Two questions;
- Do you adopt any of the same choices around digital data, that I do (as lettered below)?
- Do you think there is any 'value' in sticking with 'a principle' even when you can see that it is broadly meaningless in effect?
Choices;
- a) I don’t do social media.
- b) I avoid data collection wherever possible.
- c) I don’t store in the cloud.
- d) I avoid apps, despite knowing that they are invariably “cheaper and/or easier and/or quicker” than other means of doing 'a thing.'
- e) I don’t volunteer any accurate personal data, ever, unless it is officially required.
- f) I don’t “sign in” nor "sign-up" if that is at all possible.
- g) I hate visiting shops but I prefer it to online purchasing.
These choices make things lonelier, more expensive and more inconvenient for anyone who adopts them.
My reason for these (arguably pointless and daft) choices is that I don’t want to contribute towards a centralised and automated system that chooses how to ‘target’ or ‘feed’ information and services to individual humans, because I think that it allows very effective (but subtle) control over “what happens next.” Voter manipulation and Clearview AI are two exemplars of my concerns.
I'm interested in any feedback on these questions.