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>You're making the mistake of assuming the ad is for the best offer you'd be interested in instead of the one that makes the most money from you (i.e. the worst

>You're making the mistake of assuming the ad is for the best offer you'd be interested in instead of the one that makes the most money from you (i.e. the worst one for you). The expected utility to you is negative. A customer buying something isn't a zero-sum transaction. My default assumption is that the product that stands to make the most money from me is the one that would most benefit me. For example, the grocery store sells apples, which I love, and chicken gizzards, which I don't love. The product which I want most (apples) will stand to make the most money from me. If I didn't know that apples were for sale near me, or that a particular store had particularly delicious apples, I would benefit from that and so would they after I spent my money on them. Win-win, not zero-sum.

ndriscoll 3y ago
That's again assuming the system is making good recommendations for you. That's not what they're meant to do. A much better analogy is you go to the grocery store. The clerk knows you like apples and says "hey, I've got a bag of Johnny's apples here for $6", and pulls out a bag with a sticker that says "Johnny's" on it. Next person comes in, and the clerk offers them a bag of Dan's apples for $3. The bags come from the same orchard. Same tree. You paid for a sticker. The clerk just knows you make enough money not to notice because they have a dossier on every person in town.
- olyjohn 3y ago
  It's not even that... they aren't recommending Apples at all, but they're going to try to get you to buy something else that is more profitable. It's like going into the store and then they're like "Here's a bag of oranges."
  - ndriscoll 3y ago
    If the system has a higher expectation that you will buy the apples, making them the more profitable option to offer, it'll do that. So people aren't entirely wrong in that way. But the point is even when it's "helpful" (by coincidence), it will still do everything it can to screw you. And yeah it'll happily offer you oranges if it thinks it can get you to bite. Or beer, particularly if it knows you're an alcoholic!
titzer 3y ago
> My default assumption is that the product that stands to make the most money from me is the one that would most benefit me. Well, see, that's where things like cigarettes, liquor, and gambling just blatantly violate that assumption. Ads are psychological manipulation for the advertiser's benefit, hands down.

ndriscoll 3y ago

That's again assuming the system is making good recommendations for you. That's not what they're meant to do. A much better analogy is you go to the grocery store. The clerk knows you like apples and says "hey, I've got a bag of Johnny's apples here for $6", and pulls out a bag with a sticker that says "Johnny's" on it. Next person comes in, and the clerk offers them a bag of Dan's apples for $3. The bags come from the same orchard. Same tree. You paid for a sticker. The clerk just knows you make enough money not to notice because they have a dossier on every person in town.

olyjohn 3y ago
It's not even that... they aren't recommending Apples at all, but they're going to try to get you to buy something else that is more profitable. It's like going into the store and then they're like "Here's a bag of oranges."
- ndriscoll 3y ago
  If the system has a higher expectation that you will buy the apples, making them the more profitable option to offer, it'll do that. So people aren't entirely wrong in that way. But the point is even when it's "helpful" (by coincidence), it will still do everything it can to screw you. And yeah it'll happily offer you oranges if it thinks it can get you to bite. Or beer, particularly if it knows you're an alcoholic!

titzer 3y ago

> My default assumption is that the product that stands to make the most money from me is the one that would most benefit me. Well, see, that's where things like cigarettes, liquor, and gambling just blatantly violate that assumption. Ads are psychological manipulation for the advertiser's benefit, hands down.