True. Though I do think we need some way of regulating attention capture. At the moment, there are no repercussions.
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Replying to @cosimia_
Why does that infringe on people’s safety and freedom so badly that it has to be regulated though?
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Replying to @_FitCrit
my attention is all i have. it is not a product to be bought and sold without consequence. if i have any freedom at all, i want it to be that i can choose what to pay attention to. being at the mercy of corporations who exploit evolutionary weaknesses for money aint cool.
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Replying to @cosimia_
Evolution codes for clickbait? I can see clickbait being memetically evolved, but there's so many non-genetic things that go into clickbait that I'd be surprised if it's biologically hard-wired.
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Replying to @reasonisfun @cosimia_
That is a good point actually, what would a trait of high distractibility be selected genetically for? (Though maybe memetic evolution is the right and fair answer here)
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Perhaps not "distractibility"? Instead, consider the very adaptive trait of, "What are my peers thinking and feeling right now?" Lots of models cite interacting with our ancestral social environment as a key driver of human intelligence evolution: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Evolution_of_human_intelligence#Models …
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Replying to @SarahAMcManus @cosimia_
As described, isn't that straightforwardly valuable? In the situations it isn't valuable, is there reason to think the attempted clickbait would work?
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Replying to @reasonisfun @cosimia_
I agree that peer group emotional & opinion tracking is straightforwardly valuable. I'm claiming that clickbait is a parasitic meme piggybacking on that otherwise adaptive system. (Like -- blood carries nutrients; mosquitos feed on blood)
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Yeah I agree with that, just that I think we were talking at slight cross purposes because I was responding to the idea that *distractibility* is evolutionary, whereas I think you’re talking about whether clickbait specifically is evolutionary (and maybe due to something other
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I was more pointing to the fact that we have evolved in such a way that this new environment we live in is able to exploit those old psychological mechanisms. I.e attention mining by feeding us controversy, because we are attracted to it. Or by dopamine hits, which we love
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This all serves the purpose of deciding the best way to get animal brain to take the floor and do something (look, buy, read, comment). Whatever makes money.
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I guess I’m just not sure I agree with the “exploitation of dumb creature” narrative. Animal brain is typically cautious and self centered, while sophisticated human brain is vulnerable to memes, anxieties and habits. Also do not agree with money-making as exploitative...
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Unless you are actively cheating someone (pyramid scheme, Scientology, etc) I can’t see money-making as a conspiracy. Everyone does their best. People are responsible for making the best choices they can, to be critical, and not to become their errors. That is a human burden tho
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