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m1sta_ | 2 years ago

The issue wasn't the analytics either. The issue was the engagement algorithms and lack of accountability. Those problems still exist today.

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TeMPOraL|2 years ago

So as usual, the exploitative agents get to destroy the commons and come out on top.

We need to figure out how to target the malicious individuals and groups instead of getting creeped out by them to the point of destroying most of the so praised democratizing of computing. Between this and locking down the local desktop and mobile software and hardware, we've never got to having the promised "bicycle for the mind".

fallingknife|2 years ago

And what kind of accountability is that? An engagement algorithm is a simple thing that gives people more of what they want. It just turns out that what we want is a lot more negative than most people are willing to admit to themselves.

Applejinx|2 years ago

I would rephrase that to 'what we predictably respond to'.

You can legitimately claim that people respond in a very striking and predictable way to being set on fire, and even find ways to exploit this behavior for your benefit somehow, and it still doesn't make setting people on fire a net benefit or a service to them in any way.

Just because you can condition an intelligent organism in a certain way doesn't make that become a desirable outcome. Maybe you're identifying a doomsday switch, an exploit in the code that resists patching and bricks the machine. If you successfully do that, it's very much on you whether you make the logical leap to 'therefore we must apply this as hard as possible!'

clippyplz|2 years ago

Engagement can be quite unrelated to what people like. A well crafted troll comment will draw tons of engagement, not because people like it.