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Comment by Swizec | Hacker News Reader

My girlfriend is currently experiencing the dark side of smart tracking. Female who hit 30 and is in a stable relationship.

The ML just can’t figure her out. One day every ad is for dating sites, the next day it’s all babies and pregnancy, then engagement rings, wedding locations, more dating sites, a few days of houses to buy ... it’s like the algorithms can’t decide what life stage she’s in.

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That's what you want. You don't want these assholes knowing your business. The classic example is when they start advertising a whole lot of pregancy stuff to someone who doesn't want to be pregant and for whom that might be a serious personal problem - advertising seen by others who she does not want to see that.

Dumb algos means freedom and privacy. Smart algos that actually work stuff out are dangerous and vile. Nobody gave them permission for that. Nobody complains about seeing ads not specifically tailored for them.

Confounding all of the targeting is one simple fact: Ad selection is based on what the advertiser is willing to spend, not on what the consumer wants to see. If a jewelry shop has extra ad budget and their target market is saturated, then the ad network starts serving ads to people who are married. Either that or they tell the jeweler to stop giving them money.

Watch out... Maybe the algorithm knows EXACTLY what she is thinking during any given surfing session?

> it’s like the algorithms can’t decide what life stage she’s in

Or, it's working on figuring that out.

When my first kid was born, all the ads I got where either baby clothes, daipers etc., or Second Love. A clear separation between A and B

Makes me wonder if there are a lot of people who start cheating once they get a child. What exactly is that algorithm trained on?

Just like she is right? Are you going to marry this guy or move on? Are kids in your future? How about a house, are you two moving in together? Probably all the same crap nosey family and friends want to know. Are advertisers an omnipresent nosey entity? Probably :-)

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