If what we consume is who we are (at least to Google and the others), is there any way we can dig our way out other than try to hide our preferences from whoever is monitoring them?
They never work "perfectly" for me at any rate, at least at the beginning. I do notice that over time, things that are pushed to me have more relevance and interest.
It’s hard because we engage with technology in so many ways and advertisers are constantly trying to capture information about customers.
Maybe there’s a certain level of “off the grid” we can maintain online (ironically), which includes denying cookies, asking apps not to track, not having accounts connected, or using private viewing. I’m not sure.
Wow, this was such a pleasure to read! Apologies if this is lame but I wanted to share my own newsletter (bookcrumbs) because I think you might like it. Every week, I recommend one novel along with a film and song pairing that I think fits it's flavour profile. Maybe check it out?
Okay, let's assume that you're right, and that tech algorithms "work perfectly" and feed us what we "should" consume (quotes for precision, not for sarcasm).
What do you think are larger implications, if any? Do you think that tech's "precision" service is a good thing for you, or for us as a human collective?
I don’t always know what to make of it. The algorithm serves as a feedback loop that presents us what we already enjoy. In that sense, we are unconsciously being molded to stay the same. That’s not always a good thing. It can keep you from broadening your horizons and learning new things if you’re not already in the business of looking.
Confirmation bias can be strong and it can drive people farther apart if they don’t use community and interactions themselves as ways to the molded. For me, I start seeing how different content is fed to me and what is assumed I’ll enjoy. Sometimes it’s a good thing. I delve deeper into what I like and other times, there’s a hint of pandering.
Question: How would you feel if you bought 'Thing A', and a day later someone showed up at your door to sell you something? That's what Google is doing. Surveillance capitalism. Data mining.
You opened the door and they said, "Hey, Chevanne, We know you liked Thing A, so we thought you'd like Thing B." When you asked them, "How do you know my name? How did you find my address? What right do you have to be here?" they answered, "It was in the information you gave when you bought Thing X. You consented to us going through your trash and your receipts when you bought Thing X. We know everything that you and your husband have bought for 10 years, plus every intimate detail of you and your kids' lives."
I'm sickened by surveillance capitalism, but not everyone is. I ghostwrote a book a few years ago for a woman who was in upper management of a huge corporation. She loved the ease and simplicity of pushing those Amazon buttons to order her family's necessities. I was horrified that people who could know better were so comfortable with that level of tech encroachment into our private lives and homes. I'm horrified that I can't escape it.
You're right that there are some 'good thing[s]' about it, but those things exist in spite of tech, not because of it. It's not here to do anything good for us. IMO.
Oh, I think you’re right. Ultimately, we have been flooded and drowned in marketing for the last century and escaping its orbit takes a lot of conscious disengagement from its many arms.
Of course I would be horrified. It’s invasive and imposing. But it’s also direct. The way that intrusion is masked is through timed and curated ads. It’s something just out of sight that we nonetheless respond to. The door-to-door salesman is dead. Why do all that work when people can be tracked from a phone (that we have all become convinced we cannot live without).
I find people don’t see the harm. They don’t think it matters since everything is catalogued, tracked, graphed, and a strategy composed for better sales. Where do we draw the line for laypeople with mining and marketing? Trying to sell you cookies is harmless, but knowing you like Chessman is something that feels slightly sinister. The inevitability of it all washes over us since it feels good. We like nice clothes and new electronics. We want clear skin and a round butt. That dopamine hit happens over and over, but since a lot of our communication is routed through devices and apps, refusal feels like being alone.
Tech is going to be as flawed as its designers with similar blind spots and prejudices. I have my communities I like on social media who reinforce the good I want to do and see in the world. Our presence is defiance. And you’re right, it exists in spite of that tech. But aren’t we always doing that? Carving out comfortable and welcoming places in a mad world?
Hey, someone just showed me this site. I haven't gone through it but it looks interesting. More people everywhere of every stripe are sick of the overreach.
If what we consume is who we are (at least to Google and the others), is there any way we can dig our way out other than try to hide our preferences from whoever is monitoring them?
They never work "perfectly" for me at any rate, at least at the beginning. I do notice that over time, things that are pushed to me have more relevance and interest.
It’s hard because we engage with technology in so many ways and advertisers are constantly trying to capture information about customers.
Maybe there’s a certain level of “off the grid” we can maintain online (ironically), which includes denying cookies, asking apps not to track, not having accounts connected, or using private viewing. I’m not sure.
Wow, this was such a pleasure to read! Apologies if this is lame but I wanted to share my own newsletter (bookcrumbs) because I think you might like it. Every week, I recommend one novel along with a film and song pairing that I think fits it's flavour profile. Maybe check it out?
Okay, let's assume that you're right, and that tech algorithms "work perfectly" and feed us what we "should" consume (quotes for precision, not for sarcasm).
What do you think are larger implications, if any? Do you think that tech's "precision" service is a good thing for you, or for us as a human collective?
I don’t always know what to make of it. The algorithm serves as a feedback loop that presents us what we already enjoy. In that sense, we are unconsciously being molded to stay the same. That’s not always a good thing. It can keep you from broadening your horizons and learning new things if you’re not already in the business of looking.
Confirmation bias can be strong and it can drive people farther apart if they don’t use community and interactions themselves as ways to the molded. For me, I start seeing how different content is fed to me and what is assumed I’ll enjoy. Sometimes it’s a good thing. I delve deeper into what I like and other times, there’s a hint of pandering.
Question: How would you feel if you bought 'Thing A', and a day later someone showed up at your door to sell you something? That's what Google is doing. Surveillance capitalism. Data mining.
You opened the door and they said, "Hey, Chevanne, We know you liked Thing A, so we thought you'd like Thing B." When you asked them, "How do you know my name? How did you find my address? What right do you have to be here?" they answered, "It was in the information you gave when you bought Thing X. You consented to us going through your trash and your receipts when you bought Thing X. We know everything that you and your husband have bought for 10 years, plus every intimate detail of you and your kids' lives."
I'm sickened by surveillance capitalism, but not everyone is. I ghostwrote a book a few years ago for a woman who was in upper management of a huge corporation. She loved the ease and simplicity of pushing those Amazon buttons to order her family's necessities. I was horrified that people who could know better were so comfortable with that level of tech encroachment into our private lives and homes. I'm horrified that I can't escape it.
You're right that there are some 'good thing[s]' about it, but those things exist in spite of tech, not because of it. It's not here to do anything good for us. IMO.
Oh, I think you’re right. Ultimately, we have been flooded and drowned in marketing for the last century and escaping its orbit takes a lot of conscious disengagement from its many arms.
Of course I would be horrified. It’s invasive and imposing. But it’s also direct. The way that intrusion is masked is through timed and curated ads. It’s something just out of sight that we nonetheless respond to. The door-to-door salesman is dead. Why do all that work when people can be tracked from a phone (that we have all become convinced we cannot live without).
I find people don’t see the harm. They don’t think it matters since everything is catalogued, tracked, graphed, and a strategy composed for better sales. Where do we draw the line for laypeople with mining and marketing? Trying to sell you cookies is harmless, but knowing you like Chessman is something that feels slightly sinister. The inevitability of it all washes over us since it feels good. We like nice clothes and new electronics. We want clear skin and a round butt. That dopamine hit happens over and over, but since a lot of our communication is routed through devices and apps, refusal feels like being alone.
Tech is going to be as flawed as its designers with similar blind spots and prejudices. I have my communities I like on social media who reinforce the good I want to do and see in the world. Our presence is defiance. And you’re right, it exists in spite of that tech. But aren’t we always doing that? Carving out comfortable and welcoming places in a mad world?
Hey, someone just showed me this site. I haven't gone through it but it looks interesting. More people everywhere of every stripe are sick of the overreach.
https://www.accessnow.org/
And this guy, Robert Epstein, PhD, came from the inside of Silicon Valley and has been a thorn in Google's side for years:
https://stopbigtechnow.com/
:-)