Hidden Forces

Surveillance Capitalism in the Age of the Unprecedented | Shoshana Zuboff

Feb 25, 2019
Shoshana Zuboff, Professor Emeritus at Harvard Business School and author, dives into the unsettling concept of surveillance capitalism. She discusses how personal experiences are commodified, leading to a loss of autonomy and privacy. The conversation highlights the psychological impacts of digital monitoring and the eerie control it exerts over behavior. Zuboff warns of a future dominated by data-driven absolutism, urging for societal awareness and collaboration to reclaim democratic values in an increasingly manipulative landscape.
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INSIGHT

Hidden Mechanics of Surveillance Capitalism

  • Surveillance capitalism operates in secret and depends on our ignorance to function.
  • Its power lies in shaping behavior for commercial goals without caring about individual outcomes.
INSIGHT

Behavior Shaping as Prediction Tool

  • The best predictions come from actually shaping and nudging people's behavior.
  • This usage of digital tech revives discredited behavioral modification at a massive commercial scale.
ADVICE

Name It to Empower

  • Learn to name and understand surveillance capitalism to gain empowerment over it.
  • Recognize that ignorance is deliberately engineered to deny us resistance opportunities.
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