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"research on low-rank matrix sampling algorithms might someday find many other, more economically worthless applications as well." I'm not sure whether this is
by jtbayly 8y ago
"research on low-rank matrix sampling algorithms might someday find many other, more economically worthless applications as well."
I'm not sure whether this is a typo, and he means to say that there might be more economically worthwhile applications, or whether he's trolling the people complaining that this is useless by pointing out that there are real economic benefits to it right now.
- gbacon 8y agoIt is not a typo but a jab at wannabe elitists who are sneering at Ewin’s work because of its ready applicability to Amazon and Netflix recommendations — as though the discovery would be more worthwhile if it had no economically valuable uses.
- btilly 8y agoNeither. He's trolling the people who regret that the result of this research is manipulating people. By pointing out that there is a real potential for applications that they object to less.
- reitanqild 8y agoAnd this is an example of trolling done right and for the good of (mostly?) everyone :-)
- rcoveson 8y agoIt's a very broad definition of "manipulating people" that includes recommendation algorithms. The problem, as stated, seems to call for an implementation of a perfectly benign strategy for recommending content. Clustering users by their ratings of various titles is the kind of thing any hobbyist statistician might do to help their friends find movies they like using online data sets. There are methods to use data to improve people's experiences, and sometimes corporations employ those methods.
- btilly 8y agoWith a slight tweak, this is also the kind of algorithm that is used to personalize disinformation campaigns for large numbers of people. As Cambridge Analytica was famously trying to do in the 2016 election. So yes, this algorithm is useful for manipulating people. And not just by using an extremely broad definition of the term.
- dwaltrip 8y agoYou must admit that there is a very large difference between a friend doing something for me and a corporation doing the same thing.
- tangentspace 8y agoWhat is the difference?
- bacon_waffle 8y agoOne increases social connection, and the other doesn't.
- dwaltrip 8y agoA friend actually cares about you, your best interests, and long-term well-being. One's relationship with a corporation is very different. They don't know you or necessarily care very much about your long term interests.
- deleted 8y ago[deleted]