The YouTube recommendation system is optimized to direct all users toward pools of content that have the highest amount of watch time. The AI has learned about various paths that get users to watch for longer amounts of time. One of those paths is right-wing polemics. Another path is, say, makeup tutorials. It's not inherently political. Purely by its own machine learning, the YouTube algorithm becomes sophisticated…
> One of those paths is right-wing polemics.
Agreed completely. Uh… is it your thought that they do not employ left-wing polemics for precisely the same reason?
For what it’s worth, I also have YouTube Premium and watch a lot of gun content and conservative political content on YouTube, and I don’t think I’ve ever been recommended any sort of explicitly anti-Semitic or neo-Nazi content. I do suspect that the recommendation algorithm for Premium is slightly different and perhaps more favorable to gun content. Pretty much all gun content is demonetized, and anything that’s dem…
Same exactly. I have a very specific question for you. I made the mistake of back in 2016 of watching some Jordan Peterson videos (mostly kidding about the word mistake, but read on). I enjoyed them and moved on. Ever since then YouTube has been obsessed with recommending Jordan Peterson videos to me even though I haven’t watched one in ages. Have you had this issue by any chance?
For what it’s worth, I also have YouTube Premium and watch a lot of gun content and conservative political content on YouTube, and I don’t think I’ve ever been recommended any sort of explicitly anti-Semitic or neo-Nazi content. I do suspect that the recommendation algorithm for Premium is slightly different and perhaps more favorable to gun content. Pretty much all gun content is demonetized, and anything that’s dem…
Same exactly. I have a very specific question for you. I made the mistake of back in 2016 of watching some Jordan Peterson videos (mostly kidding about the word mistake, but read on). I enjoyed them and moved on. Ever since then YouTube has been obsessed with recommending Jordan Peterson videos to me even though I haven’t watched one in ages. Have you had this issue by any chance?
I went through a Jordan Peterson phase maybe a little later than you, but I don’t get a lot of JBP recommendations anymore. When I look at the recommendations I do get, though, it’s generally content I’ve engaged with more frequently and recently. Though I probably watch more YouTube than any other video content overall, so maybe that’s a reason why. (I feel a little sheepish admitting that, but I honestly shouldn’t because there’s a lot of good content.)
Same exactly. I have a very specific question for you. I made the mistake of back in 2016 of watching some Jordan Peterson videos (mostly kidding about the word mistake, but read on). I enjoyed them and moved on. Ever since then YouTube has been obsessed with recommending Jordan Peterson videos to me even though I haven’t watched one in ages. Have you had this issue by any chance?
I went through a Jordan Peterson phase maybe a little later than you, but I don’t get a lot of JBP recommendations anymore. When I look at the recommendations I do get, though, it’s generally content I’ve engaged with more frequently and recently. Though I probably watch more YouTube than any other video content overall, so maybe that’s a reason why. (I feel a little sheepish admitting that, but I honestly shouldn’t…
Thanks. I'm getting slightly obsessed as to why YouTube thinks I'm obsessed :O