Recommender dev: 9 hours of doom is a product decision, not an accident
victor_explore · x · 2026-09-13
Responding to ex-OpenAI executive Zack Kass's claim that kids' doomscrolling isn't accidental, recommender-system developer victorexplore agrees: nine hours a day of the worst news on earth is a product decision. Every feed optimizes for whatever keeps you staring—being upset holds attention longer than being fine. He admits that in the recommendation logic he builds, nothing asks how the user feels afterwards.
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