Originally published at: https://boingboing.net/2019/07/08/instagrams-all-new-solution.html
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What could possibly go wrong? 
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Ask Tumblr; they know a thing or two about heavy-handed us of improperly trained and unsupervised ML systems.
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What’s Instagram?
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Exactly. I really have no clue as to what it is supposed to be used for and I really don’t care as it is a part of Facebook, which I want to be away from as far as possible.
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The pattern for every single algorithmic enforcement of this sort of rules is the same: genuinely evil people use code that any human can break with ease but baffles machines (Captcha’ing it, in essence) and then when people who know what, say, a ‘helicopter ride’ refers to call them out on it using direct language they get banned because they trip the keywords.
(And on places like YouTube the collateral damage includes educational channels on history because they, too, mention all sorts of keywords).
And you can’t get enough moderators because filtering through the very worst humans can post day-in and day-out is going to kill whichever minimum-wage member of the precariat you saddle with the job. And you can’t outsource it because it requires a facility with the current cultural idiom of, say, the 'States.
The only workable solution, I think, is to give the users of the site robust controls over what they see. Freedom of Listening, as it were.
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Oh pish. How will I be able to foist unwanted ads THAT YOU REALLY NEED TO SEE. NOW. JUST CLICK HERE FOR EXCLUSIVE CONTENT YOU REALLY NEED TO SEE if the users get to choose what they seey. And why should they get a say in this anyway?
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If we actually let people choose both what they say and what they listen to, how will I be able to commodify their attention and sell it to a collection of sharkish, malevolent enterprises on the open market?
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If someone is being bullied and abused on Instagram, or any of these scourges, why not just remove oneself from them? They are voluntary. Why let yourself be a target? When I was bullied in high school, I removed myself for a while so the bullies could find other targets of opportunity, usually each other. Sorry if I’m not getting it, but it seems obvious.
These platforms are like canker sores on the lips of society.
It is the world’s fastest home delivery cocaine service.
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At least that’s a slightly more focused iteration of the older advice “why don’t you just not use the Internet?”
Reducing the choice to “let yourself be a target” vs. “let yourself be hounded out of society for a bit” might be an analysis that can stand a little workshopping, though.
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Your argument presupposes that Instagram represents the totality of society. That just ain’t so.
Just not worth the hassle for me. I’d rather read a book.
I was really thinking more of the general case. I never figured out the point of Instagram at all, but being driven out of Facebook or similar if you use it as a major point of coordination with friends and family could be a challenge.
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HOW INSPIRING
Moved by this hero’s example, I have decided to lead the flasher community in the fight against subpar flashing. We’ve heard your complaints, and we must do better. Starting today, I will be providing handy feedback cards in a convenient pocket in the back of my trenchcoat, and if you have any issues you can just reach back there and grab one… that’s right… grope around in there, it’s just a little further back… Also, I have launched the new Decent Exposure program: if there is a particular location where you want disturbed winos to not jiggle their dongs at you, you can collect an official Frigid Zone sign from the pervert hangout by the canal, telling participating flashers to temporarily pause their services within a 3 meter radius. Now you can have peace of mind, while still enjoying the low-grade sex attacks you love!
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