On My Love/Hate With Algorithms

Is there anything more aggravating in content services today than their algorithms?

I’m thinking in particular about YouTube and Spotify right now, both of which seem to be relentlessly focused on serving more of the same thing you consumed and nothing new. The Spotify AI DJ should be one of the greatest features and best uses of AI, but instead, every time I load it, it goes right back to “here’s what you’ve been listening to recently”, no matter how many times I try to coach it into things I haven’t heard.

And YouTube, oh YouTube. Simultaneously the greatest educational resource ever created but also constantly pushing creators to out slop-cannon TikTok. I just came across a video today from Vancouver Carpenter (possibly the best content on how to do drywall well) talking about why he gave up doing YouTube to go back to construction. Tldr: it sucks to live your life managed by an algorithm.

Of course there’s a reason the platforms do this, it is the revealed preference of most users. We may complain about the absurd thumbnails and clickbait titles on YouTube, but guess what, they work! Users don’t just click into the videos with higher frequencies when you play those games, they actually watch more of the videos too.

Beyond not getting what I want though, the worst part is that it just makes me feel bad about using these platforms. I feel gross and like I don’t want to reward the behavior by clicking into a video that I otherwise want to see. I want to uninstall YouTube from my phone so I’m not tempted to click, but for the times I actually need to watch something (like how to fix something on my tractor) it’s a way better experience than through the mobile browser.

Not to sound too boomer, but damn do I want to go back to moments like this - shared experiences where I’m actually fully present in the moment. I just don’t want to have to also give up the convenience and joy these devices and services bring me in my every day life to do.

As I said, love/hate.