How AI and brands exploit customer data to create challenges
Hello and welcome back to our weekly informative blog! This time, we’re discussing an important and concerning issue, how information technology and marketing tactics exploit our data to target and manipulate us.
Every click, every search, and every purchase feeds a powerful algorithm, but at what cost? As brands are adopting AI to analyse our every move, the promise of personalised experiences can quickly turn into an invasion of privacy, leaving us questioning who truly benefits from our data without us even realising. So, let’s get started!
What’s the reality?
Consider online shopping. When you browse for a product, that simple action doesn’t just help you find what you want, it feeds a system that learns your preferences and analyses your habits because unintentionally you allow it. Suddenly, you’re bombarded with ads for similar products. What feels like helpful personalization can quickly become a strategy to exploit your interests, nudging you toward impulsive purchases. Sounds familiar? Ofcourse.
Convenience or control?
Brands can forecast based on predictive analysis about what you might want based on your past behaviour by collecting your data. Sure, it’s convenient, but it begs the question: how much control do you really have over your choices? In the rush of online shopping, many of us often make one small yet significant mistake: not reading the terms of agreement that come with the websites and apps we use.
That’s how they play a subtle game with your mind, and many don’t realise they’re actually victims of this manipulation until it’s too late. AI is powerful, and so is its ability to manipulate our desires.
Insights from the recent top Netflix film
This issue is brilliantly portrayed in the recent top trending Netflix film CTRL, which explores our toxic and dependent relationship with technology and social media. The movie director aptly points out, “Screen time is now redefined as screen life.” That’s a serious wake-up call in our tech-obsessed world.
So what happens in the film is, the main character, an influencer, lives a seemingly perfect life with her boyfriend, who is also an influencer. After their breakup, she discovers an AI app called CTRL that promises to erase her painful digital memories. Initially, it seems like a blessing, who wouldn’t want to wipe away bad memories? But as she becomes dependent on the app, things take a dark turn. While ctrl can delete posts, it cannot erase the emotions connected to them.
As she deals with her heartbreak and newfound fame, she learns that the brand’s AI assistant has its own hidden agenda. This illustrates a crucial point that technology, no matter how helpful it seems, often has downsides.
A key moment forces viewers to confront the uncomfortable truth that erasing our past doesn’t set us free. Instead, it can strip us of the very experiences that shape who we are. While her posts are deleted, her emotions remain intact.
The dangers of data exploitation
Data exploitation poses serious dangers. Brands can collect our personal information without consent, leading to targeted ads and privacy invasions and like this case they were selling the data in millions abroad. Which is apparently identity theft and financial fraud.
In the movie, the app’s developers exploit users’ data for profit, revealing a darker side to technology. The protagonist realises that every action she takes, whether exercising or doing daily chores, is being monitored and recorded. Her boyfriend researches the app and makes a video about it. Because the brand changed her password, she was unaware of this information. However, after some struggle, she recovers her account and discovers how the brand manipulates data. The moment she decides to take action, the developers within a minute edit a damaging video, shifting the blame onto her.
In the end, obviously to save themselves, the brand offers her a chance to retract her claims, but she realises she unwittingly agreed to harmful terms without fully understanding them.
AI and Technology is a double-edged sword
In our digital age, online footprints can be a double-edged sword. We might impulsively post something, only to regret it later. Ctrl reflects our fears about losing control over our lives and memories.
This discussion highlights our struggle with technology. This isn’t just a movie, it points to a common issue in our world, emphasising our negligence in the rush. We give apps permission to access everything when we agree to the terms without reading them, whether on a website or an app.
While technology can simplify our lives, it can also complicate our sense of self. The proverb “you can’t unscramble the eggs” rings true, once something is shared online, it leaves a mark, whether good or bad.
Wrapping Up
As we live in this tech savvy world, it’s vital to reflect on what parts of ourselves we’re willing to sacrifice for the sake of convenience and control. We have a whole category on AI, click here to learn all about it.
Let’s remain vigilant about how our data is used and advocate for transparency from the brands and apps we engage with.
For more insights into the complexities of data exploitation, follow Boztech, and let us know if you’d like to explore more topics like this.
We’re here to help you stay informed in this ever-evolving digital world.
