Early on it was clear that machine intelligence must feed on volumes of data, compelling economies of scale in data extraction. The best algorithms also require varieties of data — economies of scope. In the competition for scope, surveillance capitalists want your home and what you say and do within its walls. In 2017, a leaked Facebook document acquired by The Australian exposed the corporation’s interest in applying “psychological insights” from “internal Facebook data” to modify user behavior. The data are then used to match each emotional phase with appropriate ad messaging for the maximum probability of guaranteed sales.

Source: New York Times January 24, 2020 19:52 UTC