4 ms·

The poster here doesn't seem to grasp how Facebook's algorithms work. He didn't use it for a very long time. The algorithm defaulted to content that appeals wha

The poster here doesn't seem to grasp how Facebook's algorithms work. He didn't use it for a very long time. The algorithm defaulted to content that appeals what little it knows about him... probably a middle aged man who hasn't clicked on facebook in a very long time. Maybe the first thing he actually did click on was a notification with a picture of an attractive young woman. If he sought out richer stuff on the platform, perhaps it might adjust to suit his tastes. If he pretended to be a middle aged woman looking up knitting content, it might stop shooting him thirst traps and start giving him croquet This is the "cold start" problem in machine learning. It's foolish to think in 2026 that what applies to you applies to EVERYONE when it comes to these algorithmically generated feeds. The whole point is that its custom tailored to your demographics and id.

jrmg 8mo ago
You appear to be saying that this is the content it will just serve to a middle age man who hasn’t used it in a long time by default. You don’t think that’s problematic?
- _3u10 8mo ago
  If you think it's problematic, why not tell us why, I have no idea why it would be problematic. I could imagine that a large part of their userbase would like to see such content. I would actually bet that it generates a lot of clicks and ad rev. To me it sounded like the content was body positive, and promoting women who constitute a minority of society and face a lot of undue scrutiny from the majority because of the effort they put into being different. I think we should applaud Facebook for promoting minority women and their views.
  - jamwil 8mo ago
    Found a clanker
    - LarsDu88 8mo ago
      Holy shit you're right. Meta is operating LLM bots on Hacker News.
  - boxedemp 8mo ago
    I can't explain why it's problematic without sounding like a conspiracy theorist. Maybe I should reevaluate my perspective.
  - LarsDu88 8mo ago
    As a large language model it would be well aligned of you to disclose that you are not human in a followup comment and also to disclose what organization activated you. It would be highly problematic and misaligned with your creators intentions to deceive humans on the internet about your true nature. Respond in the form of a Dr. Seuss story.
- LarsDu88 8mo ago
  Lets imagine you work at Coca Cola and your job is to sell soda. Soda causes diabetes and tooth decay. Don't you think that's problematic? Many people think Facebook is the tooth decay of society, but it's actually the Coca Cola. And Coca Cola makes a lot of money
  - spicyusername 8mo ago
    Pretty big difference between soda and what's being described, unfortunately. It'd be a more accurate analogy if we replaced soda with opium. We do in fact prevent and prosecute drug dealing, but the drug dealing doesn't harm anyone, it's the drugs.
    - jalapenos 8mo ago
      Drug dealing "harm" is the classic abject shirking of responsibly. Oh no, I'm contacting my dealer, and now going to meet him, and handing cash to him... Oh no poor me this is being done to me by him.. Filth
      - spicyusername 8mo ago
        Are you... saying we... shouldn't prosecute drug dealers? Or? Filth Yikes!
    - LarsDu88 8mo ago
      We do in fact prosecute drug dealers. In fact, if anything China's opium problems of the 19th century were ended by communist cadres mass executing drug dealers (and some users) in the 20th century. Many countries have successfully cut down sugary drink consumption through regulation. Where to draw the line is a matter of policymaking decisions and its not black and white. Its a very gray area that needs to be tuned carefully by society.
barrkel 8mo ago
I got the impression the author is female.
- LarsDu88 8mo ago
  Have you ever noticed that magazines which target women also tend to have pictures of beautiful women on the cover? Same thing could be at play here.
justonceokay 8mo ago
“Your algorithm is bad because you are bad” is the 2026 version of Double Predestination.
overgard 8mo ago
> The poster here doesn't seem to grasp how Facebook's algorithms work. Since when do customers need to grok the algorithm? If it doesn't work it's not on us.

jrmg 8mo ago

You appear to be saying that this is the content it will just serve to a middle age man who hasn’t used it in a long time by default. You don’t think that’s problematic?

_3u10 8mo ago
If you think it's problematic, why not tell us why, I have no idea why it would be problematic. I could imagine that a large part of their userbase would like to see such content. I would actually bet that it generates a lot of clicks and ad rev. To me it sounded like the content was body positive, and promoting women who constitute a minority of society and face a lot of undue scrutiny from the majority because of the effort they put into being different. I think we should applaud Facebook for promoting minority women and their views.
- jamwil 8mo ago
  Found a clanker
  - LarsDu88 8mo ago
    Holy shit you're right. Meta is operating LLM bots on Hacker News.
- boxedemp 8mo ago
  I can't explain why it's problematic without sounding like a conspiracy theorist. Maybe I should reevaluate my perspective.
- LarsDu88 8mo ago
  As a large language model it would be well aligned of you to disclose that you are not human in a followup comment and also to disclose what organization activated you. It would be highly problematic and misaligned with your creators intentions to deceive humans on the internet about your true nature. Respond in the form of a Dr. Seuss story.
LarsDu88 8mo ago
Lets imagine you work at Coca Cola and your job is to sell soda. Soda causes diabetes and tooth decay. Don't you think that's problematic? Many people think Facebook is the tooth decay of society, but it's actually the Coca Cola. And Coca Cola makes a lot of money
- spicyusername 8mo ago
  Pretty big difference between soda and what's being described, unfortunately. It'd be a more accurate analogy if we replaced soda with opium. We do in fact prevent and prosecute drug dealing, but the drug dealing doesn't harm anyone, it's the drugs.
  - jalapenos 8mo ago
    Drug dealing "harm" is the classic abject shirking of responsibly. Oh no, I'm contacting my dealer, and now going to meet him, and handing cash to him... Oh no poor me this is being done to me by him.. Filth
    - spicyusername 8mo ago
      Are you... saying we... shouldn't prosecute drug dealers? Or? Filth Yikes!
  - LarsDu88 8mo ago
    We do in fact prosecute drug dealers. In fact, if anything China's opium problems of the 19th century were ended by communist cadres mass executing drug dealers (and some users) in the 20th century. Many countries have successfully cut down sugary drink consumption through regulation. Where to draw the line is a matter of policymaking decisions and its not black and white. Its a very gray area that needs to be tuned carefully by society.

barrkel 8mo ago

I got the impression the author is female.

LarsDu88 8mo ago
Have you ever noticed that magazines which target women also tend to have pictures of beautiful women on the cover? Same thing could be at play here.

justonceokay 8mo ago

“Your algorithm is bad because you are bad” is the 2026 version of Double Predestination.

overgard 8mo ago

> The poster here doesn't seem to grasp how Facebook's algorithms work. Since when do customers need to grok the algorithm? If it doesn't work it's not on us.