Democratic Backlash of the Digital Revolution

Flashcards on the Democratic Backlash of the Digital Revolution

Real Data Revolution

The concept that 'people are data' and the implications of tracing, tracking, identification, and profiling technologies.

Psychographic Profiling

A method of understanding consumers by grouping them based on psychological characteristics, attitudes, opinions, and lifestyles.

Computational Propaganda

The use of algorithms, bots, and automated accounts to spread propaganda and manipulate public opinion on social media.

Micro-Targeting

A marketing strategy that uses granular information about demographics, psychographics, behaviors, and attitudes to tailor messages to small groups or individuals.

Bots

Automated social media accounts run by algorithms designed to make posts without human intervention.

Trolls

Actual people who intentionally initiate online conflict or offend other users to distract and sow divisions.

Bot-nets

Networks of bot accounts managed by the same individual or group.

Knowledge

Know-how, experience,insight, understanding and contextualized information.

Information

Contextualized, categorized, calculated, and condensed data.

Data

Facts and figures which relay something specific, but which are not organized in any way.

Uniqueness of Human Mobility Traces

Analysis of 15 months of human mobility data showed that just four spatio-temporal points are enough to uniquely identify 95% of individuals.

Data Collection

Collecting publicly available data, lists from surveys, subscriptions, purchases, and more to create individual profiles.

Linking Data

Combining web-site metadata with browser data, household-level data, retailer information, application data, credit card information, and social media data.

Echo Chambers

The increased proliferation and choice of news sources, allowing users to tailor their news sources to their preexisting preferences more finely than traditional media allow

AIMS

Software for hire that can control 30,000 fake online profiles.

Cambridge Analytica

A pro-Trump 'psychographic' consulting firm using detailed personal data from 87 million Facebook users in the USA during the 2016 campaign.

SCL Group

British PR firm that does work for governments, politicians, and militaries worldwide, and introduced CA to Rebekah and Robert Mercer.

The Big Five Personality Traits Model

Measures five key dimensions of people's personalities: Openness, Conscientiousness, Extraversion/Introversion, Agreeableness, Natural Reactions (Emotional Stability or Neuroticism).

Openness

Measures creativity and the desire for knowledge and new experiences.

Conscientiousness

The level of care people take in life and work, indicating organization and thoroughness.

Extraversion/Introversion

Measures a person's level of sociability, from outgoing to quiet.

Agreeableness

Measures how well a person gets on with other people; considerate and helpful versus rigid.

Natural Reactions (Emotional Stability or Neuroticism)

Measures emotional reactions to adversity; negative or calm.

Computational Propaganda

How lies and fake news travel in the online world through different strategies and technologies such as automated social-media bots.

Psychological Targeting

The use of detailed personal data to target voters with individually tailored content, adjusted and updated in real time to influence the debate around critical electoral issues.

External Validity

How well a judgment predicts external criteria, such as real-life behavior, behaviorally related traits, and life outcomes.

Internet of Things (IoT)

A network of 'smart', internet enabled sensors and devices, able to communicate with each other and collect data about their use.

Yuval Noah Harari

States that the conflict between democracy and dictatorship is NOT between two different ethical systems, but between two different data-processing systems.

Evgeny Morozov

Argues that problems of democratic participation do not have a 'technological fix', and the Net is not inherently democratic.