
The web’s 3 biggest cancers, according to Tim Berners-Lee - pastalex
https://www.fastcompany.com/90318541/the-web-3-biggest-cancers-according-to-tim-berners-lee
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smt88
Numbers 2 and 3 are inherent to free-market capitalism and/or societies (like
the US) where freedom of ideological speech is protected, so they aren't
solvable. I was going to write "probably aren't solvable," but I actually
don't feel any optimism about it.

2\. _" System design that creates perverse incentives where users’ value and
wellbeing is sacrificed, such as ad-based revenue models that commercially
reward clickbait and the viral spread of misinformation."_

Businesses want views, and the "perverse incentives" are unfortunate
consequences of human nature. People respond to emotions, especially outrage,
more than reason.

Adblockers _seem_ like they're making a dent, but they're likely making the
biggest difference at large, well-funded publishers. Small publishers will
continue to throw low-quality content at the web and fill pages with ads. Or,
worse, they'll use "native advertising," which is possibly more insidious.

Regardless, there will be a hunger to attract viewers and therefore an
irresistible temptation to push people's buttons in an unhealthy way.

The only way I can see this being fixed is fining people for spreading
misinformation, and there's no way the US would create or enforce laws like
that. That's a huge haven of safety for anyone who wants to publish
misinformation.

3\. _" The unintended negative consequences of benevolent design, such as the
outraged and polarized tone and quality of online discourse._"

This seems really similar to #2. Maybe he's referring to Twitter? I'm not
sure, and I'm not sure I'd call Twitter's design benevolent. They're beholden
to investors to grow their readership.

Either way, loud minorities tend to drown out moderates, and there's nothing
you can do about that on a free-to-publish platform.

I don't even believe this is an issue inherent to the web. It is, again, just
the tendency for organizations (commercial, political, national, and
otherwise) to push people's buttons to get them to pay attention.

