Content-type: text/html Downes.ca ~ Stephen's Web ~ We studied what 10,000 people love online. The results would make Freud blush

Stephen Downes

Knowledge, Learning, Community

There's no link to the original research, and the headline is definitely clickbait, but the article is compelling and reasonable. It analyzes Facebook and YouTube algorithms as "the result of the biggest experiment ever conducted into what engages us" and concludes "The answer is clear: something more extreme than the thing we last watched." The algorithms that rely on this, writes Brian Millar, are what psychologist Philip Newall has called "dark nudges". The problem is, it's not just Facebook and YouTube doing this. "Behavioral Economics is a great way to sell stuff, get elected and make experiences 'sticky'," writes Millar.

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Stephen Downes Stephen Downes, Casselman, Canada
stephen@downes.ca

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Last Updated: Nov 21, 2024 2:18 p.m.

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