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Researchers fear a scenario in which smart speakers feed sleepers subliminal ads

sciencemag.org

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Re: Researchers fear a scenario in which smart speakers feed sleepers subliminal ads

#191

Post by ashtonkem »

streamofdigits wrote: post #90

We have gotten to the point where the simple (and arguably essential) task of individuals learning about what the economy is producing is degenerating into a societal gangrene. No, this is not all the handywork of Zuck and the "don't be evil" company. All the conditions for their "success" have been engineered in the previous decades of the adoption and scaling of TV tech: The captive population of couch potato, over…

It’s more than that.

Without the promise of ever rising profits, the capitalist class will panic and do god knows what. Their need for not just profits, but increasing profits is insatiable. Trying to force products on consumers for manufactured reasons is probably not even the worst crime done in the name of profits.

Re: Researchers fear a scenario in which smart speakers feed sleepers subliminal ads

#192

Post by ashtonkem »

filchermcurr wrote: post #59

On the bright side, smart speakers aren't even a little bit essential, so it's easy enough to just not buy them if this starts happening. I don't think the value proposition of an always-on device connected to a vast advertising network is very high to begin with. Throw in subliminal advertising and you'd have to be very... dedicated... to want such a device. If it succeeds even a little, though, they'll bake it into…

Smart speakers aren’t necessary, but they’re exceedingly popular. History tells us that advertisers can and will exploit the popularity of a convenient but optional device to push ads.

And word to the wise; don’t sleep with a phone in your bedroom. It’s really bad for your sleep hygiene.

Re: Researchers fear a scenario in which smart speakers feed sleepers subliminal ads

#193

Post by THJr »

hangonhn wrote: post #50
IvyMike wrote: post #18

Leela : Didn't you have ads in the 21st century? Fry : Well sure, but not in our dreams. Only on TV and radio, and in magazines, and movies, and at ball games... and on buses and milk cartons and t-shirts, and bananas and written on the sky. But not in dreams, no siree.

I never appreciated Futurama when I was younger. At the time it felt like worse Simpsons but in the future. But later on I realized it’s a really good critique of our contemporary society disguised as the future looking back on us with Fry standing in for the audience. Some of the jokes are funny because they’re so biting.

I remember an interview they did with some of the writers, and they were talking about how they included certain items (eg. room-size computers) to be silly and anachronistic, but others (eg. dvd players) to help relate things to current times. They said that when they were writing the final seasons, the team couldn't tell which items in the earliest seasons were supposed to be relatable and which were supposed to be silly.

Re: Researchers fear a scenario in which smart speakers feed sleepers subliminal ads

#194

Post by JumpCrisscross »

southerntofu wrote: post #182
JumpCrisscross wrote: post #175

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> organize into autonomous communes Humans once operated like this. We were violent, suspicious of one another and traded from time to time. Most people died violent deaths or starved. (Absent any police force, I can take command of my commune on the promise of improving its wellbeing by taking your’s stuff.) Also, I can’t autonomously grow good avocados in New York.

> We were violent, suspicious What's your source? Some people argue the exact opposite. Personally, i don't believe in human nature but i believe in the power of cultures to shape our lives, so the two situations are entirely possible in my view. > Absent any police force, I can take command of my commune That's not how it works. It's precisely when there is already power and privilege that a police force is establis…

> What's your source? Some people argue the exact opposite

As you say, it’s controversial. The data I’ve seen popularly summarised and responded to [1] agree that rates of violent death stayed stable or decreased from when we abandoned nomadism until the present.

> When there is less authority/privilege in a community, there is no police force: the people arm and defend themselves directly (popular self-defense)

Authority doesn’t require a font of honor. It just benefits from one. Power exists in a vacuum, and can mobilise people with the promise of a better life. For example, if my commune made dumb decisions and ruined its crops while the neighbours didn’t. (Or for taco night.)

> What good does eating avocados bring to yourself and your community, compared to the social/environmental damages caused by huge monoculture of avocado and transport of it over long distances using fossil fuels?

It brings me pleasure. It also brings me pleasure to know I’m not trashing the planet, but sometimes those desires intersect. Separately, if if my cultural awareness is small and local, I may care less about my long-term effects on faraway places.

[1] https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Better_Angels_of_Our_Nat...

Re: Researchers fear a scenario in which smart speakers feed sleepers subliminal ads

#196

Post by rchaud »

filchermcurr wrote: post #59

On the bright side, smart speakers aren't even a little bit essential, so it's easy enough to just not buy them if this starts happening. I don't think the value proposition of an always-on device connected to a vast advertising network is very high to begin with. Throw in subliminal advertising and you'd have to be very... dedicated... to want such a device. If it succeeds even a little, though, they'll bake it into…

I want to believe that, but the success of Ringo doorbells tells me people are ultimately lemmings. Advertise long enough and eventually they'll be worn down.

Re: Researchers fear a scenario in which smart speakers feed sleepers subliminal ads

#197

Post by JumpCrisscross »

briandear wrote: post #176
sydthrowaway wrote: post #49

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Nothing works on Safari

That just isn’t true. Here’s one example: https://crystalapp.co/ and: https://better.fyi/ I use both on iOS Safari.

Also Wipr and 1Blocker on Mac as well as Purify on iOS.

Re: Researchers fear a scenario in which smart speakers feed sleepers subliminal ads

#198

Post by fny »

XorNot wrote: post #173
tremon wrote: post #119

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"When a measure becomes a goal, it seizes to be a good measure." But as you say, the problem isn't economic growth in itself, but the fact that our entire (debt-based) economy is predicated on eternal growth. Eventually, every population reaches a steady-state equilibrium with its environment (even an artificial environment such as "the economy"). The hyper-focus on economic growth and our dependence on it causes all…

Again, this is not what economic growth is. Any efficiency improvement, any self-improvement, anything, is economic growth. If you don't have economic growth, then tomorrow cannot be better then today. But that is a very different question to "should we cut down more rainforest?" You've got the cause and effect backwards, and it's exactly what lobbyists for the problem areas want: arguing against economic growth is p…

You're conflating economic growth with efficiency.

Economic growth is measured in gross domestic product. The total of goods and services produced in a given year.

So as efficiency increases, you actually need to consume more to achieve the same growth since your production costs decrease.

Re: Researchers fear a scenario in which smart speakers feed sleepers subliminal ads

#199

Post by [deleted] »

deepserket wrote: post #160
rapnie wrote: post #70

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I noticed this is starting to be less effective. Now and then an ad creeps through the protection barrier. First time it happened to me was exactly at the moment I was demonstrating someone that I really do have an ad-free internet experience :/

i'm using vanced and it works really great, the only ads that i rarely see are the "recommended promoted video"

[deleted]

Re: Researchers fear a scenario in which smart speakers feed sleepers subliminal ads

#200

Post by BurningFrog »

hangonhn wrote: post #50
IvyMike wrote: post #18

Leela : Didn't you have ads in the 21st century? Fry : Well sure, but not in our dreams. Only on TV and radio, and in magazines, and movies, and at ball games... and on buses and milk cartons and t-shirts, and bananas and written on the sky. But not in dreams, no siree.

I never appreciated Futurama when I was younger. At the time it felt like worse Simpsons but in the future. But later on I realized it’s a really good critique of our contemporary society disguised as the future looking back on us with Fry standing in for the audience. Some of the jokes are funny because they’re so biting.

Well, a critique of society 2 decades ago.
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