Don't Become a Hacked Human

Much of the information and conjecture I am going to put forth in this article comes from the research of Yuval Noah Harari in his book, "Homo Deus". Yuval is an Israeli public intellectual, historian and a professor in the Department of History at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. I have linked the book here for you and if any of the ideas in this blog resonate with you, highly encourage you to read it.

We live in an age where algorithms attempt to control more and more of the decisions in our daily lives. But what happens when these algorithms know us better than we know ourselves? That's when you become a hacked human being.

As mentioned above, in his book Homo Deus, Dr. Harari makes several predictions about the future and, like a good historian, tries to give us information so we can be aware that such macro changes are taking place in our society.

A prediction he puts forth, one I agree with, is that the future (and perhaps the present) is going to be all about data aggregation. The country, company, entity or individual with the most data will be the one most able to leverage that data to achieve results.

He posits that capitalism did not triumph over communism because it was morally better. Indeed, from a strictly intellectual standpoint, you could make the argument that capitalism is a morally inferior system of organization than true communism.

In reality, the ideals of communism have always been hijacked by a "vanguard" party, which essentially just creates a dictatorship in red clothing. Such eventualities have been seen in the former USSR, China, and Venezuela.

But to return from the digression, capitalism did not triumph over communism (or indeed social humanism) because it was morally superior. It did so because it could allocate information in a more efficient way.

Hundreds of incredible innovations occurred during the 20th century. From internal combustion engines to antibiotics to suffrage. Life was moving at such a rapid pace it was impossible for any one entity to keep track of and allocate all that data.

Which is why capitalism succeeded and continues to succeed. There is a famous story Harari references in his book in which a Russian commissar visits Britain for the first time. The USSR had long since become a land of lines.

Lines at the petrol stations, lines at the bread markets, lines at the departments of education and labor. In England, there are no lines. There are shops selling merchandise. People go in, pay for what they need, and leave.

The commissar was blown away. "Who is in charge of getting bread to your people?" he asked. "I must speak with him about his methods." The Brit showing him around thought about it for a moment, then said "No one is in charge of getting the people bread."

And therein lies the genius of capitalism. No one can properly aggregate all that data, so therefore, no one tries to. They focus on their little sector, and everyone does likewise. In that way, the whole system takes care of itself (theoretically and in this example.)

Now the purpose of this article is not to extoll the virtues of capitalism. There are many issues with the system of capitalism, not least of all include inequality and whether or not Keynesian policies should be enacted.

The purpose is to show that capitalism as a system of organization worked because it properly allocated information and data in the best way possible. All that may be about to change.

Have you ever thought about where your data is going? Every time you perform a search on Google, it aggregates that data. Every time you listen to a song or podcast on Spotify, it aggregates that data. Every time you watch a TikTock, or choose to watch that movie on Netflix, or spend 20 minutes on PornHub, that entity is learning something about you.

What happens when an entity knows more about you than you know about yourself? That's when you become a hacked human.

It's Not Easy to Hack a Human

Socrates said eons ago that the meaning of life is to know thyself. What happens when a computer algorithm knows you better than you know yourself?

Consider the rational and the experiential self:

The rational self is the part of your brain that tells stories, keeps up a running dialogue. Explains your actions to yourself and others. It is the frenetic press secretary giving formal statements that are vetted before being released to the world.

The experiential self: is the one that lives moment to moment. That revels in the video game you are playing when you should be working out. That enjoys that bowl of ice cream even when you are lactose intolerant. And that actively promotes that kink you have for lingerie.

Your rational self looks for evidence for why you like lingerie and why you continue to eat ice cream when you know there will be consequences. Your experiential self can't be bothered. And herein lies the problem.

Perhaps you are freaked out by the fact you like lingerie (or a more taboo kink). You can suppress those desires all you want, but who among us hasn't gone to Google for answers.

And what happens when those searches remain in perpetuity. When Google remembers what you said last week better than you remember yourself. When it puts the pieces together better than you can yourself, because you've convinced yourself of something to keep your ego happy.

That's when you become a hacked human. Someone an entity can easily manipulate if they so chose to.

Hacking Human Today

Social media companies are already doing it, or trying to. During his conversation with Sam Harris on the Waking Up Podcast, Roger McNamee and Sam talk about how Facebook is already manipulating its customer base.

Roger has been a Silicon Valley investor for thirty-five years. He has cofounded successful venture funds including Elevation with U2’s Bono. He was a former mentor to Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg and helped recruit COO Sheryl Sandberg to the company. He holds a B.A. from Yale University and an M.B.A. from the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth College.

Roger talks about how the Facebook app model is all about trying to get you on the app and stay there. And how do they do this? Nefarious, seemingly harmless ways.

They send you push notifications, first about things that matter to you, and then about things that are so far on the periphery, that you begin to get annoyed. So you turn off the push notifications. Then like a needy partner they text you. They do whatever they can to get you back on the app.

And once you're on there, there are several mechanisms to keep you there. One of the most insidious is how they tell you about your notifications. Roger explains how the gold bell that rings every time you log onto Facebook was coded:

When you log in, it waits a half second for your feed to load. Then the bell turns red and "rings". This graphic gives your brain a little shot of dopamine because a) it feels like you won something and b) you can't wait to see what you won. If you log into Facebook and don't have any new notifications, you can feel sad and empty. Maybe you'll even post something so you can have people to interact with. It's the same type of gimmicks they use in casinos with the bright lights and spinning machines that exclaim "Jackpot! You won! Play again!".

Once you know this about technology, you begin to see it everywhere. YouTube offers you videos you might like (and you probably will). ESPN tells you all the news fit to print. Even Duolingo tells you to keep up that streak, you're doing so well.

Why? Because in a post industrial economy that run on intellectual property, there is no product. You are the product. Your time and opportunity cost are the resources being expended, and your time and data are what are being harvested by companies to make money, sell ad space, get subscriber growth, and grow their margins.

To be perfectly clear: I am not advocating for a removal of technology from your home or life. Technology is here to stay and no one ever changed history by trying to stop it from happening. Entropy always wins.

What I'm trying to do by penning this article is to let people know they should have some awareness in regard to their technology.

A man with a smartphone is infinitely more powerful than a man without a smartphone.

But if the man with the smartphone has become hacked by giving up all his data to companies that claim to make his life better, he has lost his ability to make any decisions that might lead to longer term happiness or decisions he'd like to make in the future.

What to do?

There may well come a time when benevolent algorithms know us better than we know ourselves, and we can use a kind of virtual assistant to ask what to study, whom to marry, where to live and whether or not to invest in that stock. Frankly, it is probably inevitable as the aggregation of data become the norm.

We can only hope such algorithms have safeguards as made famous by Isaac Asimov or Will Smith in the book and movie "I, Robot":

First Law: A robot may not injure a human being or, through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm.

Second Law: A robot must obey the orders given it by human beings except where such orders would conflict with the First Law.

Third Law: A robot must protect its own existence as long as such protection does not conflict with the First or Second Law.

Until such time as we have such ironclad safeguards in place, I offer these suggestions:

1. Become aware of how technology may be manipulating you. It may be there to help you, but it is also there to help itself and those who created it.

2. Be aware of the level of access you give companies and entities. Do you really want to give a watch access to internal functions such as blood pressure, heart rate and respiration?

3. Whenever you are deciding whether to implement a new level of technology that promises convenience in your life, weigh the pros and cons of what it is offering, what it is providing, and what it plans to take from you in return.

Helpful resources:

#152 - THE TROUBLE WITH FACEBOOK

Yuval Noah Harari Website

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I recently completed a computer science class taught by a Stanford professor and highly recommend educating yourself further on how computers, algorithms, and current technology work. Doing so will put you in the top 1% of people who actually understand the current direction of civilization.