The Rise of the Weaponized AI Propaganda Machine

Roxxsmom

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MaeZe said:
On the other hand I do wonder just where they are actually influencing me because it's unrealistic to think I'm immune to all of it.
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I'm sure it does, but I also remember reading somewhere that online advertising and targeted data collection have reached a point of saturation in terms of utility. Basically, the more everyone does it, the less of an effect each single advertisement has. The more we're bombarded with this stuff, the less influence it has on us. So in some ways, advertisers and data miners are running faster and faster to stay in the same place.

There's also a "tragedy of the commons" at work here (from the perspective of advertisers), where the more aggressive and "in your face" advertising on the web gets, the more people rely on ad blockers and so on. It's kind of pathetic to see the wheedling entreaties to turn off your ad blocker that are now displayed on some web sites.

On a more sinister note, some of those little Facebook quizzes that ask you to provide things like the name of your favorite childhood pet, your first love, or the street you grew up on so you can find your "rockstar name" or whatever are clearly trying to gain access to the answers to many security questions and passwords. I'm amazed how many people fall for them.
 
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MaeZe

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Roxxsmom said:
I'm sure it does, but I also remember reading somewhere that online advertising and targeted data collection have reached a point of saturation in terms of utility. Basically, the more everyone does it, the less of an effect each single advertisement has. The more we're bombarded with this stuff, the less influence it has on us. So in some ways, advertisers and data miners are running faster and faster to stay in the same place.

There's also a "tragedy of the commons" at work here (from the perspective of advertisers), where the more aggressive and "in your face" advertising on the web gets, the more people rely on ad blockers and so on. It's kind of pathetic to see the wheedling entreaties to turn off your ad blocker that are now displayed on some web sites.
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Never underestimate the ability of these guys to keep refreshing the message and advancing their techniques.


Speaking of evolution of marketing, I'm currently reading The Attention Merchants by Tim Wu. Reading through the history of the last century of advertising is a reminder of just how that evolution occurred and continues to occur. When TV and radio began, there were naysayers who didn't think people would welcome the advertising intrusion into their homes. And remember when it was unheard of to allow advertising to kids in schools?
 
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Xelebes

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Roxxsmom said:
There's also a "tragedy of the commons" at work here (from the perspective of advertisers), where the more aggressive and "in your face" advertising on the web gets, the more people rely on ad blockers and so on. It's kind of pathetic to see the wheedling entreaties to turn off your ad blocker that are now displayed on some web sites.
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Oh yes, I have encountered that. I used to go to a hockey forum to talk all things hockey for the last ten years. Then they decided people weren't watching their ads so they installed Instart Logic. Now the site is unviewable because Instart Logic is a malicious bit of software that causes video ads to be loaded multiple times. Every load or two, the page will consume 1-2 GB of RAM and make it generally unviewable. You have to Alt+F4 the browser to perhaps try to view the website again. If you care to try.

The obvious solution is to use a less popular web browser because the guys at Instart can't be bothered to get their software attacking the lesser known browsers. But screw that. I'll let the site know that the software is killing the user experience by not bothering to view the website.
 

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Roxxsmom said:
It's kind of pathetic to see the wheedling entreaties to turn off your ad blocker that are now displayed on some web sites.
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I don't mind ads. I'm pissed at ads that open windows all over the place, take control of my screen, plays a video regardless of browser options, change my default page, or pop up a dialog box without a cancel button (usually to install something fishy). Until there is a serious cleanup in web advertisement, the ad blocker stays up.

-cb
 
MaeZe

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This may interest some: AD BLOCKERS ARE MAKING MONEY OFF ADS (AND TRACKING, TOO)
One thing's for sure: a veritable cottage industry of ad blockers has cropped up. Some have been around for years, while others were newly created for ad block-capable iPhones. This already bustling industry seems likely to continue to bustle, in part because there seems to be some real money to be made in blocking ads. As publishers and advertisers try to reinvent or at least refresh how they make money off of your attention, ad blockers are pushing just as hard to make money off of ending distraction....
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What do they sell?
Adblock Plus doesn’t block all ads, but rather operates what it calls an “acceptable ads” program, where ads that meet its criteria for things like placement, size, and distinction, are “whitelisted”—that is, if the company displaying the ads is willing to split the revenue gained by whitelisting with Adblock Plus. Companies can apply to have their sites whitelisted, but Adblock Plus has also reached out to some to solicit their business.
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And what can we expect in the future? Something that happened in TV and magazine/newspaper advertising when ads lost all credibility: slip the ad in using a different medium. That's where some ads looks like news or articles rather than ads.
Meanwhile, advertisers themselves are looking to the future. Chris Tuff, the executive vice president and director of business development and partnerships at ad agency 22squared, calls the current dust-up over online ads a transition period. The advertising industry is already finding more value in a different kind of ad: so-called native advertising, which looks more like the content consumers are coming to websites to see in the first place. “People don’t mind advertising as long as it’s relevant,” Tuff says.

"Will there be banner ads in 10 years? Doubt it," he says. "We’ll be moving to content. You have to blend in to stand out."
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Viral video ads are another medium.

I should point out, political ads are ripe for this. It brings us right back around to the OP. Instead of advertising, social media is being used to influence political opinions.
 
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