3 ms·

Let's stop with the abuse of the word "algorithm". Enough already. Even in a world where it wasn't the wrong word to reach for (i.e. a world that isn't the one

by cxr 3y ago

Let's stop with the abuse of the word "algorithm". Enough already. Even in a world where it wasn't the wrong word to reach for (i.e. a world that isn't the one we're in), even if it were proper, it is still by this point embarrassingly hackneyed. It's shameless, unrepentant pablum. And that's still ignoring that it's the wrong word to use in >90% of the instances where it seems to show up these days. I have a pretty simple flowchart for lay people and tech journalists alike. It goes like this: Are you about to use the word "algorithm" in an article or comment about social media? No? -> GOOD. Yes? -> Don't. (And to go one further, since you were already angling that way, maybe you should reconsider whether or not to scrap the whole piece entirely; do you actually have anything new and interesting to say on the topic?)

idle_zealot 3y ago
What is the proper term for the mechanism that decides how to populate a social media feed other than a "recommendation algorithm"?
- cxr 3y ago
  That phrase doesn't appear in the linked article, but to answer your question: "Recommender system", e.g. <https://www.trulia.com/blog/tech/recommender-engine/ https://www.trulia.com/blog/tech/recommender-engine/>, <https://github.com/microsoft/RecAI https://github.com/microsoft/RecAI>, etc. Even if there were no consensus for an alternative, that wouldn't make "recommendation algorithm" acceptable, because it fails to meet the criteria to be an algorithm. The word means something. cf "Imagine you're a mathematician, and fellow mathematicians start calling derivatives integrals instead[...] it's being used to describe systems that are almost the exact opposite" <https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=23672561 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=23672561>
Dalewyn 3y ago
"Algorithm" is a more accurate, more descriptive, better word than what succeeded it: "AI".
- deleted 3y ago
  [deleted]
- cxr 3y ago
  Without even touching how every other thing you said is wrong (esp. about it being accurate), how is "algorithm" more descriptive than "artificial intelligence"?
  - Dalewyn 3y ago
    1. "AI" isn't intelligence. 2. https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/algorithm https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/algorithm >: a procedure for solving a mathematical problem (as of finding the greatest common divisor) in a finite number of steps that frequently involves repetition of an operation >broadly : a step-by-step procedure for solving a problem or accomplishing some end
    - cxr 3y ago
      > "AI" isn't intelligence Right. AI is artificial intelligence. But that's irrelevant; you're answering a question I (explicitly) didn't ask, and not the question I did ask. How is "algorithm" a more descriptive term (your words) than "artificial intelligence"? > 2. https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/algorithm https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/algorithm Do you have a point here? Whatever you think it is, you're not making it—you're making my case. Social media companies' "algorithms" aren't algorithms.
      - Dalewyn 2y ago
        >AI is artificial intelligence. AI is artificial intelligence, "AI" is artificial but it's not intelligence. ChatGPT, Gemini, Stable Diffusion, LLAMA, et al. are not AI, they are "AI". >Do you have a point here? ... Social media companies' "algorithms" aren't algorithms. Social media run on servers, servers run software, software is quite literally "a procedure for solving a mathematical problem in a finite number of steps that frequently involves repetition of an operation" and "a step-by-step procedure for solving a problem or accomplishing some end" Please come back when you at least have a basic understanding of how computers work.

by cxr 3y ago

idle_zealot 3y ago

What is the proper term for the mechanism that decides how to populate a social media feed other than a "recommendation algorithm"?

cxr 3y ago
That phrase doesn't appear in the linked article, but to answer your question: "Recommender system", e.g. <https://www.trulia.com/blog/tech/recommender-engine/ https://www.trulia.com/blog/tech/recommender-engine/>, <https://github.com/microsoft/RecAI https://github.com/microsoft/RecAI>, etc. Even if there were no consensus for an alternative, that wouldn't make "recommendation algorithm" acceptable, because it fails to meet the criteria to be an algorithm. The word means something. cf "Imagine you're a mathematician, and fellow mathematicians start calling derivatives integrals instead[...] it's being used to describe systems that are almost the exact opposite" <https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=23672561 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=23672561>

Dalewyn 3y ago

"Algorithm" is a more accurate, more descriptive, better word than what succeeded it: "AI".

deleted 3y ago
[deleted]
cxr 3y ago
Without even touching how every other thing you said is wrong (esp. about it being accurate), how is "algorithm" more descriptive than "artificial intelligence"?
- Dalewyn 3y ago
  1. "AI" isn't intelligence. 2. https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/algorithm https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/algorithm >: a procedure for solving a mathematical problem (as of finding the greatest common divisor) in a finite number of steps that frequently involves repetition of an operation >broadly : a step-by-step procedure for solving a problem or accomplishing some end
  - cxr 3y ago
    > "AI" isn't intelligence Right. AI is artificial intelligence. But that's irrelevant; you're answering a question I (explicitly) didn't ask, and not the question I did ask. How is "algorithm" a more descriptive term (your words) than "artificial intelligence"? > 2. https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/algorithm https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/algorithm Do you have a point here? Whatever you think it is, you're not making it—you're making my case. Social media companies' "algorithms" aren't algorithms.
    - Dalewyn 2y ago
      >AI is artificial intelligence. AI is artificial intelligence, "AI" is artificial but it's not intelligence. ChatGPT, Gemini, Stable Diffusion, LLAMA, et al. are not AI, they are "AI". >Do you have a point here? ... Social media companies' "algorithms" aren't algorithms. Social media run on servers, servers run software, software is quite literally "a procedure for solving a mathematical problem in a finite number of steps that frequently involves repetition of an operation" and "a step-by-step procedure for solving a problem or accomplishing some end" Please come back when you at least have a basic understanding of how computers work.