Reshaping social media: From persuasive technology to collective intelligence
Benjamin Kumpf, Angela Hanson · Development cooperation report ... · 2021
The business models of the most ubiquitous social media platforms – where Internet users spend a large part of their time – rely on gathering and leveraging personal data to predict and shape behaviour. Societies are now facing up to the negative effects of so-called ‘persuasive technologies’ and their influence on people’s beliefs and actions, including misinformation and political polarisation. In low-income countries, the potential misuse of persuasive technologies is of special concern given the low levels of digital literacy and skills, and mistrust of institutions. Development institutions can deliver multiparty efforts that support local entrepreneurship and innovation, including the use of collective intelligence tools, to reshape prevailing social media dynamics.