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I don't buy it. I have multiple times been served articles on my Google news feed about specific topics (e.g. dishwasher efficiency) that are orthogonal from m
by elmomle 5y ago
I don't buy it. I have multiple times been served articles on my Google news feed about specific topics (e.g. dishwasher efficiency) that are orthogonal from my typical interests and that I had only ever discussed offline and never electronically in any form. I can think of no plausible explanation for this aside from Google obtaining audio that is ambiently gathered by my phone and feeding that back into their article-optimization engine.
- 8note 5y agoHow do you know that your conversation partner did not look up dishwashers after your conversation? Or that there was not a trending YouTube video about dishwashers around the same time that prompted the conversation?
- jrootabega 5y agoYeah, and that's even more scary. Devices listening to you isn't NOT scary, but these companies are able to inject discussion topics into your personal life without you even realizing it. Online ads are, at worst, billboards. If you see a detergent ad right before you go grocery shopping, it doesn't matter that you didn't click it; just being at the top of your mental stack is worth a lot of money to them.
- elmomle 5y agoIn my case, I alone use my devices--nobody else uses my phone or computer, and no other devices are linked to my Google account. As to trending videos, I don't think I can fairly dismiss that conclusively, but all I can say is that it seems like a stretch and that an article about dishwasher efficiency stuck out like a sore thumb against my other news feed recommendations.