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Modern day tobacco. 100% unregulated addiction. FB, TWTR, GOOG, INSTA, everyone switched from timeline to personal recommendation engines and TikTok is just do

Modern day tobacco. 100% unregulated addiction. FB, TWTR, GOOG, INSTA, everyone switched from timeline to personal recommendation engines and TikTok is just doing it so much better. Where will things be in 5, 10, 50 years? Terrifying and exciting. Do these tech companies sit on research to suggest that these algorithms can induce behavior-changing tactics through trial-and-error? Will they all have their tobacco-causes-cancer moment? Old-Age Fear: YouTube algorithm sending people down the conspiracy rabbit hole New-Age Fear (Hyper-Efficient): TikTok secretly radicalizing individual in X? The big question strikes: "what is free will?" Amazing read

catalogia 6y ago
> Do these tech companies sit on research to suggest that these algorithms can induce behavior-changing tactics through trial-and-error? Facebook was running mood-manipulation experiments years ago and thought it was worth bragging about publicly. https://slate.com/technology/2014/06/facebook-unethical-experiment-it-made-news-feeds-happier-or-sadder-to-manipulate-peoples-emotions.html https://slate.com/technology/2014/06/facebook-unethical-expe...
- canjobear 6y ago
  They found extremely small effects.
sandworm101 6y ago
>> research to suggest that these algorithms can induce behavior-changing tactics through trial-and-error? Cambridge Analytica certainly had that research. Media campaigns are no longer about "getting the word out", projecting an idea and hoping it sticks. Modern campaigns are about changing a narrative, moving individuals from one opinion to another through whatever means works best for that individual. I cannot see how Facebook wouldn't be studying this.
- fsociety 6y ago
  Cambridge Analytica was both snake-oil and a wake up call. A sign of where things could go if we don’t smarten up soon.
codekansas 6y ago
I've been re-reading Infinite Jest recently and it is amazing how prescient David Foster Wallace seems. The deep philosophical question - does American individualism mean anything in a world where the average person cannot be expected to delay gratification?

catalogia 6y ago

> Do these tech companies sit on research to suggest that these algorithms can induce behavior-changing tactics through trial-and-error? Facebook was running mood-manipulation experiments years ago and thought it was worth bragging about publicly. https://slate.com/technology/2014/06/facebook-unethical-experiment-it-made-news-feeds-happier-or-sadder-to-manipulate-peoples-emotions.html https://slate.com/technology/2014/06/facebook-unethical-expe...

canjobear 6y ago
They found extremely small effects.

sandworm101 6y ago

>> research to suggest that these algorithms can induce behavior-changing tactics through trial-and-error? Cambridge Analytica certainly had that research. Media campaigns are no longer about "getting the word out", projecting an idea and hoping it sticks. Modern campaigns are about changing a narrative, moving individuals from one opinion to another through whatever means works best for that individual. I cannot see how Facebook wouldn't be studying this.

fsociety 6y ago
Cambridge Analytica was both snake-oil and a wake up call. A sign of where things could go if we don’t smarten up soon.

codekansas 6y ago

I've been re-reading Infinite Jest recently and it is amazing how prescient David Foster Wallace seems. The deep philosophical question - does American individualism mean anything in a world where the average person cannot be expected to delay gratification?