"Last year I wrote an editorial in which I stated that I block every single advertisement on YouTube. And, despite being a writer whose income depends upon advertising, I was not - and am not - ashamed of these actions. The reasons are many, but basically, YouTube has typified " enshittification." Making a platform worse, then charging to make it better again, is something everyone resents."
"YouTube hasn't gotten any better in the last year. It's gotten worse in just about every metric that I can think of, unless you're Google. Users are inundated with horrible ads, often for products that have been accused of being scams. Shorts is overrun with stolen, effort-free content, much of which is also "AI" slop, much of which is also provided by Google itself."
"YouTube is, in short, crap, and only becoming more crap with almost every move Google makes. These moves include adding AI filters to videos without creators' knowledge or permission, and now actively shoveling more AI slop into every aspect of the experience. But like Facebook and Google's own search engine before it, it is the de facto home of video on the web, so its position is unassailable."
YouTube is getting worse across almost every metric, delivering more intrusive and often scammy ads. Shorts is flooded with stolen, low-effort, and AI-generated content, including material supplied by Google. Creators must chase algorithm-driven views, conform to narrow categories, and maintain grueling upload schedules to stay profitable, while platform administration and opaque policies undermine their reach. Arbitrary AI content filters are demolishing creators' views and force self-censorship with euphemisms like "unalive" and "R-word." Google is adding AI filters without creators' permission and pushing more automated content into the experience. Despite declining quality, YouTube remains the dominant home for web video.
Read at PCWorld
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