This inherent bias toward assholedom flavours the action of all the other parts of the Bummer machine. Bots, AIs, agents, fake reviewers, fake friends, fake followers, fake posters, automated catfishers: a menagerie of wraiths. Our problem is not the internet, smartphones, smart speakers, or the art of algorithms; the problem is the Bummer machine. The problem with Bummer is not that it includes any particular technology, but that it’s someone else’s power trip. This is an edited extract from Ten Arguments for Deleting Your Social Media Accounts Right Now by Jaron Lanier (Bodley Head, £9.99).

Source: The Guardian May 27, 2018 07:52 UTC