A Type Of Technology That Is Going To Change Your Habits And Behavior

Living in a contemporary world means that we are being subjected to a constant attack of automated digital manipulation. We think that we can usually predict people’s behaviors, especially if we only know their thoughts and their feelings, but the reality is much more complex. Our actions also have an influence on our thoughts and feelings. If we engage in a behavior, and especially one that we had not expected, our thoughts and feelings in relation to that behavior are likely to change.

Persuasive technology, as it is now called, is a new design philosophy taught and developed at leading world's universities, which means using computers to change what we think and do. This philosophy is now implemented on different places from social networks to smartphones and even fitness trackers. It can be controversial - and it clearly is. So, we can ask questions like "Who will manage this power of digital influence? And to what end?" I think we can safely assume that the goal is to create behavioral changes and habits, usually without our knowledge or consent. Why? The answer seems obvious.

Persuasive technology was pioneered by BJ Fogg, the director of the Persuasive Technology Lab at Stanford University. BJ Fogg has coined the term "Captology" an acronym for computers as persuasive technologies. Netflix in 2020 released documentary The Social Dilemma revealed the dark side to persuasive technology used by tech giants.