Data Skeptic
Data Skeptic
Kyle Polich
Recommender Systems Optimization Goals
31 minutes Posted Sep 1, 2026 at 4:06 pm.
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In part two of the Data Skeptic Recommender Systems season finale, Kyle asks a deceptively difficult question: what should recommender systems actually optimize for? Drawing on conversations from across the season, the episode explores engagement, filter bubbles, popularity bias, fairness, human curation, embeddings, and the growing role—and risks—of large language models in shaping what gets recommended to us.