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How Technology Hijacks People’s Minds

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Re: How Technology Hijacks People’s Minds

#321

Post by majewsky »

vicbrooker wrote: post #32

I can't see a way for this style of design to be feasible that doesn't rely on a subscription-based business model. As long as users allow free + advertising generally be the way to for build a dominant tech company then I would assume anyone that tries to compete by not optimising for advertising (eg. reducing friction for users) will lose. Which is a damn shame. Based on my limited knowledge of the history of news…

For many kinds of services it can work in parallel. For example, there are ad-supported mail providers like Google, while I consciously chose a subscription-based mail provider (posteo.de) whom I trust to act in my best interest.

The only thing where this would not work so well is social networks, due to the network effect.

Re: How Technology Hijacks People’s Minds

#322

Post by majewsky »

excalibur wrote: post #156
marxidad wrote: post #151

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Are you laughing because privacy and other digital rights aren't currently protected as rigorously as they should be?

The notion that they're currently protected at all is a joke.

There are a lot of people out there protecting digital rights and privacy right now. "Protecting" something is an entirely different thing as it being "protected" already.

Re: How Technology Hijacks People’s Minds

#325

Post by Jtsummers »

ljk wrote: post #182
Jtsummers wrote: post #4

Kind of interesting idea about how our tools (generic) present us with limited menus, and effectively restrict our options. Facebook has expanded (barely) the options for basic responses to posts (no longer just like, but also a handful of emoticons to express laughter, anger, sadness, etc.). Not as full an option as when using the comment box, but for quick responses it allows for greater expressiveness. At least pe…

> the demo was with a graduation photo, and a few suggested responses like "You look great!" "Congratulations, so happy for you" or something similar). Don't know why anyone would actually use features like this. It's very impersonal and insincere

People already just like photos like that. Or say simply "happy birthday" to everyone when Facebook tells them it's time. It's a small step from this state to a slightly extended set of canned responses to pick from.

Re: How Technology Hijacks People’s Minds

#326

Post by criddell »

mc32 wrote: post #112
lars wrote: post #30

Wow, I'm glad this was posted. I think the way we use technology today will be looked back on the same way we look back at naive cigarette smoking in the 1950s. Modern app design isn't about creating things that are good for the user, but about creating want in the user. This is a problem. For example, there are several studies showing that using Facebook in general makes people less happy. User happiness just happen…

I agree with you and the article and further... Many companies are trying to take search, for example, to the next level by brining predictability through your history as well as your graph. It takes decisionmaking out of people's minds. "You show a history of reading this and that book, have watched these movies and your circle of meaningful people have influenced you thus, so we have this book on its way to you now…

> by brining predictability through your history as well as your graph

I wish they were better at it. For 15 years now, people have promised that relevant ads will be useful rather than annoying. So far, it seems like the pinnacle of that is to show me the last pair of shoes I looked at on Zappos every where I go.

Ad-tech seems laughably bad. Now I just run with uBlock Origin. Maybe I'll block ads for the next 15 years and see how things are looking in 2030.

Re: How Technology Hijacks People’s Minds

#327

Post by TheSpiceIsLife »

Retric wrote: post #319
TheSpiceIsLife wrote: post #314

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If plants transmit the lead to those who eat them how can it also accumulate in the soil? The plants would bioremediate the soil.

It's not 100%. Suppose a plant absorbs 5% of the lead. Well in the first year you get 5% of the lead in all water used for irrigation. But, 95% is left in the soil. Next year you get 5% of 195%. Until, the soil has 20 years worth of lead and all new lead added in a year ends up in the plant. Drop that to 1% and it would take ~100 years to get the same effect. Note, you would really get a differential equation with se…

Ah, yes, of course. I guess at some point you're supposed to develop soil testing and stop putting the toxins in to the soil. And the air. And the water. It's not looking too good is it.

Re: How Technology Hijacks People’s Minds

#328

Post by shostack »

blabla_blublu wrote: post #275

My 2 cents on this(opinion) and how I am struggling to cope with tech usage in my life. I noticed that I spend a disproportionately high volume of time "consuming" than "creating". Recently I have been making efforts to create more. writing, drawing, painting. Something, anything so that the brain can spend some time coming up with new things instead of just reading/passively participating. Technology has empowered a…

Yeah, consumption vs. creation is a great way to sum it up.

By and large I've cut WAY back on my video game playing (like, from several hours a week down to maybe a half hour of mobile gaming in bed at night) and tried to replace it with "healthier" activities like learning guitar and gardening.

Oddly enough, I don't feel like I have any more free time in my life. I'm wondering if I've filled the gap with more consumption via Reddit/HN/reading books enough to make up for the difference.

And that's the rub, because a lot of the stuff I read online or in books isn't garbage. HN has some interesting topics, my Reddit feed is lots of interesting stuff for the most part now, and I'm reading a great book on investing. Ultimately though those are still consumptive activities.

Re: How Technology Hijacks People’s Minds

#329

Post by anchpop »

majewsky wrote: post #313
danr4 wrote: post #17

I enjoyed the article. The most important takeaway for me was " now companies have a responsibility to reduce these effects by converting intermittent variable rewards into less addictive, more predictable ones with better design" I think most of the techniques listed actually cause pain for users, the same way addictions do. I think a lot of people are aware at some level that they are giving up to temptation and it…

Exactly. I have wondered for a while why I find predictive AI services frightening and even disgusting. I realized that it is through apparent unpredictability of my actions that I perceive my own free will (or at least the illusion of it, depending on one's philosophy). If a computer can acurately predict my actions, it feels like my free will is taken away from me. And free will is one of the few things that truly…

If your free will can be taken away by a machine predicting what you'll be interested in, you never really had it in the first place
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