A primer on behavior design, how AI amplifies, and what we can do
This guide is meant to be an overview/primer for anyone curious about the core behavioral engagement tactics used by most ad-driven tech companies, and the impact it has on us, our kids, community and society as a whole. I’ll share a “Societal Benefit Score” to show the impact of the features used to drive engagement — there’s a societal cost to “free” products. And lastly, I suggest some paths forward to mitigate the negative impact.
As a parent of two teenage girls and an architect of a successful AI-powered behavioral nudging product (the Starbucks Loyalty Platform), I’ve been tracking the state of digital media engagement tactics. Much has been written and shared since Tristan Harris' The Social Dilemma movie and the Cambridge Analytica scandal. But those revelations seem tame next to what we have now, and what’s coming soon.
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