Adtech is full of BS and perhaps the challenge of our times. Let’s look at what Facebook VP Carolyn Everson, said in 2018: “So we believe very strongly that th

Adtech is full of BS and perhaps the challenge of our times. Let’s look at what Facebook VP Carolyn Everson, said in 2018: “So we believe very strongly that the business model that we have been operating under is not only good for people because it gives them more relevant advertising, but it also is good for businesses because obviously it drives their growth.” If you agree it’s not going to be easy to overcome such BS, then here’s an important case of Brandolini’s law. But why is it so difficult? Zuboff makes the case for the AI genius of surveillance capitalists. Doctorow and others argue it’s about digital monopolists. They would likely all agree that it’s difficult because the mainstream and laggards need to wake up. If people are asked “Do you prefer ads that are more relevant?” then the mainstream are going to say something like; yeah OK, that sounds better than ads that are irrelevant to me. But how about if people are asked “Do you wants ads that are more relevant and are based on data that we collect about you and you’re lookalikes?”. They might then say “Well, no not really, but do I have a choice?”