Setting out to become more algorithm literate. The effect of a brief video-based algorithm literacy intervention

Understanding algorithmic curation has become a critical element of digital participation, but Algorithm Literacy is not evenly distributed in society. Therefore, efforts to enhance Algorithm Literacy through deliberate interventions are gaining momentum, but research on their effectiveness is still scarce. To test the effectiveness of a short video intervention, we employed a randomised controlled trial to test whether an education video can achieve improvements in two cognitive dimensions of Algorithm Literacy: Awareness and Knowledge. We conducted a two-wave, 2 × 2 mixed-design experiment with a quota-based sample of German internet users (N = 494). While hypotheses predicted increases in Algorithm Literacy directly after stimulus exposure as well as two weeks later, we only found support for an increase after two weeks and only with respect to Algorithm Knowledge, but not Awareness. A re-analysis of this effect revealed that the increase after two weeks was likely restricted to participants with low baseline Algorithm Knowledge scores. We see this as encouragement for the potential of simple educational interventions to strengthen Algorithm Literacy and narrow existing digital divides.