Netflix’s Shuffle Play too is a ‘Surprise Me’ button that requires a conscious click – you could still choose to browse and select, applying thought yourself. The default is a list of results (running into multiple pages, as usual). Though, you may argue that even in the former, the limited set of options too is simply a slightly bigger version of the latter (singular choice – default selection by the machine).įor instance, Google’s I’m Feeling Lucky button requires an affirmative action – you need to consciously click it to get that single result. There is a difference between a machine/system/algorithm offering us options to choose from and directly showing us what it thinks is appropriate for us. The entire Google Discover Feed on android phones is based on machines deciding what is good/appropriate for you based on two kinds of signals – your own inputs (selecting a few topics) and your actions on the larger Google ecosystem. TikTok has nailed this to the level of art, and their algorithm is lauded for this reason (from a technology and business point of view). Most dating websites decide on a match based on our own inputs and other signs they pick from us.Īll social media platforms decide what to show you based on your history of watching/viewing content on the same platform. Most e-commerce sites show you other products that you may want to buy based on your purchase history. This is a machine doing the thinking for you. Many autocorrect as you type, while many others highlight it as a way for you to notice it and take an action (check options and pick one). When you open YouTube, the videos it showcases/suggests are based on YouTube’s algorithm.Īlmost every digital device has an autocorrect feature to ‘check’ and ‘autocorrect’ what you type. There are already so many ways the ‘systems’ (or machines, or algorithms) make decisions for us. This is yet another ‘system’ making a decision for us. Think of it as Netflix’s equivalent of Google’s ‘I’m Feeling Lucky’ button (that I confess I have never clicked all my life till I started writing this post and tested it once). It is called Shuffle Play (for now it may be called something else during the full-fledged launch) and when clicked (from the side-bar), it’d start playing something on its own (selected based either on anything saved in your ‘My List’ or based on something that Netflix’s algorithm assumes you may like to watch based on your viewing history). The name of the feature is not mentioned in the letter, but given that this is in testing for quite a while, we already know what it is. On the 4th page of Netflix’s most recent letter to shareholders (4th quarter, 2020 earnings report), there is a mention of a new feature that they plan to roll out globally in the first half of 2021.
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