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Meta's blockbuster trial draws parallels to big tobacco

economist.com

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Re: Meta's blockbuster trial draws parallels to big tobacco

#11
post #4

[flagged]

Fundamentally different yet with practical outcomes that are close enough. Wildly impressive what we as a species achieved.

The headline talks about parallels. A closer example is gambling if you are concerned with physical properties of a system. Light and sound.

Re: Meta's blockbuster trial draws parallels to big tobacco

#15
post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> fundamentally different fundamentally different how? Because they use your visual cortex to trigger neurons?

Physical compulsion is a pretty big difference.

All comes down to neurotransmitters in the end.

Re: Meta's blockbuster trial draws parallels to big tobacco

#16
post #4

[flagged]

> designed What?

"By the early 1960s, however, Philip Morris scientists had discovered that ammonia could also be used to increase the free nicotine in cigarette smoke, providing a more powerful nicotine kick than the milder low-pH tobaccos traditionally used in American-blend cigarettes."

They referred to it as 'crack nicotine' internally. It was an entire, giant scandal. They made a movie about it.

This product that kills the users of it with remarkably high rates and has effectively no positive use is fundamentally different from light and sound.

Re: Meta's blockbuster trial draws parallels to big tobacco

#18
post #4

[flagged]

Fundamentally different yet with practical outcomes that are close enough. Wildly impressive what we as a species achieved. The headline talks about parallels. A closer example is gambling if you are concerned with physical properties of a system. Light and sound.

No one is breaking into cars to pay for Facebook, but they absolutely are with regards to heroin.

Re: Meta's blockbuster trial draws parallels to big tobacco

#19
post #7
post #3

I do wonder what’s going to happen in the future to addictive social media algorithms. Feels like one of those things that’s so powerful, but skirts by because it doesn’t feel like it should be (like targeted advertising).

Can we just ban algorithms for content and go back to chronological feeds circa 2004 Facebook? Or maybe ban all content that the user isn't explicitly subscribed to. Those both have problems too, I'm sure.

I think the major issue is, people still have the option of those older forms of feeds, people just don't like them.

New social media competitors (ie Tiktok) have won users by having even more powerful algorithms rather than other options.

Re: Meta's blockbuster trial draws parallels to big tobacco

#20
post #4

[flagged]

Not when they condition children and allow access to them by predators. Reports of bad content, fake, and scam behavior go deliberately rejected and Meta profits from scammers doing their scamming among children. (Read up on Officer Gomez reports of grooming all over Instagram and Facebook and TikTok)
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