In this mini-episode, we explore why “YouTube” is the most Googled term globally, digging beneath the surface of charming cat videos and soothing ASMR tracks. With YouTube’s recommendation engine accounting for nearly 70% of watch time, we unpack how AI-curated content can feel less like browsing and more like being caught in an endless, perfectly tailored spiral. Is your feed you… or is it feeding on you?
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Yes, it is true that YouTube’s recommendation engine accounts for nearly 70% of watch time on the platform. The vast majority of what people watch on YouTube is not the result of direct searches or subscriptions, but of algorithmically curated suggestions tailored to each user’s viewing habits, interests, and engagement patterns.
How AI Shapes the YouTube Experience
AI-Driven Personalization
• YouTube’s recommendation system is powered by advanced artificial intelligence and machine learning models (notably from Google Brain) that analyze your watch history, search behavior, engagement (likes, dislikes, comments), device usage, and even demographic information.
• The algorithm continuously adapts in real time, ranking and surfacing videos most likely to keep you engaged, whether you’re on mobile, desktop, or TV.
Endless, Tailored Spiral
• The AI doesn’t just show you what you’ve already watched; it tries to predict what you’ll want next, often leading users into “rabbit holes” of related content, sometimes on increasingly niche or sensational topics.
• This can make browsing feel less like a conscious choice and more like being swept along by a stream of personalized suggestions, designed to maximize your watch time and engagement.
Is Your Feed You, or Is It Feeding on You?
• While the recommendations are technically based on your interests and behavior, critics argue that the system is optimized to keep you watching, not necessarily to serve your best interests or broaden your horizons.
• User controls (like “Not Interested” or “Dislike”) have only a negligible effect on what gets recommended, meaning the algorithm’s influence often outweighs your explicit choices.• The result is a feedback loop: the more you watch certain types of content, the more the algorithm feeds you similar videos, sometimes at the expense of diversity or serendipity in your feed.
YouTube’s artificial intelligence is getting better at dragging you down a video rabbit hole… For more than 70 percent of the time you spend watching on Google’s massive video site, you’re lured in by one of the service’s AI-driven recommendations.
In conclusion: Your YouTube feed is heavily shaped by AI, which curates content to maximize your engagement, often resulting in an endless, highly personalized stream of videos. While it feels tailored to you, the primary goal is to keep you watching—raising the question of whether you are in control, or if the feed is, in a sense, feeding on your attention.
