It is no secret that with the digital revolution has come many new forms of addiction, as users chase after social-media "likes" and other online stimuli. But less understood is the extent to which most of the tech industry now relies on behavioral manipulation to maximize profits at the expense of our wellbeing.
MENLO PARK – Here in Silicon Valley, it is an open secret that countless corporations and start-ups are working on ways to turn humans into robots they can control. More and more, the industry is focused not so much on technology as on what might be called “personality-disorder marketing.” Technologies are being created and deployed in recognition of the fact that all pleasures are more or less equal to the human brain, whether they originate with a win at the blackjack table, a line of cocaine, or “likes” on social media.
MENLO PARK – Here in Silicon Valley, it is an open secret that countless corporations and start-ups are working on ways to turn humans into robots they can control. More and more, the industry is focused not so much on technology as on what might be called “personality-disorder marketing.” Technologies are being created and deployed in recognition of the fact that all pleasures are more or less equal to the human brain, whether they originate with a win at the blackjack table, a line of cocaine, or “likes” on social media.