Here’s a very intriguing article from The New Yorker about information processing and human perception. I suspect that many of you will find this piece interesting and (perhaps more importantly) enjoyable to read. The author relates modern phenomena (e.g. fake news) to key developments in our ancient past, with references to a variety of disciplines, in a distinctly accessible format.
Some quotes that I found particularly memorable as well as useful for capturing and conveying the general tone of the piece:
“People believe that they know way more than they actually do. What allows us to persist in this belief is other people.”
“We’ve been relying on one another’s expertise ever since we figured out how to hunt together, which was probably a key development in our evolutionary history. So well do we collaborate, Sloman and Fernbach argue, that we can hardly tell where our own understanding ends and others’ begins.”
“As people invented new tools for new ways of living, they simultaneously created new realms of ignorance; if everyone had insisted on, say, mastering the principles of metalworking before picking up a knife, the Bronze Age wouldn’t have amounted to much. When it comes to new technologies, incomplete understanding is empowering.”
Since we are the second group presenting, we’ve tried to keep our content concise. Our presentation will focus on harms arising from social media and government attempts to regulate them. The first link below gives a sense of the type of social harm that can result from the wider reach and often anonymous nature of social media (read the first page only). The second link gives an example of one extreme of government intervention in controlling the content of social media.
Zoe and I will be presenting February 15th on internet advertising and a number of unique issues which it raises. To give an idea of what we will cover, please see our our full discussion outline below.
Reading Materials
Please have a look at the following reading materials in advance of our discussion:
Ad networks (such as Google DoubleClick, Taboola, etc.) to place links to their websites or content on the pages of…
Publishers (e.g., newspapers, blogs, other various web sites) to draw in…
Audience(s) (you!).
Current Issues
Privacy & Tracking
The modern online advertising industry is built on the collection of user information. What (legal) privacy limits should be imposed on this?
Also, consider implications with regards to “big data” and government surveillance—even if current practices do not offend privacy rights, the retention of user information could present a problem in the future.
Deceptive & Fraudulent Advertising
Are current regulations and regulatory frameworks effective?
Do traditional consumer protection models even work in this context?
Adblocking & the Sustainability of Advertising as an Income Model
Content creator appeals to ethos & the morality of refusing to be advertised to: asking the audience to turn off Adblock?
This week in Comms law we’re doing a presentation on Facebook’s alleged privacy infringements and the broader societal implications of “Big Data”.
If you find yourself some time to spare, take a skim through this informal Q&A with Facebook Global Deputy Chief Privacy Officer Stephen Deadman. This video raises many privacy concerns regarding Facebook and presents the company’s ‘official’ perspectives on them.
