Shared Reality Under Scrutiny in the Age of Algorithms

Technoference, founded and curated by Melis Eryiğit Samir, is set to host its first closed-door session titled "Digital Filter" on June 15th. The invitation-only event will gather 75 participants, including investors, senior executives, founders, academics, educational leaders, psychologists, and communication professionals, at Komünite @ Terminal Kadıköy.

The gathering aims to address the interdisciplinary effects of technology on humans, focusing on how algorithms shape our shared reality, attention spans, and decision-making processes. "Accessing the same information no longer means sharing the same reality. Algorithms often enter as a layer we don't notice," explained Samir. She emphasized that this layer influences what we see, pay attention to, learn, and decide, making the issue extend beyond technology to encompass attention, perception, learning habits, and the world children grow up accepting as normal.

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Accessing the same information no longer means sharing the same reality. Algorithms often enter as a layer we don't notice. This layer influences what we see, what we pay attention to, how we learn, and which decisions we make more easily. Therefore, the issue is not just technology; it is about attention, perception, learning habits, and the world children grow up accepting as normal.

The program features two panels. The first, "Unseen Systems," will examine the infrastructure behind artificial intelligence, such as data centers, cloud computing, energy consumption, and global competition, and their technological, economic, and societal outcomes. Speakers include Serdar Yokuş, General Manager of DT Cloud; Melek Pulatkonak, Founder of TurkishWIN; and Erman Taylan, Founder and author at Soft Commitment. A central question will be whether Turkey will be a consumer of technology or a shaper of it.

The second panel, "Filter: The Inner Eye, The Right Question, and Reality," will focus on technology's impact at the human scale. Topics include digital experiences through screens, perceptions of reality among children and youth, and educational models. Participants like Psychologist Cihan Çelik, educator and author Müjdat Ataman, and Onur Karcı, Co-founder of Gamester Kids and Tiny Minies, will explore the question: "If we see different worlds looking at the same data, who is really making our decisions?" Samir noted that unlike the 1990s expectation of universal access to information, algorithms now create divergent realities from the same data. Citing the Reuters Institute's 2025 Digital News Report, she highlighted that 65% of traffic to news sites, and 73% for those under 35, comes through algorithmic channels like social media and search engines.

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If we see different worlds looking at the same data, who is really making our decisions?