I tend to agree on your algorithm point. But one distinction, which i think is a valid one, is that the algorithm is designed to over correct to what people's impulses are and that is is a design choice so there is a "guiding" principle there.

i.e. selecting for what people linger on rather than what they click for instance. People might stare at a car crash in passing but that isn't exactly the same as what they want but algorithm design choices means that it reflects that as a genuine want. And the resulting feedback loop means more people start doing car crash content and ultimately over time narrows what is produced