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Google has sent internet into ‘spiral of decline’, claims DeepMind co-founder (www.telegraph.co.uk)

submitted 1 year ago by Bebo@literature.cafe to c/technology@lemmy.world

196 comments fedilink hide all child comments

Google has plunged the internet into a “spiral of decline”, the co-founder of the company’s artificial intelligence (AI) lab has claimed.

Mustafa Suleyman, the British entrepreneur who co-founded DeepMind, said: “The business model that Google had broke the internet.”

He said search results had become plagued with “clickbait” to keep people “addicted and absorbed on the page as long as possible”.

Information online is “buried at the bottom of a lot of verbiage and guff”, Mr Suleyman argued, so websites can “sell more adverts”, fuelled by Google’s technology.

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[–] CosmicCleric@lemmy.world 75 points 1 year ago (2 children)

He said search results had become plagued with “clickbait” to keep people “addicted and absorbed on the page as long as possible”.

It's not just Internet searches. Video games are designed psyop-like as well now, all to drive engagement, and more profits.

At this point we need legislation so companies cannot make products that are mentally manipulative and detrimental to their customers.

They're getting dangerously close to "drug pushers" territory.

[–] hiramfromthechi@lemmy.world 39 points 1 year ago (1 children)

"dangerously close"?

"There are only two industries that call their customers 'users': illegal drugs and software." – Edward Tufte

[–] CosmicCleric@lemmy.world 7 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

“There are only two industries that call their customers ‘users’: illegal drugs and software.” – Edward Tufte

lol! I had never heard of that quote before now, ty for sharing!

[–] pete_the_cat@lemmy.world 12 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (1 children)

This has been going on for decades and Blizzard started using it almost exclusively with World of Warcraft. They made the game a virtual Skinner Box (look it up and read about the experiments if you've never heard about it, pretty much animals will prefer to do things that they derive pleasure from instead of necessary things, like eating), and other companies followed suit. Then loot boxes and IAPs became a thing.

[–] CosmicCleric@lemmy.world 7 points 1 year ago (1 children)

This has been going on for decades

It seems like it's a recent development in this decade, at least an accelerated form of it.

Almost like recently evolved in corporations got together and decided enmass to start treating their customers more like things to exploit.

Less win-win, and more win-lose.

[–] pete_the_cat@lemmy.world 1 points 1 year ago

It's absolutely gotten worse, but it's been a thing for decades.