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Cristos Goodrow: YouTube Algorithm | Lex Fridman Podcast #68
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Cristos Goodrow: YouTube Algorithm | Lex Fridman Podcast #68

Cristos Goodrow is VP of Engineering at Google and head of Search and Discovery at YouTube (aka YouTube Algorithm).

Lex FridmanhostCristos Goodrowguest
Jan 25, 20201h 30mWatch on YouTube ↗

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Episode Details

EPISODE INFO

Released
January 25, 2020
Duration
1h 30m
Channel
Lex Fridman Podcast
Watch on YouTube
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EPISODE DESCRIPTION

Cristos Goodrow is VP of Engineering at Google and head of Search and Discovery at YouTube (aka YouTube Algorithm). This episode is presented by Cash App. Download it & use code "LexPodcast": Cash App (App Store): https://apple.co/2sPrUHe Cash App (Google Play): https://bit.ly/2MlvP5w PODCAST INFO: Podcast website: https://lexfridman.com/podcast Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/2lwqZIr Spotify: https://spoti.fi/2nEwCF8 RSS: https://lexfridman.com/feed/podcast/ Full episodes playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLrAXtmErZgOdP_8GztsuKi9nrraNbKKp4 Clips playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLrAXtmErZgOeciFP3CBCIEElOJeitOr41 OUTLINE: 0:00 - Introduction 3:26 - Life-long trajectory through YouTube 7:30 - Discovering new ideas on YouTube 13:33 - Managing healthy conversation 23:02 - YouTube Algorithm 38:00 - Analyzing the content of video itself 44:38 - Clickbait thumbnails and titles 47:50 - Feeling like I'm helping the YouTube algorithm get smarter 50:14 - Personalization 51:44 - What does success look like for the algorithm? 54:32 - Effect of YouTube on society 57:24 - Creators 59:33 - Burnout 1:03:27 - YouTube algorithm: heuristics, machine learning, human behavior 1:08:36 - How to make a viral video? 1:10:27 - Veritasium: Why Are 96,000,000 Black Balls on This Reservoir? 1:13:20 - Making clips from long-form podcasts 1:18:07 - Moment-by-moment signal of viewer interest 1:20:04 - Why is video understanding such a difficult AI problem? 1:21:54 - Self-supervised learning on video 1:25:44 - What does YouTube look like 10, 20, 30 years from now? CONNECT:

SPEAKERS

  • Lex Fridman

    host
  • Cristos Goodrow

    guest

EPISODE SUMMARY

In this episode of Lex Fridman Podcast, featuring Lex Fridman and Cristos Goodrow, Cristos Goodrow: YouTube Algorithm | Lex Fridman Podcast #68 explores Inside YouTube’s Algorithm: Personalization, Responsibility, and Creator Well‑Being Lex Fridman interviews Christos Goodrow, YouTube’s VP of Engineering for Search and Discovery, about how the recommendation and search systems work at massive scale. They discuss the technical foundations of YouTube’s algorithm, especially collaborative filtering, embeddings, and user feedback signals such as watch time, likes, and satisfaction surveys. A major portion of the conversation focuses on YouTube’s societal responsibilities around politics, misinformation, bias, and toxicity, and how human policy, human reviewers, and machine learning interact. They also explore creator-related issues like discoverability, burnout, clickbait, and the long‑term goal of making every recommended video both personally enriching and socially responsible.

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