The public service algorithm is a comprehensive approach to how content is presented and served in Yle's digital services in the future.
"Yle wants to offer personally meaningful content to users in a way that is diverse and sometimes surprising. In practice, this means, for example, service front pages, search results, or Yle Areena recommendations," says Marit af Björkesten, Director of Yle's Strategy and Digital Services unit.
Algorithms are an essential part of the digital media environment and significantly influence what we see and understand about the world. Yle's public service algorithm is based on Yle's values and aims to fulfill Yle's societal mission.
"We have become accustomed to algorithms whose goal is to increase user engagement and time spent on the service. Yle's algorithm's most important goal is to offer meaningful and diverse content to Finns," af Björkesten says.
At the same time, Yle is developing the transparency of the algorithm's operation so that service users have even better opportunities to influence the use of their own data and the level of personalization.
The concept is built on three fundamental pillars
- Responsible data use and ethics: Yle ensures that user privacy is respected in data collection and that the collected data serves the public service mission. Users are clearly informed about how their information is utilized, and providing additional information is voluntary.
- Diversity and serendipity: The algorithm balances personalized experience with unexpectedness. It aims to offer users both content that interests them and new perspectives and unexpected discoveries from Yle's extensive selection.
- User autonomy and transparency: Users have comprehensive tools to influence how the algorithm works for them. They can clearly see why certain content is recommended to them and how their actions affect these recommendations.