“It’s not enough to regulate social networks, we need to change the logic of companies and our operations.”

Tribune. Donald Trump’s social media interventions sparked a violent rally in Washington on January 6 to attack the capital, the symbol of American democracy. Following this very serious event, discussions about the regulation of social networks will increase. Should we broaden our vision and learn a lesson from these discussions to avoid a civilizational catastrophe? A lesson that allows everyone to contribute to creating a desirable “world” that adds extra meaning to their professional activities.

Organize social networks by forcing them to remove hateful content and be transparent about the moderation of their exchanges. It is the logic of digital platforms that automatically, mechanically, pushes a downward spiral towards increasingly narrow and insane worldviews.

Primary emotional processes

This logic aims to increase the amount of time individuals spend in front of the screen. It guides sites to sort messages in order to support the messages that lead to the most multiplication, thus triggering strong emotional reactions; Presenting them according to the primary emotional processes that lead to reading them; Or even to suggest negative and conspiratorial content than what was initially seen, because they attract more attention.

Since 2013, Tristan Harris, a former Google engineer, has underscored all of this. It will not be enough to regulate social networks, this is the logic that needs to be reformed.

In one The article was uploaded by MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology) le 10 Janvier, பொருள Big Tech’s attention-grabbing economy can be reformed. Here’s how [L’économie de l’attention peut être réformée, voici comment], Tristan Harris shows that the beginning of evolution is already possible: following the operation of the human technology center he created, Apple or Google have introduced features that allow everyone to control the time they spend (screen time and digital well-being, respectively).

Develop a “human” technology

But, to be precise, Harris points out that we need to look at it in more detail and act: a systematic reform of the logic of technology companies is needed. The policies recommended by the Center for Human Technology to promote “human” technology can be summarized in three points. First, be positive about collaborative approaches and do not focus on individuals. Then, reduce the imbalance of power, knowledge and resources. Finally, avoid the redundant rationale of proposing solutions tailored to circumstantial – and therefore diversified – changes.

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