In the ongoing negotiation between human attention and machine curation, Instagram's chief executive has stepped forward to argue that the algorithm is not a cage but a filter — one that, however imperfect, shields users from the commercial noise that would otherwise consume their feeds. Australia's government, seeking to restore a measure of user sovereignty over digital experience, has proposed allowing people to choose between algorithmic and chronological feeds as part of broader efforts to reduce online harm. The debate touches something older than social media: the tension between what i