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I'm glad you said this, because the kneejerk reaction is always "how dare they!" when this type of invasive data mining and experience A/B testing has happened
by nkozyra 12y ago
I'm glad you said this, because the kneejerk reaction is always "how dare they!" when this type of invasive data mining and experience A/B testing has happened in a myriad industries for decades.
As you say, what "oversight" is required of a corporation doing passive demographic or behavioral studies of its users/customers? Should we go nuts if we see Google Analytics or Omniture tags on any given Web site?
- Retric 12y agoIMO, A/B testing can easily be unethical in much the same way that skinner box 'Free' to play game are generally considered unethical. Suppose a gym did A/B testing specifically designed around reducing the number of active members and maximizing the number of inactive members.
- dpark 12y agoSuppose they did. Would that be unethical? That's essentially their business model. If optimizing their business model is unethical then their business model must be unethical at its core.