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For however unpleasant those things may be, I wouldn't call them a Doomsday scenario. They're certainly nothing like the things you'll hear of on LessWrong.

haswell 3y ago
It's too early to tell if it's doomsday. There are plenty of reasons to be alarmed about the impact of social media on mental health, increasing effectiveness of algorithmic radicalization, cracking foundations of important institutions and the potential path that follows. A path that will include an ever-more pervasive presence and influence of the next generation of this tech. We failed with social media, and now we're plunging headlong into territory that's arguably far more treacherous and there's very little indication that we'll learn from the last time. So now we're just starting to come to terms with the harms that we didn't see coming, while going 1000mph with a category of tech that has a myriad of foreseeable problems to say nothing of the ones we haven't thought of. I hope there will be an equalizing positive effect, but there seem to be good reasons to worry.
- c_crank 3y ago
  The consequences of algorithmic radicalization have yet to hit the level of the radicalization in the 1930s that happened without any social media or computers at all. I think there is a deeper cause to that then just Facebook doing slimy things.
  - sroussey 3y ago
    The general agreement of humans at any point in time is that now is the most messed up. That sentiment is part of society. Not sure if it could ever be changed.
  - throwanem 3y ago
    Mass radicalization depends on mass immiseration; when most people are generally satisfied with how things are going, the cranks stay on the fringe. Smart cranks know this, and spend their time on the fringe organizing access to communications such that when people cease to be satisfied and start looking for radical alternatives, they're all ready and set to go bringing their program to the masses. Facebook has already shown itself to be great for that.

haswell 3y ago

It's too early to tell if it's doomsday. There are plenty of reasons to be alarmed about the impact of social media on mental health, increasing effectiveness of algorithmic radicalization, cracking foundations of important institutions and the potential path that follows. A path that will include an ever-more pervasive presence and influence of the next generation of this tech. We failed with social media, and now we're plunging headlong into territory that's arguably far more treacherous and there's very little indication that we'll learn from the last time. So now we're just starting to come to terms with the harms that we didn't see coming, while going 1000mph with a category of tech that has a myriad of foreseeable problems to say nothing of the ones we haven't thought of. I hope there will be an equalizing positive effect, but there seem to be good reasons to worry.

c_crank 3y ago
The consequences of algorithmic radicalization have yet to hit the level of the radicalization in the 1930s that happened without any social media or computers at all. I think there is a deeper cause to that then just Facebook doing slimy things.
- sroussey 3y ago
  The general agreement of humans at any point in time is that now is the most messed up. That sentiment is part of society. Not sure if it could ever be changed.
- throwanem 3y ago
  Mass radicalization depends on mass immiseration; when most people are generally satisfied with how things are going, the cranks stay on the fringe. Smart cranks know this, and spend their time on the fringe organizing access to communications such that when people cease to be satisfied and start looking for radical alternatives, they're all ready and set to go bringing their program to the masses. Facebook has already shown itself to be great for that.