À l’occasion des midis de l’éthique du CRÉ, Martin Gibert nous offrira une présentation intitulée « Should Youtube make recommendations for the climate? », en présence de ses collaborateurs Maxime Lambrecht et Lê Nguyên Hoang.

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Résumé

In this paper, we argue that the Youtube algorithm should be programmed to make climate-friendly recommendations. Specifically, we propose that 2% of recommendations (decided by a personalized algorithm) are selected to change people’s cognition, motivation, and behavior to address the climate crisis. We rely both on a consequentialist argument and on corporate duties: of moderation, of reparation and of meta-editorial responsibility (comparable to those of a librarian). With 2 billion users, the Youtube recommender system could be an effective way to mitigate the climate crisis. We consider different implementation scenarios before examining psychological obstacles, such as the illusion of neutrality or reactance. We then examine the criticisms that such a project may raise: the worry of manipulation, the threat of a slippery slope, and issues of freedom of speech. We conclude that given the severity of the crisis, none of these elements justify not programming Youtube’s algorithm in a more climate-friendly way.