zlacker

[parent] [thread] 7 comments
1. ilikeh+(OP)[view] [source] 2019-06-14 18:52:24
Yes. Elsagate is an example - the creepy computer-generated violent and disturbing videos that eventually follow children's content - or the fact that just about every gaming-related video has a recommendation for an far-right rant against feminism or a Ben Shapiro screaming segment. There's also the Amazon problem - where everything related to the thing you watched once out of curiosity follows you everywhere around the site.
replies(2): >>jasode+N >>sorenn+Q
2. jasode+N[view] [source] 2019-06-14 18:56:55
>>ilikeh+(OP)
>Elsagate is an example,

Yes, I was aware of Elsagate.[0] I don't play games so didn't realize every gaming video ends up with unwanted far-right and Ben Shapiro videos.

I guess I should have clarified my question. I thought gp's "unhealthy" meant Youtube's algorithm was bad for somebody like me that views mainstream non-controversial videos. (Analogy might be gp (rspeer) warning me that abestos and lead paint is actually cancerous but public doesn't know it.)

[0] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=20090157

replies(3): >>ilikeh+n1 >>Reedx+j2 >>nostra+I6
3. sorenn+Q[view] [source] 2019-06-14 18:57:04
>>ilikeh+(OP)
Isn't that an inevitable side effect of collaborative filtering? If companies could do content based-recommendation, wouldn't they? Until purely content based recommendations are possible, wisdom of the crowds via collaborative filtering will lump together videos that are about different things but watched by similar viewers.
◧◩
4. ilikeh+n1[view] [source] [discussion] 2019-06-14 19:00:24
>>jasode+N
Some of the child comments of your thread mention the nazi problem.
replies(1): >>jasode+92
◧◩◪
5. jasode+92[view] [source] [discussion] 2019-06-14 19:06:12
>>ilikeh+n1
But that child comment didn't link Nazis to normal "video games". I assumed he just meant some folks (e.g. "1.8%" of web surfers) with the predilection for far-right videos would get more Nazi recommendations. Well yes, I would have expected the algorithm to feed more of what they seemed to like.

I do not see any Nazi far-right videos in 1.8% of my recommendations ever.

◧◩
6. Reedx+j2[view] [source] [discussion] 2019-06-14 19:07:23
>>jasode+N
> I don't play games so didn't realize every gaming video ends up with unwanted far-right and Ben Shapiro videos.

They don't. That's confirmation bias at work.

replies(1): >>smt88+u4
◧◩◪
7. smt88+u4[view] [source] [discussion] 2019-06-14 19:23:57
>>Reedx+j2
It's not 100%, but I'd consider "video games" => "Ben Shapiro" to be a pretty awful recommendation system, regardless of the reasoning behind it. As far as I know, the group "video gamers" doesn't have a political lean in either direction.

I've definitely seen this with comics. I watched a few videos criticizing Avengers: Infinity War, and now I see mostly Ben Shapiro recs. It makes no sense. I never have (and never plan to) seek out political content on YouTube.

◧◩
8. nostra+I6[view] [source] [discussion] 2019-06-14 19:38:40
>>jasode+N
I watch a number of gaming videos and have never had a far-right video recommended. Don't know who Ben Shapiro is.

It could be the type of games involved, since I usually watch strategy, 4x, city-building, and military sims. I usually get history-channel documentaries or "here's how urban planning works in the real world" videos recommended, which suits me fine. Somebody whose gaming preferences involve killing Nazis in a WW2-era FPS might be more likely to get videos that have neo-Nazis suggesting we kill people.

[go to top]