An essay by Arif Kornweitz for the New AI Lexicon on the function creep of algorithmic systems.
Changes in the functionality of algorithmic systems are often described as creep, a technical exception with unwanted and harmful consequences. However, algorithmic systems are built to be multi functional and creep is not merely a technical issue.
Therefore function creep is better understood as a modus operandi of algorithmic systems, a testament to their technical mutability and political entanglement. To properly understand change in these systems, they need to be read in relation to existing spheres of power, from the ideological to the algorithmic level.