this post was submitted on 16 Jan 2025
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Algorithms done right are useful. Make sure things that are likely important to be bubble to the top. I don't have time to read/watch it all, so prioritize the important things for me.
Done right is the hard part. It is too easy to prioritize memes that make people angry even though if you really investigate you discover that while there is a little truth it is grossly exaggerated and whoever is being mocked isn't that stupid - because things that make people mad tend to get attention.
The algorithm really needs a "there is plenty more but you have seen all the important stuff - go outside and do something" after I've seen what is important. Of course it then needs a "but I'm currently confined to a hospital bed so just show me something so I'm not bored out of my mind". The likes of facebook of course cannot allow such a thing as once you stop scrolling their ad revenue is gone. However that is what the world needs.
The problem isn’t the algorithm just because it’s an algorithm, even chronological sort is technically an algoritim.
The problem is closed source algorithms with no user choice that implement dark patterns and other addictive and psychologically abusive tactics to make users engage with their app as much as possible
I don’t personally have any issue with algorithms - they work quite well for me, though it does require some active management. For example, if I watch one or two 30-second videos on YouTube, it quickly starts recommending more, which quickly floods my feed. However, when I start ignoring those recommendations, despite the temptation to click, the algorithm eventually stops pushing them and shifts back to suggesting accurately tailored, long-form content that genuinely interests me. The same goes for using the “not interested” button. This aligns with my experience on platforms like Twitter and Instagram as well, though the latter I no longer use.
Algorithms obviously don’t care whether the content they show you makes you glad that you saw it. They simply serve what captures your attention. If it's outrage, then that’s exactly what you’ll get. The algorithm knows plenty of other users engage with that kind of content, so it rationally assumes the same will apply to you.
I don't know how fix this, but this is one of the things a good algorithm needs to prevent. Outrage does get my attention - but it isn't where I want my attention.
The companies deploying the algorithms aren't taking any of what you said into consideration though. They only want to feed you what has the most interaction as that can garner the most money from ad revenue.
Would be nice if open-source aggregators like Lemmy allowed users to "Subscribe" to community developed algorithms.
I'd love to (attempt) to build an "ethical" algorithm for content sorting, have it be open-source, and be able to have clients use it without having to actually modify the client itself.
Reddit used to (might still, don't use it) let you get every page as an RSS feed. Front page, people you follow, individual subreddits.
Lemmy could do that, I'd really enjoy it.
There's nothing preventing you from forking a Lemmy client or server to prototype this. Depending on how you implement the activitypub backend, you might be able to make it transparent to a user if you present an algorithm as an array of cross posts via a /c/ of a server.
Anything more might require forking a client, which might be easier to implement but may be harder to convince a large userbase to migrate to.
I really hope this is the way forward.