YouTube has two choices - it can maintain its' iron grip over the UI and the algorithm, and with that alienate content creators and viewers, who no longer are able to remain connected with each other effectively via YouTube. In which case people will leave and create new options.

Or YouTube can completely open up and encourage this sort of custom UI design and allowing people to explore their own interests and feed more easily, and stop shoving stuff down our throats.

HackerTube proves it - it is instantly more relevant to me than YouTube is.

All that is needed is videos to not come from YouTube - and that is happening too - so it may already be too late for YouTube to loosen its iron grip, stop feeding us crap and give us back our control over our entertainment experience, and make content creators happy again.

YouTube won't disappear but real competition is coming for it. All because YouTube acted in its own interests instead of in the interests of the creators and the viewers.