HOW “AI" IS AFFECTING THE EXPERIENCE IN THE DIGITAL PLATOFORMS: THE NETFLIX CASE

Abstract

In this thesis I decided to analyze a very precise and interesting topic concerning artificial intelligence (AI) applied to the Netflix online streaming platform. Artificial intelligence has given this giant the ability to create a real system of personalized recommendations, where each user receives a personalized and "packaged" experience from the AI. In this thesis he wanted to analyze the role that Netflix plays in the debate on personalized digital content, trying to explain how and to what extent this personalization incorporated in Netflix shape the identity algorithms of users also at a social level. As for algorithmic identity, I will take a cue from Ricoeur's theories. This research argues that a new framework is needed because algorithms within platforms now provide the medium that shapes identity. So the construction of an algorithmic identity emerges in three distinct phases where users use the platform to create data, this data is used by the platform to set predictive algorithms in motion and deliver customized content, and finally users can read and understand in reflective way themselves through the identity prescribed on them on their personal profile page. I highlighted the following aspects of this mechanism that uses Netflix: the Netflix interface, articles and social media posts on content production and consumption, and the social practice of online personalization. All three stages of algorithmic identity can take place within the Netflix interface. However, the construction of the algorithmic identity does not happen completely because in the final phase, the users of this search do not "find themselves" in the personal profile reflected to them by the Netflix interface. Consequently, while the algorithms of the first two phases take place, that of the third phase allows users to reflect on the true personalization that is denied them because they are translated into individuals. Therefore, online personalization as

fully personalized is seen as a myth because there is a tension between the identity created by the algorithm and the identity of the users. Within the thesis I have included a short introductory Netflix story so as to contextualize how this revolution in AI took place and the various experiences that take place in digital platforms in order to observe with a critical eye the experience that Netflix offers and the artificial intelligence.