Sure, human nature won't change. But when the incentives are aligned differently, the overall behavior of such a system could indeed affect humans differently.

Sure, human nature won't change. But when the incentives are aligned differently, the overall behavior of such a system could indeed affect humans differently. Right now, the goal is eyeballs glued to the page, and thus the algorithms deep down find the most clicky/sticky things to put in front of your eyes. If the goals were different, such a network might instead encourage different behaviors, like actually not using the site very much, etc. Probably the best thinking I've seen on this topic is from Tristan Harris: http://www.tristanharris.com http://www.tristanharris.com More info there.