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Why don't they let me tell them the interests that they are trying to infer? I'd be really happy to review sets of recommendations and indicate the kind of vide

Why don't they let me tell them the interests that they are trying to infer? I'd be really happy to review sets of recommendations and indicate the kind of videos i like and the kind i don't.

kikokikokiko 5y ago
Because this way YOU would have the power to decide what you see, and why, I ask, would the biggest corporation in the world not use this power themselves? They can literally change minds and public opinion using it. Imagine the implications in terms of public police, elections, even the general zeitgeist of the population about the company itself. Google will NEVER allow it's users to decide for themselves what they want to see.
- foofoo4u 5y ago
  The latest Facebook [leaks](https://www.wsj.com/articles/the-facebook-files-11631713039 https://www.wsj.com/articles/the-facebook-files-11631713039) by the WSJ has made it clear that these large social platforms have the intent and actively do shape public opinion. YouTube is no different. It's clear that they have political/ideological leanings and intend to use the platform to bend the world to their views.
oehpr 5y ago
In some vein they kind of do this by letting you like or dislike videos. The problem is almost all of them see this as an opportunity to signal others. Which means that your likes and dislikes are also value judgements, that you may or may not be comfortable making. They have at least have "not interested" but it's a clunky system. TikTok is having more luck because they're getting this data by watching WHEN you stop watching a video. Video's automatically play, so the default signal when you swipe past something is "no".
- rhizome 5y ago
  Huh, I'd assume they are all storing start, stop, and skips.
rhizome 5y ago
Except for the meager controls they already give you, the data flows only one way: from their db of history to your screen. You fencing off your interests would complicate this immeasurably. I would guess that it would raise the same problem that Google Search found with its domain blacklist feature 10+? years ago. I don't think personal recommendations are a good use of developer effort, I think I'd be fine if it just showed me videos liked by other people who have liked the same videos I have.

Why don't they let me tell them the interests that they are trying to infer? I'd be really happy to review sets of recommendations and indicate the kind of videos i like and the kind i don't.

kikokikokiko 5y ago

Because this way YOU would have the power to decide what you see, and why, I ask, would the biggest corporation in the world not use this power themselves? They can literally change minds and public opinion using it. Imagine the implications in terms of public police, elections, even the general zeitgeist of the population about the company itself. Google will NEVER allow it's users to decide for themselves what they want to see.

foofoo4u 5y ago
The latest Facebook [leaks](https://www.wsj.com/articles/the-facebook-files-11631713039 https://www.wsj.com/articles/the-facebook-files-11631713039) by the WSJ has made it clear that these large social platforms have the intent and actively do shape public opinion. YouTube is no different. It's clear that they have political/ideological leanings and intend to use the platform to bend the world to their views.

oehpr 5y ago

In some vein they kind of do this by letting you like or dislike videos. The problem is almost all of them see this as an opportunity to signal others. Which means that your likes and dislikes are also value judgements, that you may or may not be comfortable making. They have at least have "not interested" but it's a clunky system. TikTok is having more luck because they're getting this data by watching WHEN you stop watching a video. Video's automatically play, so the default signal when you swipe past something is "no".

rhizome 5y ago
Huh, I'd assume they are all storing start, stop, and skips.

rhizome 5y ago

Except for the meager controls they already give you, the data flows only one way: from their db of history to your screen. You fencing off your interests would complicate this immeasurably. I would guess that it would raise the same problem that Google Search found with its domain blacklist feature 10+? years ago. I don't think personal recommendations are a good use of developer effort, I think I'd be fine if it just showed me videos liked by other people who have liked the same videos I have.