132
submitted 1 year ago by ijeff@lemdro.id to c/technology@beehaw.org

cross-posted from !google@lemdro.id

  • Google may be altering billions of search queries daily to generate results that increase purchases.
  • Testimony in an antitrust case revealed an internal Google slide about changes to its search algorithm, involving "semantic matching" to generate more commercial results.
  • Google covertly changes user queries, substituting them with ones that generate more revenue for the company and display shopping-oriented results.
  • This manipulation benefits Google's profits but harms search quality and raises advertiser costs.
  • Despite legal challenges, Google's market dominance allows it to continue these practices, impacting users' ability to access unbiased information.
you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
[-] acastcandream@beehaw.org 4 points 1 year ago

But what is an unbiased result? What does that look like?

[-] ijeff@lemdro.id 7 points 1 year ago

Reviews that don't involve affiliate links or products provided by the company.

[-] acastcandream@beehaw.org 3 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

How do you weight the different reviews that meet this criteria? Plenty of reviews don't involve either.

At some point you have to pick and choose. If it's "truly" random, then the search is meaningless. If it's curated/weighted, then it's biased.

[-] ijeff@lemdro.id 6 points 1 year ago

The challenge is in elevating outright paid sponsorship and affiliate material above actual reviews.

this post was submitted on 03 Oct 2023
132 points (100.0% liked)

Technology

37699 readers
280 users here now

A nice place to discuss rumors, happenings, innovations, and challenges in the technology sphere. We also welcome discussions on the intersections of technology and society. If it’s technological news or discussion of technology, it probably belongs here.

Remember the overriding ethos on Beehaw: Be(e) Nice. Each user you encounter here is a person, and should be treated with kindness (even if they’re wrong, or use a Linux distro you don’t like). Personal attacks will not be tolerated.

Subcommunities on Beehaw:


This community's icon was made by Aaron Schneider, under the CC-BY-NC-SA 4.0 license.

founded 2 years ago
MODERATORS