If the profitable product in a multi-billion-dollar industry is not immediately apparent, then perhaps we, the consumers, are the product. The technological revolution that is the rise and perpetual adaptation of social media and artificial intelligence is unique from any other industry that precedes it, largely because these sites are marketed as equalizers: free outlets for communication and connectivity to our friends, family, and the larger online world. But, as eerily depicted through the Netflix documentary The Social Dilemma, this access is not “free” at all. We as users are commoditized. Data about our use patterns, likes, dislikes, shopping habits, political affiliations, and the like are constantly being tracked, stored, sold, and used to manipulate our actions in order to increase how much we use these platforms. As it turns out, consumers do pay a cost for use of these platforms: their right to privacy, and maybe, to autonomy.
The Social Dilemma transitions back and forth between the storyline of an internet-addicted family, and dramatizations of artificial intelligence in order to bring to life the process by which the social media industry successfully invades consumer privacy and uses data to manipulate users and increase engagement. Interviews with data ethicists and former tech executives shed light on the lack of regulation in the artificial intelligence industry, and the resulting ethical costs paid by tech companies. The format of the documentary is engaging, easy to follow, and demands introspection of viewers.
As the credits rolled and I discussed the movie with my family and later my biology class, a general consensus emerged: “Cool,” and “creepy,” but also, “I already knew that stuff.” In a world where internet privacy was more or less a distant fantasy even before the release of The Social Dilemma, it may be tempting to write off the impending threat to our privacy as an inevitable and widely accepted cost of life in a digital age. But I could not even make it through a ninety minute movie (about manufactured digital addiction, no less) without checking the buzzing cell phone at my side. The irony is not lost on me, but I am also not alone.
The fundamental threat to human society, as presented in The Social Dilemma, is not only a loss of privacy, but also the loss of conscious control over our time, spending habits, and lifestyle choices. It is a must-watch.
