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Tristan Harris is a fascinating guy and I largely agree with the concerns he lays out... but I really wish this article had answered the question posed. A Hippo
by bbctol 10y ago
Tristan Harris is a fascinating guy and I largely agree with the concerns he lays out... but I really wish this article had answered the question posed. A Hippocratic oath for product designers simply won't work; the only reason it works for doctors is because medicine is an extremely gated, controlled, and well-regulated community. Anyone can be a "designer" with an internet connection and a good work ethic, and that's a good thing!
So what do we actually do? In a capitalist society, how do we reframe incentives so that information technology isn't used for increasing psychological manipulation? Who would want to accept these new design standards and certifications when there's so much money to be made in making the next addictive application, and incredible amounts of research and data crunching being done to make addictions stronger all the time? I guess this article is a start, if it can shift the culture of consumers in general to pay more attention to these issues, but it's hard for this message to compete with the rush of checking your phone.
- elnado 10y agoRight, I completely understand where you're coming from. I'd like to think that there'll be a paradigm shift in consumer wants to steer away from disruptive technology, that consumers will become punitive towards time-sink apps that consequently lower the morale of its users (Facebook, Instagram, etc) despite the initial rush, and instead value apps/services that increase productivity and efficiency. It's really hard to grayscale 'addicting' apps with a negative connotation as Facebook is arguably trying to present more useful information, carefully personalized from user info via its hoard of data scientists, Twitter arguably made the world a better place by distributing news faster, and so on. I am however really glad that articles like these are coming out, and the general ethic concern of companies targeting human psychological venerabilities becoming more exposed since more educated consumers will drive, through demand, 'better' product (by whichever metric you use).
- tcbawo 10y agoThere will need to be curation, or a stamp of approval for applications or online content. Then, a method of filtering an app store or search engine for that content. This would be appealing to parents (speaking as one myself).
- paulryanrogers 10y agoDidn't the flappy bird developer take a break because of the negative impact users reported? As problems come to light I imagine producers will become more thoughtful about what they make.