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But what if I want a faster horse?

(rakhim.exotext.com)
1525 points saeedesmaili | 1 comments | 11 Apr 25 11:39 UTC | HN request time: 0.219s | source
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arkh ◴[11 Apr 25 12:11 UTC] No.43652926[source]▶
All the result of A/B tests. Everything will converge to give you an engaging experience for most people. The only not too bad student is reddit which lets you keep using their older UI if you want to. But everything else is pushing new driven by A/B tests UI optimized for engagement.
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1. spicyusername ◴[11 Apr 25 12:55 UTC] No.43653249[source]▶
I think it's very likely this kind of optimization is giving people want they "will" want, instead of what they "do" want.

If you ask a heroine user if they want to use, I suspect most will say no.

But if you A/B test their behavior and build a product based on what they actually do, you're going to start selling more heroin and encourage more heroin use.

To everyone's detriment.