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I recently published a Plus article about the importance of measuring time as publishers. We looked at the difference between viewing, watch, activity, and dwell times, as well as the problem with data-overload, and how using machine learning could help fix that.
But the problem with machine learning is that we often don't understand it. For example, machine learning is very good at identifying things like churn, but it doesn't explain it. We get this big list of people that the algorithm thinks won't renew their subscription, but it doesn't tell us why.
So, in my last article, I said that we need to improve machine learning to get a result, and to have it explained to us humans.
I quoted a revised version of the Three Laws of Robotics, to include a 4th law by James Bridle, saying this:
This, of course, is not as easy as it sounds. One big problem is that the machine learning algorithms don't actually know what the data means.
So, in this article, we will have a deeper discussion about this. I'm going to show you what the problem is, and talk about ways that could solve it.
Please note: Like in the last article, I will talk about technical things, but I will not include any code. This article is mainly for editors or media executives, designed to help you better understand this from a strategic perspective.
The amazing thing about machine learning is that you can get it to look at a very large collection of data and identify patterns we humans cannot see for ourselves. But, after it has done so, it has no idea what it just identified.
For instance, today we can use machine learning to identify cancer cells in human bodies at a higher level of accuracy and much earlier than what a human doctor can do, but if you then asked the computer what a cancer cell looks like, it doesn't know how to answer that.
Just think how insane this is.
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Yes, of course, please write to plus@baekdal.com and I will send you a regular invoice that you can pay via your bank. I will need your company name, address and VAT number (if within the EU). Also, please note that due to this process being manual, this will be for an annual subscription only.
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Founder, media analyst, author, and publisher. Follow on Twitter
"Thomas Baekdal is one of Scandinavia's most sought-after experts in the digitization of media companies. He has made himself known for his analysis of how digitization has changed the way we consume media."
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