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Why is Google still serving dodgy ads?

atomic14.com

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Re: Why is Google still serving dodgy ads?

#2
I have two guesses why Google does this:

1) Google wants the most money, so they don't care to let dodgy ads thru.

2) There are more ads going out then can be reviewed, so they would rather have people report them, then they automatically reject the report until enough people report it, then an actual person may review it.

As to why Google doesn't use AI to review them? Google would rather use the AI in a way that makes them more money, than review ads and if AI decides to take them down then that's less money for Google.

(To be clear: I don't work for Google in any way, these are just my guesses)

Re: Why is Google still serving dodgy ads?

#5

My father saw a similar ad and got worried. The ad said you need to update your pdf version immediately. He uninstalled the YouTube because he knew it was irregular and thought his phone was hacked.

If everyone was as cautious as your father, Google would have no choice but to improve the quality of their service.

Re: Why is Google still serving dodgy ads?

#6
I suspect this boils down to a cost/benefit tradeoff.

The cost of strictly enforcing stated rules for ads is felt immediately and fully by Google. It is concrete, measurable, and probably non-insignificant; the benefit is essentially goodwill from the narrow sliver of the web that is verbal about this. That is intangible, difficult to measure, even harder to assign a reasonable dollar value to (meaning the ROI could look negative), and the benefit would accrue to parties other than Google who might not even notice.

Re: Why is Google still serving dodgy ads?

#7

I have two guesses why Google does this: 1) Google wants the most money, so they don't care to let dodgy ads thru. 2) There are more ads going out then can be reviewed, so they would rather have people report them, then they automatically reject the report until enough people report it, then an actual person may review it. As to why Google doesn't use AI to review them? Google would rather use the AI in a way that ma…

using AI to review ads costs basically nothing for Google

I would say it's just because there's no incentive to do anything unless a huge media storm breaks out or something.

turning a blind eye to this stuff probably makes them good money

Re: Why is Google still serving dodgy ads?

#8

I have two guesses why Google does this: 1) Google wants the most money, so they don't care to let dodgy ads thru. 2) There are more ads going out then can be reviewed, so they would rather have people report them, then they automatically reject the report until enough people report it, then an actual person may review it. As to why Google doesn't use AI to review them? Google would rather use the AI in a way that ma…

Someone should ask them: if Gemini can’t evaluate this at scale then why should I use it for my enterprise?

Re: Why is Google still serving dodgy ads?

#9
post #7

I have two guesses why Google does this: 1) Google wants the most money, so they don't care to let dodgy ads thru. 2) There are more ads going out then can be reviewed, so they would rather have people report them, then they automatically reject the report until enough people report it, then an actual person may review it. As to why Google doesn't use AI to review them? Google would rather use the AI in a way that ma…

using AI to review ads costs basically nothing for Google I would say it's just because there's no incentive to do anything unless a huge media storm breaks out or something. turning a blind eye to this stuff probably makes them good money

If they reject more ads they get less money.

Re: Why is Google still serving dodgy ads?

#10
Keep up these efforts to name and shame. If Google won’t act on these things because it doesn’t make them money, because they are unregulated, or because they are lazy, they might because it still cuts their credibility and reputation. Especially here on HN where Google is no longer considered such a darling by developers and thinkers.
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