3 ms·

LOL, this is ridiculous. All computing is "fundamental math". That there are some known set of algorithms in the mathematical toolbox that are used is irrelev

LOL, this is ridiculous. All computing is "fundamental math". That there are some known set of algorithms in the mathematical toolbox that are used is irrelevant. The question is, how are those tools put together, what are their inputs, and how are those inputs weighted.

nomel 4y ago
algorithm: a process or set of rules to be followed in calculations or other problem-solving operations, especially by a computer. Is user data, that's used to train, part of the process? I don't think so. It's an input to the algorithm. In the case of ML, the input is the only thing that matters. Semantics, but I think it's incredibly important. It's the difference between posturing and actually affecting change.
- BaseballPhysics 4y ago
  Frankly, at this point you're just playing semantic games. The goal: To understand why the system is recommending what it's recommending. "Algorithm" is a short-hand for that goal. Everything else is just clever wordplay to try and deflect the conversation.
  - nomel 4y ago
    > "Algorithm" is a short-hand for that goal. I think it's the incorrect word. The "algorithm" requires a few pages of code. "Understanding why it's recommending" requires you get, and sift through, terabytes of user data from Youtube. They're very different.
    - BaseballPhysics 4y ago
      That's an interesting claim that's based on nothing but your own supposition. How about we get Youtube to show us their algorithm and associated weights (assuming an ML-based approach, which is a huge assumption on your part) and then we can find out if that's true.
      - nomel 4y ago
        > assuming an ML-based approach, which is a huge assumption on your part What more reasonable alternative do you see, with the existence of my personal recommendation feed? I'm not aware of any personal recommendation systems that don't use ML. Do you have any examples in mind?

nomel 4y ago

algorithm: a process or set of rules to be followed in calculations or other problem-solving operations, especially by a computer. Is user data, that's used to train, part of the process? I don't think so. It's an input to the algorithm. In the case of ML, the input is the only thing that matters. Semantics, but I think it's incredibly important. It's the difference between posturing and actually affecting change.

BaseballPhysics 4y ago
Frankly, at this point you're just playing semantic games. The goal: To understand why the system is recommending what it's recommending. "Algorithm" is a short-hand for that goal. Everything else is just clever wordplay to try and deflect the conversation.
- nomel 4y ago
  > "Algorithm" is a short-hand for that goal. I think it's the incorrect word. The "algorithm" requires a few pages of code. "Understanding why it's recommending" requires you get, and sift through, terabytes of user data from Youtube. They're very different.
  - BaseballPhysics 4y ago
    That's an interesting claim that's based on nothing but your own supposition. How about we get Youtube to show us their algorithm and associated weights (assuming an ML-based approach, which is a huge assumption on your part) and then we can find out if that's true.
    - nomel 4y ago
      > assuming an ML-based approach, which is a huge assumption on your part What more reasonable alternative do you see, with the existence of my personal recommendation feed? I'm not aware of any personal recommendation systems that don't use ML. Do you have any examples in mind?