Ted Talk: We're building a dystopia just to make people click on ads .>

raduv1

Silly title I grant you but an interesting talk non the less of the algorithms used by major tech companies to get us to click on adds . These same algorithms may also be used to to target folk and or change voting habits just based on web browsing history .

We're building a dystopia just to make people click on ads

Whilst you may not agree on all points raised, it does though raise some interesting insights on simply browsing the web or more so social media.

It's only a 20min talk but I'd suggest a full watch through before disscussion.

Can we be manipulated and led by algorithms  on real  issues that are important to our way of life ?

EarthRod

Advertisements in various forms have targeted, persuaded and manipulated for about 150 years. The internet provides another means to carry out the same objective.

Nothing new there then.

If the assumption is made that all or most people are sheep-like and can easily be led by methods of brainwashing through advertising then there is a problem.

If a government decides to influence the outcome of a referendum (for example) and bombards the population with many advertisements, media articles, TV discussions, pronouncements from leading business bosses and film stars and other methods of heavy persuasion and the result of the referendum is not what the government expects then there is no problem.

My point is: over-advertising and too much targeting, persuading and manipulating can have the opposite effect.

As far as advert algorithms on internet websites are concerned many people, including myself, carry out all sorts of cleaning and deleting (housekeeping duties) on the computer, especially web browsing history, which prevent a build up of clogging and unnecessary files.

Toko Black

Advertising, information, disinformation and propaganda is as old as we are more or less.
However, it has evolved along with our cultural, social and especially scientific advancements, taking on new forms of transmission, structure and efficacy.
Over the last century, with the advancement of social anthropology, psychology and statistical data gathering, new ways of reaching and effecting our behaviors have been developed that interact with our subconscious as well as with our conscious minds.
The use of specific colours, sounds, smells, lighting, environment etc can significantly effect peoples moods and succeptability to messages.

It's why supermarkets, fast food chains and companies spend a small fortune on branding, layout, interior design, and the general environments the consumer experiences their products in besides the TV and media advertising. If it didn't work, they wouldn't do it.

With the advent of the world wide web, algorithms, big data, it has been taken to a whole new level, with the sampling, feedback and targeting becoming far more advanced, rapid and efficient.   
Multiple tailored versions of messages can be rapidly developed, distributed and feedback in terms of clicks, page loads, distribution etc almost instantaneously instead of taking months or even years of research, development, studies and data gathering.
Purely in speed (cycle time), you can contrast writing hand written letters to clients or potential customers 150 years ago to the modern corporate letter or email. Auto inserted names, addresses and tailored personal details from a database edited into a standardised letter that can be sent out the same day and arrive the next or by email almost instantly instead of taking hours of pain staking manual writing and days to send and deliver.
Of course the quality and reaction to spam email or mail is not the same as to a hand written letter, but that is where technology, algorithms and advancements are working to make it ever more personal and desirable to read now that the speed has been achieved.

Unfortunately, as a whole we most certainly are. We are all succeptable to being influenced consciously and subconsciously by advertising and messages, although the majority of us consider ourselves immune, intellectually above and wise to such practices.
While rude, bold, in your face adverts may only directly effect only the most succeptable percentage of people, directly or indirectly we all get influenced by at least some of the advertising and messages aimed at us.
We all know that our brains can be fooled by optical illusions, that certain smells, music or images can change our moods, trigger feelings and emotions etc, yet we still stubbornly stick to the idea that we are totally rational and in charge of our actions and minds.
The way we have evolved with our brains taking short cuts to maintain a balance between accuracy and speed enough to be able to react to our environment in 'real time' means there are flaws, loop holes and other ways to misinform or influence our interpretation and responses to stimuli.
Just as our sensory input can be effected and manipulated due to the way it's evolved, so too can our emotional and cognitive functions.
Our evolved mental functions that allow us to interact with each other in terms of socialisation, empathy, love, friendship and trust or negative reactions like fears, anger and hostility can be influenced and interfered with at a subconscious level.

Unsubtle spam advertising can and does often have negative effects on a certain percentage of people - but even that can be manipulated.
Consider the scenario that you want someone or something to fail, you could purposefully over-advertise in favour of it with the intention of causing a negative response.

There is always going to be basic and unsubtle advertising, but that doesn't mean it represents what advertising is capable of and does do in general.

Most people however don't clean out their cookies, browser history etc - but that isn't necessarily going to effect whether or not you are targeted by tailored advertising.
Unless you don't have any profiles, accounts, static ip(or semi static where you usually have the same ip although it isn't 100% guaranteed), social media accounts, forum logins etc etc you are invariably going to be interacting with the computer and the networks in some form or another that some form of profile on you and your habits can be or is stored/tracked/manipulated.

Pacifico

Dunno whether it is just me but I have never found 'targetted' advertising that great - for instance on this page now I get an ad for some posh vacation homes, and ad for a Parka and an ad for Saft, which apparently is 'a platform on the blockchain that will enable individuals to securely store and monetize their personal data.' .

So nothing advertised that I would remotely be interested in buying..

EarthRod

Usually I find it the same - not the slightest interest, unless I find the advert funny or clever or researching the subject then I'm briefly captivated.

As I've been subjected to advertising in all its forms all my life I'm now quite capable through experience of ignoring the flashing images they employ to captivate, unless the advert suddenly flashes up right where I'm looking, then it becomes obtrusive and annoying. Then they have failed in their objective.

However advertising must be worth their while otherwise its a waste of our money

Jezza99

I just use an adblocker. Although I can't use it on here of course. It seems that more and more sites are demanding whitelisting, which I can understand as they need the revenue. But it's still annoying, IMHO.

EarthRod

When I was using my old weak laptop the adverts were slowing it down so much I had to use adblocker. Now I've replaced the 8-year old laptop with a much more powerful 17" screen beastie the adblocker is no longer necessary.

Jezza99

I don't have a problem with speed, I just find online ads annoying, so If a site allows me to block them, I do.

Toko Black

You are both making the mistake of judging advertising and potential advertising techniques via the internet/media on the basis of your experience of pop ups and basic product selling algorithms.

What you can't/aren't counting is all the times more subtle techniques and messages are effecting you subconsciously - because you aren't or won't be aware if it does it's job.
Even things you believe you are fully aware of can include more subtle effects at the subconscious level, a large bold advert that you see and ignore because you know it's an advert is still being processed by your brain.

Human beings do not see hard 'reality', they 'see' a representation created by the brain by filtering, combining and making sense of all your senses inputs measured against learned experience, memory and expectations. Hence why optical illusions have an effect upon you.

With advertising and getting a message across, it's simple, cheap and reasonably effective to stick to the 'just say what it does on the tin' approach with maybe a few embellishments and imagery to infer desirability.  That is for the most part what we experience and think off as advertising, and make the mistake of using as a benchmark of our succeptability or effectiveness upon ourselves.
Even that type of advertising works, because it gets brand or name recognition and even if you don't want that product or service now, if sometime in the future you do, the brand names will come to mind and register more strongly than ones you haven't heard of before.

What people fail to consider is the fact that the same techniques and knowledge that provides a successful career for the likes of Derren Brown, can be and is used to influence our perceptions and decision making on levels we don't consciously recognise.
Why do supermarkets pump fresh baked bread smells into their stores, even the ones without a bakery ?

If you believe for one moment that there aren't organisations, governments, businesses and individuals out there that are either using and developing or at least looking at using the same psychological and sociological techniques to influence our opinions and spending habits then you are extremely naive.
When combined with the rapid cycle, data and feedback fed functionality of the internet, it's a seriously interesting and potentially highly effective way of getting your message out there, be it to buy our stuff .... or buy our politics.

Pacifico

But you a e missing the point. I'm sure that there are many organizations trying to do that and an awful lot of advertising agencies promoting targeted advertising as the way of the future - the point is does it actually work, and I would suggest that based on my personal experience, is not that much.