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Afraid to Google a thing because I don't want the algorithm to think I like it

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Re: Afraid to Google a thing because I don't want the algorithm to think I like it

#81

Post by solarkraft »

I like recommendation features in principle. I don’t want an unfiltered feed of stuff.

It would just be nice if they were configurable, understandable and actually worked for me. Some systems’ “We’re showing you this because ...” is an important first step, but it needs to go way, way, further.

Big companies probably don’t do it because they’re afraid of overwhelming a user, disclosing too much about their own algorithm and the things they know (“We’re showing you this because someone you hung out with on Instagram just before you met”).

Thus it’s probably up to open source projects again to make algorithms that actually work for people, not against them.

Are there any such projects already? Are there projects trying to dissect common proprietary recommendation systems? They’re some of the most mysterious influences on current society.

Re: Afraid to Google a thing because I don't want the algorithm to think I like it

#82

Post by spamalot159 »

werid wrote: post #20

It's annoying clicking some youtube link only to find it was something you really don't want more of, and then youtube proceed to recommend much more of it, even though you barely watched any of it. kinda forces me to watch something else that is new but at least somewhat wanted in an attempt to make the algorithm look at the new shiny i'm interested in and forget the previous one. i find it funny though when amazon…

It's frustrating that nowadays YouTube seems like it can only keep 3 or 4 types of videos that you like in its head. I feel like I'm watching the same thing over and over whenever I click on recommendations. I totally agree with you.

Re: Afraid to Google a thing because I don't want the algorithm to think I like it

#83

Post by dvfjsdhgfv »

smichel17 wrote: post #63
alpaca128 wrote: post #27

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What if it's from a channel I like but don't want to watch that one video...will clicking on this reduce suggestions from this channel, will it do nothing, will it unsubscribe me from that channel(as has happened in the past), ...? Nobody knows, I only know I don't want to play this game.

Use Firefox multi-account containers and the temporary containers add-on. Now your YouTube starts fresh with every new tab. It's actually nice, it means you get to build a new set of recommendations each time you open a tab, and because YT doesn't have that much data on you yet, the recommendations are directly linked to the thing you're currently watching, similar to how it used to be before the whole tracking extra…

More or less. Sadly, they still suggest a ton of stuff based on geolocation.

Re: Afraid to Google a thing because I don't want the algorithm to think I like it

#84

Post by marrs »

HKH2 wrote: post #71
nvilcins wrote: post #67

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think your comment better applies to the tweet being referred to, though, not sure "ad hominem" extends to a group of unspecified people.

I can't see why stereotyping (especially that which is uncharitable) shouldn't be classed as an ad hominem attack.

Is observing that someone conforms to a stereotype the same as stereotyping them though?

Re: Afraid to Google a thing because I don't want the algorithm to think I like it

#85

Post by justwalt »

aulin wrote: post #66
LudwigNagasena wrote: post #9

Even in a tweet about algorithms the guy can’t help but dunk on men to show what a nice guy he is.

I had a good laugh because that's actually a comment against the mansplaining common narrative, people will jump to explain things everytime they feel it's easy to add their contribute, being the audience a woman or a random guy on the internet or anyone they perceive weak enough to be a good target to show off their knowledge and skills

I think that’s a really cynical way to look at it, especially when the explanations are public. People can explain things to others without there being a hidden power dynamic.

Re: Afraid to Google a thing because I don't want the algorithm to think I like it

#86

Post by dvfjsdhgfv »

krono wrote: post #58

It's so weird, across all Google's products I occasionally get these weird Arabic and sometimes even Islamic content suggestions. I've never opened any of these links, am not behind a VPN, am very much not Arabic and do not understand the language, and - with all due respect - am completely uninterested in Islamic holy scripture. Why, even after all these years, Google thinks this is content I'd want to see is a comp…

I can think of several explanations. The least likely is that for some reason your IP (or one of the IPs) is misattributed to another country by their geolocation mapping system. Another is that some of your property have been used by an Arab (you bough a second-hand device, lost a phone etc). More probably ones: one of your devices might have been infected or you might have clicked an ad that was disguised by something else but was linked to products/services offered in Arabic.

Re: Afraid to Google a thing because I don't want the algorithm to think I like it

#87

Post by throwaway82003 »

crispyambulance wrote: post #29

I don't know how common this is, but I've gotten into the habit of creating "personas"-- different users that have different habits and are interested in different things, yet all me. It's insane that I feel it helpful to take on "multiple personalities", but there it is. Part of it is that these algorithms are fairly one-track. They can mix it up a bit, but it's always too much of one thing and too little of another…

On desktop Firefox has Multi Account Containers and Profiles.

https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/containers

https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/profile-manager-create-...

Re: Afraid to Google a thing because I don't want the algorithm to think I like it

#88

Post by skrebbel »

KozmoNau7 wrote: post #80
skrebbel wrote: post #35

I'm mildly curious about the whole Jordan Peterson anti-woke movement. Mildly, as in, I'm interested in the arguments but I often don't agree with them. I once made the mistake of clicking on a Peterson YouTube video and subsequently got only obscene alt-right "Peterson KILLS stupid feminist reporter!!" type of edited content. Like at some point 80% of my suggestions was crap like that, drowning out all the lovely ne…

It's a consequence of the algorithm optimizing for engagement. YT obviously wants people to stay for as long as possible, to interact, write comments, upvote/downvote and follow the chain of recommended videos. The longer they stay on YT and the more content the consume, the more ads YT can show and the more money they make. Anti-woke/alt-right type content is provocative, controversial and makes people engage with.…

> And the people who are into it are generally really into it, so they'll keep watching hour after hour of it.

Maybe that's the effect and not the cause.

Re: Afraid to Google a thing because I don't want the algorithm to think I like it

#89

Post by lehi »

stephc_int13 wrote: post #18
Garlef wrote: post #11

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I tried it and went back to google because google saves me time. As a dev, I google a lot to figure out how to do X. My experience with DuckDuckGo was that it added 2-10 minutes of filtering for usable results every time.

I am using DuckDuckGo and my experience is completely different, but I might be missing something. Do you have an example of a search you've done where the results were much better from Google Search than from DuckDuckGo?

> Do you have an example of a search you've done where the results were much better from Google Search than from DuckDuckGo?

Here you go: https://imgur.com/a/CssDXS3

Re: Afraid to Google a thing because I don't want the algorithm to think I like it

#90

Post by Mordisquitos »

dvfjsdhgfv wrote: post #79
Mordisquitos wrote: post #73

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The best way of not playing this game is to, well... not play it. Why should you pay any attention to what YouTube "suggests" you should watch? I just treat YouTube as a service that hosts videos, with a mediocre search feature, and I have no interest in what it thinks I should watch. If a real human mentions a video that piques my interest, I may watch it. If I'm interested in finding a video on a particular topic,…

> Why should you pay any attention to what YouTube "suggests" you should watch? There is one advantage: some obscure music videos. There are some rare pearls with the comments section almost exclusively thanking YT algorithm for taking them there. Happened to me so many times that I have a separate browser instance and a Google account for YT and I'm very careful what I click when I use it.

True, you do have a point there. I'll admit I have discovered a few bands/musicians by just leaving YouTube on autoplay, after having searched for specific artists I already knew to concentrate while working (before lo-fi hip hop was trending!).
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