The attention economy, driven by software choices that aim to keep users engaged on platforms, is heavily influenced by surveillance capitalism. An article from Frontline explores how surveillance capitalism commodifies personal data to create 'behavioral surplus' and manipulate consumer choices. Companies design offerings to hold customers' attention for as long as possible, utilizing techniques like infinite scrolling and personalized content recommendations. Data, which serves as both the raw material and means of production in the modern economy, is often used in ways that exceed its original purpose. The businesses that control data have immense power to shape beliefs and decisions. Understanding the relationship between surveillance capitalism and the attention economy is crucial in navigating the digital landscape [a6829ede].
The Google antitrust trial raises questions about the capture and control of human attention for profit. Google pays billions to be the default search engine on Apple devices, raising concerns about unfair advantage and competition distortion. Different perspectives can be taken on the issue, with some seeing Google as the malefactor and others seeing Apple as extorting Google. The article highlights the need to address these questions and the lack of clear answers. The author, J. Bradford DeLong, is a Professor of Economics at the University of California, Berkeley, and a former Deputy Assistant US Treasury Secretary [1fc30258].
The attention economy poses challenges that threaten to undermine the quality of our attention, relationships, and understanding of the world. The concept of the attention economy was first discussed by psychologist and economist Herbert A. Simon in 1971. The value of attention is evident in the global net advertising revenue generated in 2023. While the attention economy offers tailored experiences and opportunities, it also erodes context and drives isolation and disconnection. To navigate the attention economy, it is important to bridge the digital divide, prioritize context, and pay attention to what truly matters [a5c36644].
In today's hyper-capitalist economy, more aspects of human life are being commodified for corporate profit. Government efforts to moderate these effects often reinforce the trend. The tendency of capitalism to commodify everything has returned in the past half-century, accompanied by increased concentration of power. Various sectors, such as healthcare, banking, education, and housing, have experienced intensified commodification and concentration. Traditional public goods, like early childhood education and public higher education, have become more for-profit. Labor has become more commodified with weaker unions and pressure for profit-maximization. Technological advancements have facilitated hyper-capitalism, with personal data being used as a product and AI enabling platforms to maximize profit. Public alternatives to hyper-commodification are proposed in areas like banking, education, and housing. The article emphasizes the need to address the core problem of hyper-commodification through ideas, politics, and power [278ea3d2].
The attention economy refers to the business model of companies that offer their goods or services for free but profit from selling user data to third parties and advertisers. Large social media companies like Facebook, YouTube, LinkedIn, Twitter, and TikTok operate on this model. These companies collect real-time user data and sell it to advertisers and third parties to modify user behavior. The architecture and structure of attention economy platforms are optimized to capture as much attention as possible, without regard for people’s well-being. They use addictive design techniques, such as the infinite scroll, intermittent variable rewards, and manipulating social validation, to keep users engaged. The attention economy creates a conflict between the goals of users and the goals of companies. Innovations like generative AI and interactive AI are expected to exacerbate the problems caused by the attention economy. To address these issues, the author suggests separating behavioral data collection from the attention economy business model, fostering media literacy, and banning addictive design techniques [a30bc1d2].
Surveillance capitalism, as explained in an article from Crypto.News, is a business model where tech companies collect personal data to predict and influence behavior for advertising. This practice raises concerns about privacy and data protection. However, crypto and blockchain technology offer potential solutions by enhancing privacy and limiting data extraction. Blockchain transactions do not require personal information, and cryptocurrencies like Monero and Zcash enhance user privacy. Blockchain can also be used for decentralized identities, secure healthcare data management, and data integrity with AI. The future of crypto includes adoption of privacy coins, blockchain in consumer data rights, regulation and standardization, and blockchain's role in IoT. However, regulatory frameworks and scalability issues need to be addressed [a8a8cc9d].