility for delivering it.

It must involve strategies like teaching a high standard of English to everyone, deploying community cohesion models supported by Hope Not Hate, but also more radical reforms to how our democracy works, such as citizenship ceremonies, automatic voter registration, holding elections at weekends or public holidays, or even mandatory voting.

How and where we build social housing should be treated as part of social integration too.

Our diverse democracy, underpinned by a commitment to pluralism and fairness, is our most precious asset, but it requires constant attention to sustain.

We must build a digital public sphere that binds our communities together, embodying the respect and integrity that most people aspire to in human interactions every day.

And we need to ensure civic institutions – housing, schools, working clubs, shuls, churches, and mosques – all work to bind everyone to the great country we share. It is incumbent on all of us to address the challenges unearthed by unrest this summer has unearthed, online and offline.

Josh Simons is the Labour MP for Makerfield