“When do you read your social media posts – before peeing in the morning or while peeing? There are no other choices”. I did push my phone away this morning as the alarm when off but must confess that eventually succumbed to the temptation and landed in the “before” category. How about you?
Last week I tried explaining ‘fake forwards on WhatsApp’ to my 81-year-old dad. As an example, I created a message saying that five minutes of crawling on the floor a day can release chemicals in your body that will help you stay free of the dreaded corona virus. I encouraged hm to send this to five of his friends. And sure enough, he came back to me just after breakfast saying he had received the same forward from someone else! The sheepish smile on his face was worth a million bucks!
ASHOK’s FIVE is disturbed, concerned and can waste no time reviewing
#TheSocialDilemma, the new documentary that has dropped on #NetflixIndia. The documentary is a series of interviews with ex-captains of the tech industry who have helped create the social monster but are now repentant and desirous of creating a change. The film also features a drama in the life of a typical America family that reflects the impact of social media on our lives. The film debuted at the Sundance Film Festival in July 2020. One of the enduring images that stays with you is that of #Madmen actor #VincentKartheiser’s three clones and the manner in which they play puppeteer to you and me. Everyday. Every moment. Right Now!
1. “How do you wake up from the Matrix and know that you are out of the Matrix?” asks one of the techies in the documentary. #JeffOrlowski puts together a series of questions that leave you disturbed and seeking answers, not all of which are on offer. The Silicon Valley head-honchos on the film are contrite, reflective and shaken up as they reflect on the Frankenstein they have helped create. Technology products have been of immense value over the years, but the way social media is now vying for our attention has transformed the game. In the new market place, we have become the ‘product’ and the algorithms are influencing our behaviour in line with the expectations set by the advertisers. What’s worrying is that these ex-captains of the industry from Facebook, Google, YouTube, Pinterest and Instagram are struggling to find solutions to address the impending disaster.
2. We live in times where the new ills can shake up our lives. It is not any more about say how the misuse of drugs can impact our physical and metal health. Fake forwards, election manipulation, social media addiction and an inaccurate sense of the truth can transform the society itself. Generation Z, born after 1996 is reportedly asking for surgery to start looking after the filtered versions of their selfies! One could still stay with that. The problem is much much larger. These companies are now creating a ‘customised truth’ that gets rid of the shared sense of reality – this can do away with the frame of reference for people to interact socially. And that could result in chaos, dispense with the idea of democracy and result in civil war in the short term!
3. As the legion of techies, ethicists and former captains of the industry speak out, you realise that the problem is not the technology per se. It is, in fact, the business model around it. Artificial Intelligence is not a thing of the future. It is already here in our midst running the algorithms that prompt you to see a certain video or an image that is perhaps not what you would normally have chosen. And there lies the problem. As #TristanHarris (former design ethicist at Google) and #RogerMcName (early investor at Facebook) point out “If you are not paying for the product, then you are the product”. Big Tech is making our teenagers to ‘think’ and ‘act’ in the way they want, which is of course guided by the big dollars. And this is perhaps the marketeers ultimate delight!
4. A caption in the film somewhere points out that it is the smuggling and the drugs industry which refers to its customers as ‘users’. And now you have social media. How the game has moved from engagement to addiction and how that can damage the fabric of society is what is scary. The visual of the young daughter in the family smashing the container holding the mobile phones is what sent a shiver down my spine. Ben, the geeky teenager starts behaving as a lab rat in the hands of the program algorithms as they coax, push and goad him to behave in the manner they want.
5. #The SocialDilemma begins with a quote from Sophocles “Nothing vast enters the life of mortals without a curse” and this sets up the preamble to the ominous forecasts of the ex-employees of the tech companies. As we swipe, refresh and devour the fresh new feed pouring on to our mobile phones, the ethicists compare this with how you engage with the slot machine in a Vegas casino. Time clearly for swift, critical and decisive action to address the issue before it gets out of hand!
Amidst all the brouhaha in India about sensational news coverage camouflaging real and material issues that impact our lives, the impending disaster that social media is setting up is disturbing. Switching off your social accounts is clearly not the solution. Regulation perhaps. Social rules maybe. Inclusive discussion and more awareness definitely yes. #TheSocialDilemma is a clarion call for action that is required and must be taken soon. What is does for the moment though is that next time your feed throws up a story or a video or an image, you will surely reflect!
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