I agree you can still criticize YouTube, even if they are recommending conspiracy content less than “view-neural”. My main disagreement is with the facts—Tristan us representing YouTube is as a radicalization pipeline caused be the influence of recommendations. Let’s say that YouTube is more radicalizing than a no-recommendation system all-things-considered because users were sure to click on radical content whenever it appeared. In this case you would describe radicalization as a demand from users, rather than a radialization rabbit hole caused by a manipulative algorithm. I’m open to this possibility, I wouldn’t give this much pushback if this is what is being described.
The algorithmic “Auditing Radicalization Pathways on YouTube” paper is clever in the way they use comments to get at real-world movement. But that paper doesn’t tell us much given that a) they didn’t analyse movement form right to left (one way movement tell you churn, but nothing directional) and b) thy didn’t share their data.
The best I have seen is this study, which uses real-world web usage forma representative sample of users to get the real behaviour of users who are clicking on recommendations. They are currently re-doing analysis with better classifications so we will see what happens.
Still doesn’t fully answer your question tho. To get at the real influence of recommendation you will need to do actual experiments, something only YouTube can really do right now. Or if a third party was allowed to provide a youtube recsys somehow.
My suspicions about radicalization that leads to real word violence is mainly to do with things outside influence of analythims. Disillusionment, Experience of malevolence, Grooming by terrorist ideologically violent religious/political groups.
Thankyou 🙏 Fixed.