Is X here a "cross product", as used in other systems like Sibyl and TFX?

Plike X Vlike + Pcomment X Vcomment + Eplaytime X Vplaytime + Pplay X Vplay

If so this whole algorithm and what's being done are pretty standard fare, the entire industry works to maximize <metric> (often watch time). These companies are paperclip maximizers and don't have ethics or moral systems per se; they are trying to maximize metric to make $.