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# When algorithms make creators doubt their own work
- URL: https://adjacent.media/signals/when-algorithms-make-creators-doubt-their-own-work/
- Published: 2026-05-16T16:16:04.000Z
- Updated: 2026-05-16T16:16:04.000Z
- Description: The gap between what algorithms reward and what creators believe in their own practice is widening. Creators are internalizing algorithmic preferences as aesthetic truth, abandoning work that doesn’t perform even when they know it’s better.
- Author: Jonathan Greene
- Tags: #signal, theme-consumer, attention economy, creator economy, algorithm dynamics

Source: [sublime](https://open.substack.com/pub/sublimeinternet/p/the-pain-of-releasing-work-nobody)

The gap between what algorithms reward and what creators believe in their own practice is widening. Creators are internalizing algorithmic preferences as aesthetic truth, abandoning work that doesn't perform even when they know it's better. This marks a shift from "the algorithm doesn't pay" (a business problem) to "the algorithm makes me question whether I'm good" (an identity problem). That distinction matters: it changes who gets to develop a voice and what kinds of creative risks ever get taken.