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Silicon PrisonHow Technology is Building

a Sanitised World

Barry Adams

Polemic Digital

December 2014

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About Barry Adams

• Freelance SEO consultant at Polemic Digital

• Dutch (yes, really)

• Twitter ranter: @badams

• Lecturer on SEO, UX & Digital Strategy

• Editor & blogger for StateofDigital.com

• Also blogs at PolemicDigital.com

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A Brief Psychology Lesson

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Fallacies of the Mind

Actor–observer biasAmbiguity effectAnchoring / focalismAttentional biasAvailability cascadeAvailability heuristicBackfire effectBandwagon effectBase rate fallacyBelief biasBias blind spotBizarreness effectChange biasCheerleader effectChildhood amnesiaChoice-supportive biasClustering illusionConfirmation biasCongruence biasConjunction fallacyConservatism (Bayesian)Conservatism / Regressive biasConsistency biasContext effectContrast effectCross-race effectCryptomnesiaCurse of knowledgeDecoy effectDefensive attribution hypothesisDenomination effectDistinction biasDunning–Kruger effect

Duration neglectEgocentric biasEmpathy gapEndowment effectEssentialismExaggerated expectationExpectation biasExtrinsic incentives biasFading affect biasFalse consensus effectFalse memoryFocusing effectForer effect / Barnum effectFraming effectFrequency illusionFunctional fixednessFundamental attribution errorGambler's fallacyGeneration effectGoogle effectGroup attribution errorHalo effectHard–easy effectHindsight biasHostile media effectHot-hand fallacyHumour effectHyperbolic discountingIdentifiable victim effectIKEA effectIllusion of asymmetric insightIllusion of controlIllusion of external agencyIllusion of transparency

Illusion of truth effectIllusion of validityIllusory correlationIllusory superiorityImpact biasInformation biasIn-group biasInsensitivity to sample sizeIrrational escalationJust-world hypothesisLag effectLess-is-better effectLeveling and SharpeningLevels-of-processing effectList-length effectLoss aversionMere exposure effectMisinformation effectModality effectMoney illusionMood-congruent memory biasMoral credential effectMoral luckNaïve cynicismNaïve realismNegativity biasNegativity effectNeglect of probabilityNext-in-line effectNormalcy biasNot invented hereObservation selection biasObserver-expectancy effectOmission bias

Optimism biasOstrich effectOutcome biasOutgroup homogeneity biasOverconfidence effectPareidoliaPart-list cueing effectPeak–end rulePeltzman effectPersistencePessimism biasPicture superiority effectPlanning fallacyPositivity effectPost-purchase rationalizationPrimacy effectRecency effectSerial position effectPro-innovation biasProcessing difficulty effectProjection biasPseudocertainty effectReactanceReactive devaluationRecency illusionReminiscence bumpRestraint biasRhyme as reason effectRosy retrospectionSelective perceptionSelf-relevance effectSelf-serving biasSemmelweis reflexShared information bias

Social comparison biasSocial desirability biasSource confusionSpacing effectSpotlight effectStatus quo biasStereotypical biasStereotypingSubadditivity effectSubjective validationSuffix effectSuggestibilitySurvivorship biasSystem justificationTelescoping effectTesting effectTime-saving biasTip of the tongue phenomenonTrait ascription biasUltimate attribution errorUnit biasVerbatim effectVon Restorff effectWell travelled road effectWorse-than-average effectZeigarnik effectZero-risk biasZero-sum heuristic

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Consumer Decision Making

Need Awareness

Information Search

Evaluating Alternatives

Purchase Decision

Post Purchase

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Consumer Decision Making

Need Awareness

Information Search

Evaluating Alternatives

Purchase Decision

Post Purchase

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The Irrational Consumer

Availability Bias

Anchoring Effect

Mere Exposure Effect

Habituation and Defaults

Social Contagion

Hyperbolic Discounting

Post-Purchase Rationalization

…

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Subconscious Decision Making

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Subconscious Decision Making

Most of our decisions are made by our subconscious mind.

Our conscious mind claims credit after the decision has been made.

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Subconscious Priming

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Exposure Affects Behaviour

The Mere Exposure Effect;

• We develop a preference for things we are exposed to often.

• This exposure does not need to be conscious.

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Words Affect Behaviour

‘Slow Walking’ study:

• Participants are asked to create sentences from ‘random’ words

• Participants’ walking speed is measured as they leave the lab.

Those participants that are exposed to words associated with old age (‘elderly’, ‘wrinkles’, ‘geriatric’, etc) show a significantly slower walking pace.

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Environment Affects Behaviour

When your polling booth is in a school, you are more likely to vote in favour of increased education spending.

Exposure to pictures of libraries makes you speak in quieter tones.

When you eat in self-service restaurants and can smell cleaning products, you keep your own table tidier.

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Does Free Will Exist?

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We Are Not In Control

• Our decisions are subconscious, irrational and emotional.

• Our minds are easily influenced.

• We are not aware of being manipulated;

Priming bypasses the conscious mind and affects our subconscious directly.

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The Internet of Things

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Wearable Tech

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Embedded Tech

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Domestic Tech

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Where TechnologyMeets Psychology

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Nudging

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Algorithmic Regulation

“Algorithmic regulation a system of governance where data collected from citizens, via their smart devices and computers, are used for more efficiency in organizing human life as a collective.”

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Apple Patent No. 8706143

Sensors in your car;

Is the car moving?

Is the person driving using the iPhone?

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“We know everyone who breaks the law, we know when you're doing it. We have GPS in your car, so we know what you're doing.”

“By the way, we don't supply that data to anyone.”

Jim FarleyCMO, Ford

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‘Safeguard Germ Alarm’

Sensors in public toilets;

Are you leaving the toilet without washing your hands?

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Smart shopping trollies that tell you what you're buying and nudge you (emoticons, voice) to buy healthier food.

(Or buy food the supermarkets want you to buy)

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Perceptional Priming

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Everything is Measurable

• Sensors to measure everything you do and consume;Are you eating healthily?

Are you drinking responsibly?

Are you active enough?

• ‘Nudges’ to alter your behaviour positively.

• Repercussions if you don’t; Increased insurance premiums.

Reduced access to healthcare & government services.

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Current Goverment Ideas

Linking of benefits to gym visits.

Tax rebates if you give up smoking, have a healthy blood sugar, and keep weight off.

Automated tax avoidance detection: compare tax returns to spending patterns.

NHS queuing dependent on healthy lifestyle.

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Who is Responsible?

• All the blame for ‘bad’ behaviour is put firmly on the consumer.

• But what about the corporations?

Subconscious nudging and priming are already being used to make us buy stuff that’s bad for us.

Cheap lifestyle options are usually the bad ones.

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Consumer Regulation

Instead of regulating companies, ‘algorithmic regulation’ will regulate consumers.

A shift of the burden of good behaviour from businesses to consumers.

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Punishing the Disenfranchised

• Only the well-off can afford the lifestyle to prevent extra financial burdens.

• What happens when not tracking your lifestyle becomes taxable?

You have nothing to hide, right?

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Where Things Are Headed

Governments want us to behave ‘properly’.

Corporations want us to buy their shit.

What we want is irrelevant can be changed.

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Behavioural Conditioning

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Thank You

barry@polemicdigital.com

www.polemicdigital.com

twitter.com/badams