Virtual Contingency

The concept indicates the ability of Algorithms to exploit the behavior and unpredictability of users to learn and act on communication in complex and appropriate ways. Algorithms, which are not, and must not be, intelligent, use big data to feed on the intelligence of users and to learn to act as smart and engaging communication partners—and also to address individual communications to each of us. In digital communication, Elena Esposito argues, virtual contingency produces an unprecedented interweaving between activities of users and generalized references, yielding innovative configurations.