Was this Google Executive deeply misinformed or lying in the New York Times?
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Re: Was this Google Executive deeply misinformed or lying in the New York Times?
#2> YouTube is using machine learning to pump pollution into society. From my TEDx talk.
Ok, but I can't take TED-related content seriously either. At least YT has some redeeming content.
Re: Was this Google Executive deeply misinformed or lying in the New York Times?
#3The way Youtube suggests videos has been borked in favor of sensationalism and popularity for a while now. It used to be if you were watching "Cooking Steak Part 2" the first suggested video was "Cooking Steak part 3" and the second suggested video was "Cooking Steak Part 1" and the third suggestion was "Cooking Chicken Part 1". Now it's a dead guarantee that not only will the suggested videos not be the next one in the sequence, it won't have anything to do with what I'm currently watching. It's utterly worthless.
Re: Was this Google Executive deeply misinformed or lying in the New York Times?
#4Furthermore, why didn't NYT do more research into whether the executive's statements were actually truthful? They've extensively investigated other tech companies, but I've found their reporting on Google to be lackluster by comparison.
Re: Was this Google Executive deeply misinformed or lying in the New York Times?
#5For someone so pissed off about what they perceive as misinformation, there are simple facts here that are just false.
"As background, Mohan first began working in the internet ad industry in 1997 at DoubleClick, which was aquired by Google for $3.1 billion in 2008. Mohan then served as SVP of display and video ads for Google for 7 years, before switching into the role of Chief Product Officer for Google’s YouTube."
Err when Google closed DoubleClick, he was " Product Management Director for Ad Serving, reporting to Susan Wojcicki, VP of Product Management." Not a senior exec, not "SVP of display and video ads".
He was promoted to VP in 2009, and SVP in late 2015. I'm too lazy to look up when the other job titles switched.
Seriously, this stuff is just not hard to get right, and if you are going to take someone else to task for misinformation, why are you not doing everything in your power to get it right (especially since this person seems to believe it's so easy).
My best guess is she grabbed this stuff off a linkedin profile or something without bothering to actually try to verify it (which you should, since lots of people only list the job title they left with, not what they had).
I haven't bothered to fact check the rest of the claims, and the article is otherwise interesting, but seriously.
If you are going to try to run someone down, can you at least bother to get the data right?
Is this really the best we can do?
Re: Was this Google Executive deeply misinformed or lying in the New York Times?
#6I just found this recommended video on my YouTube app homepage: https://youtu.be/WpMRV0r08CI
Uploading channel has 2667 subscribers (I’m not one of them), has only ever uploaded 5 videos, starting about a month ago. All videos are of the same topic. 4 of the videos have views in the low thousands. The recommended one has 2 million.
Content wise, the video is 2:27 long, unedited fixed cam footage. It is true to the title and delivers on its promise.
I have nothing further to add.
Re: Was this Google Executive deeply misinformed or lying in the New York Times?
#7does the author just have a problem with "autoplay" vs the user clicking on the videos?
i had to read over halfway just to find out what the google exec said. here is the quote of contention, i think
"“I’m not saying that a user couldn’t click on one of those videos that are quote-unquote more extreme, consume that and then get another set of recommendations and sort of keep moving in one path or the other. All I’m saying is that it’s not inevitable.”"
Re: Was this Google Executive deeply misinformed or lying in the New York Times?
#8Gamers with a taste for multi-hour reactionary rants over still images leave them playing while they game with the sound off. If you're trying to maximize time spent watching, the current situation is an inevitability.
Re: Was this Google Executive deeply misinformed or lying in the New York Times?
#9Except... Have it been shown that Google did take action to change their algorithms to describe misinformation, at the cost of a stock market hit in January when they showed it decreased watch time?
I can't figure out what the author is complaining about. They obviously are doing something, enough for it to hurt their own bottom line.
Re: Was this Google Executive deeply misinformed or lying in the New York Times?
#10Is there some specific factual claim that the author believes was false, or does "lying" just refer to framing the issue differently than she'd prefer?