Remix.run Logo
CGMthrowaway 6 hours ago

A recommender engine that tries to capture and sustain attention in 1-2 second intervals, what else would you call it?

The traditional answer is "engagement," but there is a strong argument to me made that intentional engagement (engagement by conscious, willful choice) is not possible, repetitively, for a vast smorgasbord of content spinning by at short intervals

jeffbee 6 hours ago | parent [-]

[flagged]

alt227 5 hours ago | parent | next [-]

If you are somebody who does not have the willpower to stop themselves during an onslaught of 'things you want to see', it can be very damaging.

otterley 5 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

You make it sound as though it’s completely harmless. Is there not a single personal or societal harm you can imagine to having videos attuned to your interests constantly being fed to you?

“We see that you’re slightly conservative. Next up: a Nazi sympathizer video! Enjoy your ragebait!”

SpicyLemonZest 5 hours ago | parent [-]

I can imagine harms like that, absolutely. If I ran Youtube I'd work much harder to evict Nazi sympathizers and avoid ideological rabbitholes. But it's legal to broadcast things that will convince people of terrible ideas.

What I don't find plausible is the specific kind of harm alleged in the case discussed in the source article, where having videos attuned to your interests constantly fed to you causes you to become depressed and suicidal.

otterley 4 hours ago | parent | next [-]

It might help you understand if you have a preteen or teenage daughter. They are extremely self conscious, prone to humiliation, have a very narrow view of the world, and don’t have all the rational capabilities of an adult.

SpicyLemonZest 4 hours ago | parent [-]

I'm open to the possibility that I'm missing some key insight and if I ever do have a daughter I'll understand. But I think we also have to be open to the opposite possibility, that we don't like to see preteens and teenagers hurt so deeply and are highly motivated to search around for a structural lever we can pull to stop it from happening.

otterley 3 hours ago | parent [-]

Those don't sound like opposites? I think those can both be true at once.

Devasta 4 hours ago | parent | prev [-]

> What I don't find plausible is the specific kind of harm alleged in the case discussed in the source article, where having videos attuned to your interests constantly fed to you causes you to become depressed and suicidal.

Why couldn't it?

Start with funny videos, like clips of animals doing silly things.

Then have the occasional cringy video of a person being funny but slightly cringe in there, something akin to you've been framed.

Then have people who are being cringe but its carefully framed, a well edited video of some left wing student pushing for a policy but in a clumsy way, being embarrassing the way all teenagers are.

After a while longer, your feed is nothing but clips of BEN SHAPIRO PUBLICALLY EXECUTES THIS SOCIAL JUSTIC WARRIOR ON THE ALTAR OF FACTS AND LOGIC.

BEN SHAPIRO CLIP COMPILATION - OWNS THIS TRANS ACTIVIST- FACTS DON'T CARE ABOUT YOUR FEELINGS!

Then you suddenly are getting people talking about their concerns™ about trans people in sports, how there might be unaddressed issues, and then Helen Joyce and the like are appearing in your feed, sounding calm and reasonable while they politely and civilly discuss how all trans people are inherently vile sexual predators engaged in a global conspiracy to sterilize your children.

More and more right wing content, drip drip drip, absolutely no one step that is that distinguishable from the previous, until eventually your feed is nothing but Q-Anon if you are lucky, and outright Nazism if not.

SpicyLemonZest 4 hours ago | parent [-]

Not sure I follow. I don't think that turning someone into a Ben Shapiro or Helen Joyce fan causes them to become depressed and suicidal.

pixl97 5 hours ago | parent | prev [-]

I mean I want to feel good all the time, that doesn't mean shooting up heroin is a good idea.