On Safer Internet Day 2024, Vodafone released a new film ‘The Rise of the Aggro-rithm’ to highlight the harmful AI algorithms targeting Britain’s teen and tween boys.
YouTube is really bad with this. My algorithm’s “vibes” is leftist/queer video essays, urbanist content, and bestofs/clips from video game streamers.
Yet YouTube unironically and regularly puts Andrew Tate’s ugly-ass mug next to Alexander Avilla and I’m just like what the actual fuck. Of the young male population I’m probably in the top 1 % least likely to click on that shit.
Hanlon’s razor says this is just the shorts algorithm being insanely stupid (which it also is in other ways). But this is beyond a simple mishap, it is an incredibly dangerous and damaging ideology being (accidentally or not) sanctioned and pushed by YouTube onto impressionable youths. How is no-one freaking out about this?? (It’s a rhethortical question. The answer is it serves the interests of the patriarchy).
It’s not the algorithm being stupid. It’s the algorithm only personalizing a limited number of things. The optimal solution is to yet people stuck on things that are proven sticky, so after a few videos, they basically always start offering up bullshit that aggros people.
It just happens faster on short, because videos are like a minute long, not 15.
I am the same. At this point I hardly believe it’s a mishap. IMO the fascists are manipulating the algorithms, or they pay to promote them, or the platform favors them.
I can see a propaganda structure working to manipulate the algorithm or pay to get them better ranked. But I can also see the platforms, Facebook, Google, etc, to favor them intently.
I’d argue that a lot of content on YouTube is much more interesting and clic worthy that the mysoginistic crap they force feed us with.
YouTube is really bad with this. My algorithm’s “vibes” is leftist/queer video essays, urbanist content, and bestofs/clips from video game streamers.
Yet YouTube unironically and regularly puts Andrew Tate’s ugly-ass mug next to Alexander Avilla and I’m just like what the actual fuck. Of the young male population I’m probably in the top 1 % least likely to click on that shit.
Hanlon’s razor says this is just the shorts algorithm being insanely stupid (which it also is in other ways). But this is beyond a simple mishap, it is an incredibly dangerous and damaging ideology being (accidentally or not) sanctioned and pushed by YouTube onto impressionable youths. How is no-one freaking out about this?? (It’s a rhethortical question. The answer is it serves the interests of the patriarchy).
It’s not the algorithm being stupid. It’s the algorithm only personalizing a limited number of things. The optimal solution is to yet people stuck on things that are proven sticky, so after a few videos, they basically always start offering up bullshit that aggros people.
It just happens faster on short, because videos are like a minute long, not 15.
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I am the same. At this point I hardly believe it’s a mishap. IMO the fascists are manipulating the algorithms, or they pay to promote them, or the platform favors them.
I can see a propaganda structure working to manipulate the algorithm or pay to get them better ranked. But I can also see the platforms, Facebook, Google, etc, to favor them intently.
I’d argue that a lot of content on YouTube is much more interesting and clic worthy that the mysoginistic crap they force feed us with.