Ha! Glad you finally started watching. Some very interesting characters!

Watching The Social Dilemma...... whilst browsing on my phone LOL.

I posted this over on a more obscure thread. I think this is the more appropriate spot. I encourage everyone to watch it. I found their use of 'dramatic reconstructions' a bit hokey, but I guess it made the point. Also not sure if everyone will appreciate what they were trying to convey when they showed the three guys manipulating the 'boy' (their attempt to convey what AI was doing). Anyway, here's what I wrote elsewhere ...

The whole documentary focuses on the engineers who developed Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, etc and they explain how the motivation for everything they do is 'engagement' - causing you to spend more and more time on their site - in order that you will see more and more ads. They are dynamically building ever-more-refined 'profiles' of the users, and using those profiles to deliver targeted content. So if their algorithms determine you are right-leaning, and are interested in conspiracy theories, they will deliver to you more conspiracy theory articles in the hope you will spend more time reading/viewing them.

The show focuses entirely on 'ex' employees of the platforms, who have all left due to ethical concerns. Many have formed new companies trying to combat the effect of the big guys.

None of these platforms are explicitly trying to promote fake news or conspiracy theories; rather, they are singularly focused on promoting 'engagement', and it just so happens that fake news and conspiracy theories generate tremendous engagement. They would promote pictures of pussycats if that created the most engagement. The developers are all naive tech-heads who simply wanted to achieve a goal, without realizing where it was going. The people in charge of the platforms - Zuckerberg, and such - are so committed to the financial goals of ever-increasing revenue that they have no incentive to stop what they have started. They probably are incapable of stopping it even if they wanted to, without seriously ripping into their business revenues.

My take-away is that this is an extremely serious issue. And note - the 'target' of these efforts is not 'you and I' as much as it is teenagers, millennials, etc (I'm assuming the BE readership is rather older than the target). We aren't the ones staring at our phones every 10 seconds. There's an interesting common theme in what all the participants say you should do - turn off notifications. The general idea is, notifications are the 'drug' that keeps you looking at your phone. If you've ever observed a collection of teenagers gathered together in a cafe, with every single one of them glued to their phones and not each other, you get the idea.


Here's an article that includes Facebook's initial reaction - https://www.cnet.com/news/facebook-s...istorted-view/

I "watched" that the other evening. I was very tired, though, and may possibly have closed my eyes for a few moments in the middle... the first 10 minutes and the last 10 minutes were good, I'll have to try again later

If anyone one has the streaming app for PBS, there is a four part program called Hacking the Mind. Watched the first part last night. It went into detail about how Trump used Facebook to target ads at people, opposed to him, to rubbish Clinton.

Dammit, I can't believe I missed this! I'm going to see if it's on any kind of repeat schedule. If anyone knows how to get this legally without the streaming service, please let me know!

Amazing that, after all these years, and with all these new channels, PBS still puts out some of the very best documentaries. "Frontline" for example, is wonderful. "The American Experience" is also great.

Finally finished it last night (Murder Mountain, on Netflix - an interesting look at the marijuana business in Northern California)! I enjoyed it and was glad I watched it, but I felt it was way too long; they drew out what could have been a good story into way too many episodes, and failed to really convey the impact of legalization. Obviously the death of any young person is tragic, but anyone who goes into what was well known as the epicenter of the marijuana growing business to make money should not be too surprised if they end up dead. The kid flaunted his wealth and bragged about his success.

Maybe they'll do a 'season 2' to cover the same area 5 years down the road. Fascinating that the Sherriff ran unopposed! Not one person wanted the job! That tells you something. I used to drive up to the area and stay in cheap motels in Garberville, which seems like one of the main towns involved in the 'trade'. I probably haven't been since the early 90s; it was a great base to explore the redwoods.

Of tangential relevance - Arizona again votes on legalization of marijuana this November (failed in 2016 - the only one of 5 states to do so). I'm so glad I'm a resident and will be voting for legalization.

A small go nowhere county in Texas has indicted netflix over the Cuties movie.

https://www.cnn.com/2020/10/08/enter...rnd/index.html

David Attenborough one was good. Interesting statistic that now only 4% of mammals on the planet are "wild".

He himself certainly seems to have led a good life.

My kids watched the Blackpink documentary so I just kind of had to watch too. To be fair, these girls really went through some really hard years of training to get where they are now. Was kind of interesting.

Then I found a new series called Young Wallander and deep dove into that.

Well, not only have I finished all 9 episodes of "The Vow", but I've become engrossed in the ongoing story of NXIVM, the organization at the center of The Vow, and also Keith Ranieri, it's leader/founder. Just yesterday, Ranieri was sentenced to 120 years in jail. There's a new documentary just starting on 'Starz' network, called 'Seduction', that covers the same events. Basically, it's the story of a self-help / self-improvement company that morphs into a sex cult that engages in all kinds of deceptive practices. Very similar to Scientology. I've listened to lots of podcasts on the story also (Uncover series, season 1 - Escaping NXIVM - https://www.cbc.ca/radio/uncover/unc...xivm-1.4675949 ). If you are interested in cults, this is for you!

Watched the Challenger mini series on Netflix, interesting look into it.

I was too young at the time to really know what happened beyond the very obvious and I did know it had something to do with O rings, but wasn't fully aware of the inside workings at NASA.

Not really a documentary, but First Man was very good. It still amazes that we were able to make it to the moon on 1969 tech. Mind you, if they had given it another 20 years, the video would have been so much better.

Not a documentary, but a valuable history lesson that will remind you of the abuses that are going on today against peaceful protesters. The trial of the Chicago 7....on Netflix. A harsh reminder of what happens when the freedom to protest is trampled on.