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This is an interesting and creative fantasy but I don't really see how it reflects reality. Unless you think smartphones are powered by esoteric magic and forge

by dawg- 7y ago

This is an interesting and creative fantasy but I don't really see how it reflects reality. Unless you think smartphones are powered by esoteric magic and forget that humans build and design every single little function of them, down to the circuit board.

GistNoesis 7y ago
At a high level of abstraction, most of the addictive software is driven by various metrics, getting feedback from the users, and rewards from the environment. Most human cogs building the machine are just following the flow of the algorithm. Those algorithmic entities have a mind of their own. Humans also have to teach them the right incentives, like you would with a toddler, for them to grow into adults we could live along. In the meantime, until the human-attention resource is properly managed, humans should probably aim the carrot and the stick at the ones in control. There is a lot of space to get creative here while embracing progress : -Instead of punishing the weak human for being addicted, they could for example tax the junk-soft companies in proportion of time spent by addicted users. -They can also entice the entertainment industry by rewarding them if the students get good grades and sleep well, or make them share the burden if it leads to unemployment, or health expenses. -Instead of sponsoring non-scaling rehab camps for potentially 30% of the youth population, they could compete by sponsoring game studios that create more positive games/software/distractions.
- dawg- 7y ago
  Behind each level of abstraction lurks a programmer ready to drive a stake in the heart of your vampire. Who writes the algorithms? Again, you default to magic. I say engineers. Besides, algorithms are constantly being tweaked to get the outputs needed to charge more for ads. And who is doing that tweaking? Engineers, with direction from executives.

by dawg- 7y ago

GistNoesis 7y ago

At a high level of abstraction, most of the addictive software is driven by various metrics, getting feedback from the users, and rewards from the environment. Most human cogs building the machine are just following the flow of the algorithm. Those algorithmic entities have a mind of their own. Humans also have to teach them the right incentives, like you would with a toddler, for them to grow into adults we could live along. In the meantime, until the human-attention resource is properly managed, humans should probably aim the carrot and the stick at the ones in control. There is a lot of space to get creative here while embracing progress : -Instead of punishing the weak human for being addicted, they could for example tax the junk-soft companies in proportion of time spent by addicted users. -They can also entice the entertainment industry by rewarding them if the students get good grades and sleep well, or make them share the burden if it leads to unemployment, or health expenses. -Instead of sponsoring non-scaling rehab camps for potentially 30% of the youth population, they could compete by sponsoring game studios that create more positive games/software/distractions.

dawg- 7y ago
Behind each level of abstraction lurks a programmer ready to drive a stake in the heart of your vampire. Who writes the algorithms? Again, you default to magic. I say engineers. Besides, algorithms are constantly being tweaked to get the outputs needed to charge more for ads. And who is doing that tweaking? Engineers, with direction from executives.