It's strange to me that you think this was a choice of developers instead of marketers or business holders. My understanding is the impetus behind this decision

It's strange to me that you think this was a choice of developers instead of marketers or business holders. My understanding is the impetus behind this decision is that likes / dislikes have a negative effect on people in the social space. Though it makes things slightly harder to navigate in the youtube space, I think overall it is a well intentioned change.