5 ms·

Google is a laughing stock at this point.

natch 3y ago
Their spam filter literally marks email sent by Google corporate, email the user asked for and subscribed to, as phishing. And they can’t understand that I already said “skip” to their offer of TV shows on YouTube. Many times. And as someone else said, I saw some of the greatest minds of my generation put to work doing ad revenue optimization. And yet, the ads have never been anywhere close to relevant to me, or my interests, or my purchases or plans or needs at all. Yes, laughingstock but also… it’s sad.
- jqpabc123 3y ago
  Personalized ads are the problem ... not the solution.
- prepend 3y ago
  > And yet, the ads have never been anywhere close to relevant to me, or my interests, or my purchases or plans or needs at all. They’re not trying to do that. They are working to maximize revenue. I think it’s a myth that their goal is “personalized ads” as that wouldn’t make them money. They make much more money off thousands of impressions with 4% conversion than dozens with 90% conversion. These dark patterns don’t show lack of knowledge. They just demonstrate that they don’t care and know they will eventually grind you down if they keep asking “do you want fries with that” even though they know you hate fries and are on a diet.
  - ravenstine 3y ago
    The point of advertising is to convince you to buy things regardless if you actually need them. Why try to get people to only buy things they already think they need or want? Personalized ads have always been the Trojan horse for data mining.
jqpabc123 3y ago
Yes ... but so is AI. Generative AI is an attempt to mimic cognitive ability using statistics ... and it always fails at some point. It's cognitive skills are as fake as Google's demo. AI can drive a car as long as the roadway environment matches certain expected statistical parameters. But mismatches are inevitable and unavoidable. In the real world, stuff happens. Emergency vehicles, pedestrians, cyclists, children, illegal u turns, etc. are all part of the real world environment that can't be predicted. AI's naive response to unexpected conditions is to slam on the brakes and stop --- which in and of itself creates an unexpected road hazard. There is too much "A" and not enough "I".
- noitpmeder 3y ago
  Regarding autonomous cars, it'll only make sense once every car is in/on the network and roadways are hermetically sealed. So never. I really hope governments get their act together and start developing/planning/testing improved public transportation. Trains are already nearly fully autonomous, and just imagine the countless benefits having cities/towns/countries designed around something other than the wasteful self owned car.
  - jqpabc123 3y ago
    In other words, the autonomous transportation that is most practical and best suited for the real world is called a train.
    - tim333 3y ago
      We've had autonomous trains here in London since 1987 and trains since about 1850 but still there is the usual traffic. I think self driving cars may add something new.
      - JohnFen 3y ago
        > I think self driving cars may add something new. I'll bite -- what new thing would it add?
crazygringo 3y ago
Its stock is still significantly up since the Gemini announcement -- and still not too far from its all-time high -- so the market would definitely disagree. If you believe in wisdom of the crowds and all...
NoLsAfterMid 3y ago
[dead]

Their spam filter literally marks email sent by Google corporate, email the user asked for and subscribed to, as phishing. And they can’t understand that I already said “skip” to their offer of TV shows on YouTube. Many times. And as someone else said, I saw some of the greatest minds of my generation put to work doing ad revenue optimization. And yet, the ads have never been anywhere close to relevant to me, or my interests, or my purchases or plans or needs at all. Yes, laughingstock but also… it’s sad.

jqpabc123 3y ago
Personalized ads are the problem ... not the solution.
prepend 3y ago
> And yet, the ads have never been anywhere close to relevant to me, or my interests, or my purchases or plans or needs at all. They’re not trying to do that. They are working to maximize revenue. I think it’s a myth that their goal is “personalized ads” as that wouldn’t make them money. They make much more money off thousands of impressions with 4% conversion than dozens with 90% conversion. These dark patterns don’t show lack of knowledge. They just demonstrate that they don’t care and know they will eventually grind you down if they keep asking “do you want fries with that” even though they know you hate fries and are on a diet.
- ravenstine 3y ago
  The point of advertising is to convince you to buy things regardless if you actually need them. Why try to get people to only buy things they already think they need or want? Personalized ads have always been the Trojan horse for data mining.

jqpabc123 3y ago

Yes ... but so is AI. Generative AI is an attempt to mimic cognitive ability using statistics ... and it always fails at some point. It's cognitive skills are as fake as Google's demo. AI can drive a car as long as the roadway environment matches certain expected statistical parameters. But mismatches are inevitable and unavoidable. In the real world, stuff happens. Emergency vehicles, pedestrians, cyclists, children, illegal u turns, etc. are all part of the real world environment that can't be predicted. AI's naive response to unexpected conditions is to slam on the brakes and stop --- which in and of itself creates an unexpected road hazard. There is too much "A" and not enough "I".

noitpmeder 3y ago
Regarding autonomous cars, it'll only make sense once every car is in/on the network and roadways are hermetically sealed. So never. I really hope governments get their act together and start developing/planning/testing improved public transportation. Trains are already nearly fully autonomous, and just imagine the countless benefits having cities/towns/countries designed around something other than the wasteful self owned car.
- jqpabc123 3y ago
  In other words, the autonomous transportation that is most practical and best suited for the real world is called a train.
  - tim333 3y ago
    We've had autonomous trains here in London since 1987 and trains since about 1850 but still there is the usual traffic. I think self driving cars may add something new.
    - JohnFen 3y ago
      > I think self driving cars may add something new. I'll bite -- what new thing would it add?

crazygringo 3y ago

Its stock is still significantly up since the Gemini announcement -- and still not too far from its all-time high -- so the market would definitely disagree. If you believe in wisdom of the crowds and all...

NoLsAfterMid 3y ago

[dead]