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True @mackuba. I believe recent versions of the vanilla Mastodon apps have some kind of What's Hot timeline. That's a serendipity generator, which is what most people mean when they say "social media algorithm", " AI", or sometimes "recommendation engine".
I don't see anything but my notifications, and occasional dips into the firehose. If the third-party Android and web apps I use have any of the other timelines, I never see them. But they're there if people want "algorithms".
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Starter Packs are another form of serendipity generator, and there are a few kinds available for the fediverse, the oldest I know of being Trunk;
https://communitywiki.org/trunk
Part of the problem is that the fediverse doesn't really have an easy mode. It's hard to know how to get started with a first account, or where to find out.
Guide bots on each server that share tips with new accounts might help? Tips on how to use the common affordances of the network to populate an empty feed.
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Wait, I think I just cracked it! What people mean when they say "no algorithms". They mean the feed on their new account starts empty.
What about new accounts having their feed populated by default? Server admins could choose a standard starter pack for all new accounts, or give people their choice of starter pack from a curated set.
This is a bonfire demo instance for testing purposes
