The Internet, Perfectly Broken
The internet, even though it is a public good with a reasonable cause of existence, is fundamentally broken, structurally, ethically and practically
At first glance, the internet appears to be an invaluable public good - connecting people globally and providing unfettered access to information and communication. Yet when examining the underlying infrastructure, ethics, and real-world functionality of the internet, it becomes evident that this technology is fundamentally broken in key ways.
If the internet is to empower humanity rather than exploit it, we need honest reckoning around the ways in which this technology replicates and amplifies existing social problems. Only then can we work to improve the internet's infrastructure, safeguard ethics, and align functionality with its original vision - as a liberating, democratizing force for the common good. This will require sustained effort from regulators, companies, and users alike.
If you surveyed the amount of tools that make the Internet work, you would arrive to few unfettered individuals working without a consensus. Mostly maintaining an obscure service or project that was developed in the past decade.
Working in public for the public good
In the book working in public, Nadia Asparouhova introduces maintaining open source software and large organisations. Asparouhova elucidates the collaborative nature of open-source projects, it echoes the potential for data: when released from its silos and made public, it becomes a communal asset. Much like open-source software, public data can fuel innovation, foster collaboration, and empower diverse communities.
As data increases in privatised storage systems, its value increases in public spaces. Data collection is only valuable due to the fact that it is siloed into servers under sea or in some data storage facilities, if that data is made public then it will be worthless to store it in huge volumes.
If data is redundant, what is the value of data?
If all our data was considered to be not valuable, you may wonder how that would happen. One way, is if we make all our data public, then the person aggregating that data is in fact gathering junk data.
Internet Access Disparities
Another critical issue with the internet is the digital divide, where marginalized communities lack access to essential online resources and opportunities.
The Gini index, access disparity ratio, and internet penetration rate serve as invaluable metrics for evaluating inequality in internet access across diverse populations.
Where X represent internet access rates for individuals, n is the total number of individuals, and X(bar) is the mean internet access rate.
Access Disparity Ratio:
Internet Penetration Rate:
The Gini index, access disparity ratio, and internet penetration rate serve as invaluable metrics for evaluating inequality in internet access across diverse populations.
Data Utility
If everyone’s data was indeed public, most companies would need to redefine their business model. To redefine who will be the target, adverts generally target individuals as the data is sold to them for that reason — if Facebook made our data a public repository, advertising companies would not need to use a service for selling to those individuals. What would cause them to do that. This might be regulation or mass safety reason as according to some US laws.
Munition Laws
During the World War II, Alan Turin was working on a so-called enigma problem. Currently, due to strict laws on importing of cryptography from countries , it affects us today if we wish to use software that is protected with encryption on your laptop.
Adapocalypse
In the realm of web advertising, data dignity infrastructure acts as a safeguard against the intrusive nature of online ads. It achieves this by emphasizing granular user control, ensuring explicit opt-in mechanisms, and supporting the use of ad blockers to respect users' choices regarding ad exposure. This infrastructure encourages contextual advertising based on webpage content rather than personal data, diminishing the feeling of surveillance. Moreover, it advocates for rigorous data anonymization, protecting user privacy while enabling effective ad targeting.
The end of surveillance capitalism advertising can be visualised through :
Data Dignity Infrastructure: Prioritizing user privacy and choice through granular user control, explicit opt-in mechanisms, ad blockers, contextual advertising, and data anonymization, fostering a respectful advertising ecosystem.
Native Advertising: Non-disruptive native advertising seamlessly integrates into the user experience, making it engaging and less intrusive.
Opt-In and Value Exchange: Users have the option to opt-in for specific ads or content in exchange for benefits, ensuring they receive advertisements they are genuinely interested in.
Personalised: Advanced artificial intelligence enables accurate user profiling, ensuring personalized content and ads tailored to user preferences, enhancing engagement without intrusive methods.
The Click Hypothesis
The smartest people of our generation are dedicated to maximising our unbridled attention towards consumerism.
The Click Hypothesis posits that in the digital age, some of the brightest minds are channeled into the optimisation of capturing our unfocused attention and directing it towards consumerism — Escher Studies
This phenomenon is largely manifested through online advertising, where algorithms and sophisticated strategies are employed to maximize user engagement and, ideally, purchases. The hypothesis underscores the strategic efforts and immense intellectual capital dedicated to mastering the art of grabbing our attention in a world oversaturated with information and advertisements. It reflects a deeper societal trend, highlighting the constant battle for attention and the significant role played by digital advertising in shaping contemporary consumer behavior.
Advertisers assume that a higher click-through rate (CTR) correlates with the effectiveness of an ad campaign.
If we want to consider an ethical method of click-through, then we can look at ethical CTR(e):
As the Internet evolves, it’s critical that we continuously re-examine and improve its underlying infrastructure, policies, and content moderation to ensure the web lives up to its potential as an inclusive space. Though the Internet offers extraordinary possibilities, it also reflects the best and worst of humanity. Its future will depend on our commitment to equitably serving all people.
The Recommender Hypothesis
The Recommender Hypothesis argues that the formidable capabilities of modern AI techniques like deep neural networks are predominantly channeled towards optimizing user engagement rather than addressing more pressing challenges facing society.
This hypothesis contends that the brightest minds in AI research are focused more on incrementally improving click-through rates, watch times, and conversion funnel optimization for tech companies rather than tackling major open problems where advanced intelligence could massively benefit humanity.
The cognitive lens of The Click Hypothesis
Attention as a Limited Cognitive Resource. At any time t, the available information exceeds our finite attention span, making attention a scarce resource.
Memory Systems and Novelty Bias:
Human memory prioritizes novel information over familiar data. Online platforms utilize this bias by consistently presenting new content to capture attention.
In conclusion, while the internet has revolutionized communication and knowledge-sharing, we must thoughtfully examine its imperfections and work to improve this technology for the common good.
The issues raised around infrastructure biases, data commodification, access disparities, and the attention economy reveal that the internet still falls short of its utopian ideals. There are always opportunities for redemption and renewal if we have the will to imagine better and act. While the path ahead is challenging, a more just and empowering internet remains within our capabilities to create.