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Eh. I think although it's a 'dark pattern', it's one with measured effects on behaviour that result in less people crossing against the light, which (I would as
by fredley 8y ago
Eh. I think although it's a 'dark pattern', it's one with measured effects on behaviour that result in less people crossing against the light, which (I would assume) correlates with less accidents. I think calling it unethical is a bit much.
- carbocation 8y agoI am curious about the effect on the people long-term. I am not sure that reducing the number of people crossing against the light at the crossings in the article in particular tells the full story. An analysis that considers the reduction in crossing against the light without weighing the consequences of dishonesty is incomplete.
- snarf21 8y agoI'm sure I'm in the minority but I don't even think it is that. If the button at each intersection prevents one accident (hospital or even death) then it is worth it. So people got tricked to be safer? Oh, the humanity. People who are going to cross anyway still will.
- samdoidge 8y agoI think if people realise buttons may be placebo - this will reduce how much people use / wait for buttons in general.
- drcube 8y agoWhat if it prevents one accident today, but causes two accidents tomorrow?
- q3k 8y agoWhat if eating cereal for breakfast is healthy today but causes two accidents tomorrow?
- justtopost 8y agoHello diabetes!
- zimablue 8y agoIt's immoral because you don't have the right to deceive and make decisions for other people. Let's take the example further and see if you can find a point where it starts to be obviously unethical, then work your way backwards on the principle discovered. How about we lie to you about the contents of your food, in some way that manipulates you to be healthier? Still OK with that, why don't we tell you that something is vegetarian if you can never tell the difference, by your utilitarian metric you've increased my happiness, I got to enjoy some delicious meal. If I find out you have one day left to live and that day will be happier not knowing that fact, do I have the right to lie to you about it? The utilitarian benefit calculation goes up so case closed right? If someone if a devout Jehovah's witness, give them a blood transplant and deny that it ever happened, do you have the right to do that? Not everyone is on the same utilitarian value curve as you and you don't have the right to mess with and deceive them because you think you're smarter than they are. Some (most) people value truth, dignity or reality in their utility function, and you might not even be smarter than all of them.
- snarf21 8y agoI'm sorry but I don't buy the slippery slope argument here. No one is saying that the ends justify the means. Is adding a stop sign to a random intersection any different? Who decided that people should stop there? In small towns, a lot of times it is because an elderly person went to the township meeting every week for years complaining so they gave up and added one, not because there is any inherent safety issue. Governments and corporations literally lie to us every day. Not causing a light to change three seconds earlier (because it will still change) doesn't violate anyone's civil liberties or religion or cause their death. Governments do manipulate things already to make people healthier and safer. Soda taxes, seat belts, food pyramids (bought by the FDA) are all examples. In this case, most municipalities have laws against jay walking. One could argue this is just an enforcement of that law.
- grkvlt 8y agoIf action X is unethical/immoral in some situation S, this in no way implies that for all situations, X is unethical/immoral. See killing people for an example, perhaps, or maybe telling people they are (not) ugly?
- dtech 8y agoThere are better ways though. A countdown that shows remaining time until green has both a positive effect on perceived wait time, the same effect on crossings without green and does not have this ethical problem.
- sevensor 8y agoCall it impractical then? At least in Lebanon, as people become aware of this deception, they came to reject crosswalk rules in general. Ethics notwithstanding, breaking the honesty clause of the social contract is going to backfire on you.