> Correct a problem? A problem for who? Neither the consumer nor the provider appear to be in any kind of trouble.

In a recent lecture at the RSA [1], James Williams (former Googler who worked on metrics and strategy for search advertising) makes the case that:

- The ‘distractions’ produced by digital technologies are much more profound than minor ‘annoyances’

- So-called ‘persuasive’ design is undermining the human will and ‘militating against the possibility of all forms of self-determination’

- Beginning to ‘assert and defend our freedom of attention’ is an urgent moral and political task

I'd recommend giving it a listen. Tristan Harris' recent TED talk offers a more popular primer [2].

[1] https://soundcloud.com/the_rsa/are-digital-technologies-maki...

[2] https://www.ted.com/talks/tristan_harris_the_manipulative_tr...