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Personalizing my MacBook OS should be like personalizing my car while personalizing Netflix/Amazon etc should be like me expecting my local Walmart and Target to let me personalize their store. Is that a fair comparison?

discuss

zuminator|4 years ago

The article isn't demanding that services be personalized. It's just saying that if they are going to personalize things, the user should have control over it, and not some obscure algorithm. It's like if you walked into Target and everything on the main floor was orange juice and socks because you happened to buy OJ and socks on your last visit. And every time you went back to Target, the shelves would be completely rearranged based upon your previous purchases. That's great if you buy the same 3 or 4 things every time. But then one day you go in there looking for a jumper for a nephew, and there's no discrete boys' section because it doesn't fit your single childless demographic. Just rows and rows of orange juice, and also apple juice which you hate, but it 94% matches your predicted preferences.

Schroedingersat|4 years ago

Walmart doesn't rearrange its shelves when you start heading there. Everyone gets the same experience.

The insidious part is shaping your world based on what is known of you in an attempt to modify your behavior without telling you why or how. It is not dissimilar to gaslighting.

shukantpal|4 years ago

I don't think so. Based on this article, Netflix is also forcing pixels on their screen to be color black -- and I want them to be green.

perihelions|4 years ago

uBlock filters can do that, e.g. something like:

    netflix.com##:xpath(//div):style(background-color: green !important)

https://github.com/gorhill/uBlock/wiki/Static-filter-syntax#...

ImaCake|4 years ago

There are extensions to get around this for any webpage. I use https://darkreader.org/ but there are others too.