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Sounds like a pretty dark future to me.

by klon 17y ago

lsd5you 17y ago
Yes. It was pretty weak when he tried to tie the whole thing together with an optimistic message at the end... His plan for a better future is mindlessly optimistic: everybody is observed -> everybody behaves better. Apart from being bad in and of itself, it is actually pretty unlikely to come about in any way like he described (if you think about it), and it is fairly insidious to place it on an equal footing, rhetorically with all the other outcomes. The reality is that people are having their own psychology increasingly 'gamed' by corporations and this is not a good thing. I predict that the ready supply of instant gratification will be as or more harmful than fast food and the obesity epidemic. One day we may find an easy way to overcome or sidestep our unwanted proclivities (assuming we're still in charge of ourselves enough to make this happen) and that will be a different story, albeit possibly an extremely dull one. Somewhat ironic as he's just giving the viewer 'what they want' - a positive message. The swiss army kitchen knife cracked me up, however!
- waterlesscloud 17y ago
  His ideas were not particularly well presented, but they had a real value. His point, as I understood it, was to encourage the people in that room (ie the people who actually design the games we all play) to take the responsibility for making this coming world more than just commercialized crap. He starts that section talking about how much opportunity there is in current points systems, and encourages skilled designers to move in that direction and influence the shape of the field. He doesn't express it as clearly as he might, but I believe that was the goal of his talk.
- nas 17y ago
  I laughed that the iPad joke even though I think he missed the point of it. The iPad represents the iPhone software model applied to personal (netbook like) computers. Installing software and keeping a computer is beyond the average person. The draconian control Apple exerts over iTunes is seen as a solution. Anyhow, back to current topic, I too see his predicted future as a bad thing. It is a scientific fact that people are fairly easily manipulated by certain reward schemes[1]. With current technology, marketing people are getting good at applying those theories. With all due respect to honest people doing a job, those people don't give a shit about making the world a better place. 1. Sorry, I'm too lazy to dig up papers. Basically frequent small rewards given over randomized intervals are extremely compelling to people. This theory is applied to (or explains the success of) many gambling games.

Sounds like a pretty dark future to me.

by klon 17y ago

Sounds like a pretty dark future to me.

Yes. It was pretty weak when he tried to tie the whole thing together with an optimistic message at the end... His plan for a better future is mindlessly optimistic: everybody is observed -> everybody behaves better. Apart from being bad in and of itself, it is actually pretty unlikely to come about in any way like he described (if you think about it), and it is fairly insidious to place it on an equal footing, rhetorically with all the other outcomes. The reality is that people are having their own psychology increasingly 'gamed' by corporations and this is not a good thing. I predict that the ready supply of instant gratification will be as or more harmful than fast food and the obesity epidemic. One day we may find an easy way to overcome or sidestep our unwanted proclivities (assuming we're still in charge of ourselves enough to make this happen) and that will be a different story, albeit possibly an extremely dull one. Somewhat ironic as he's just giving the viewer 'what they want' - a positive message. The swiss army kitchen knife cracked me up, however!

waterlesscloud 17y ago
His ideas were not particularly well presented, but they had a real value. His point, as I understood it, was to encourage the people in that room (ie the people who actually design the games we all play) to take the responsibility for making this coming world more than just commercialized crap. He starts that section talking about how much opportunity there is in current points systems, and encourages skilled designers to move in that direction and influence the shape of the field. He doesn't express it as clearly as he might, but I believe that was the goal of his talk.
nas 17y ago
I laughed that the iPad joke even though I think he missed the point of it. The iPad represents the iPhone software model applied to personal (netbook like) computers. Installing software and keeping a computer is beyond the average person. The draconian control Apple exerts over iTunes is seen as a solution. Anyhow, back to current topic, I too see his predicted future as a bad thing. It is a scientific fact that people are fairly easily manipulated by certain reward schemes[1]. With current technology, marketing people are getting good at applying those theories. With all due respect to honest people doing a job, those people don't give a shit about making the world a better place. 1. Sorry, I'm too lazy to dig up papers. Basically frequent small rewards given over randomized intervals are extremely compelling to people. This theory is applied to (or explains the success of) many gambling games.