Presented at Midwest UX, October 2019. As we rapidly approach "The Uncanny Valley" of experience design, what obligation do technology creators have in maintaining an environment of informed consent and ethics with their audience? This session will explore the realities and impact that persuasive design techniques (both intentional and not) play into how participants engage with technology. We will look at examples of efficient, devious, deceptive design, as well as well-intentioned design choices that may have unintended consequences. We will discuss the idea of consent as it relates to the people that interact with our interface, and how we can morally augment their experiences for the greater good without leaving them in the dark.

1. Consent and
Ethics in
Experience Design

2. Hello!
I’m Lauren
You can find me at
@laurenteresa
#mwuxconsent

3. Background.
The idea for this talk was informed by the book Broad
Band by Claire L Evans and the IRL Podcast episode
“What if Women Built The Internet?”
#mwuxconsent

4. Why is consent an
issue with the
internet?
#mwuxconsent

5. Self is Currency
The internet was built off of a model where little to no
monetary funds are exchanged for services. Instead, data
is the currency.
1.
#mwuxconsent

6. Who I Am +
What I Do
= Currency
#mwuxconsent

7. What is my name +
What is my number +
Who are my friends +
Where do I live +
What do I like +
#mwuxconsent

8. What is my name +
What is my number +
Who are my friends +
Where do I live +
What do I like +
#mwuxconsent
What do I read +

9. What is my number +
Who are my friends +
Where do I live +
What do I like +
What do I read +
#mwuxconsent
What do I click +

10. Who are my friends +
Where do I live +
What do I like +
What do I read +
What do I click +
#mwuxconsent
Where do my eyes go +

11. Where do I live +
What do I like +
What do I read +
What do I click +
Where do my eyes go +
#mwuxconsent
What do I want +

12. What do I like +
What do I read +
What do I click +
Where do my eyes go +
What do I want +
#mwuxconsent
What do I need +

13. What do I read +
What do I click +
Where do my eyes go +
What do I want +
What do I need +
#mwuxconsent
What do I buy

14. What do I click +
Where do my eyes go +
What do I want +
What do I need +
What do I buy
#mwuxconsent
= Currency

15. Currency has
power
Consumers will frequently withhold their currency from
businesses that they do not wish to support.
2.
#mwuxconsent

16. #mwuxconsent
#BoycottAmazon

17. #mwuxconsent
#BoycottAmazon
#BoycottBP

18. #mwuxconsent
#BoycottAmazon
#BoycottBP
#BoycottHobbyLobby

19. #mwuxconsent
#BoycottAmazon
#BoycottBP
#BoycottHobbyLobby
#BoycottChickfila

20. #mwuxconsent
#BoycottAmazon
#BoycottBP
#BoycottHobbyLobby
#BoycottChickfila
#BoycottNike

21. Currency has
value
What is dangerous in this model is the lack of
transparency for the value of that currency.
3.
#mwuxconsent

22. The value of
currency is defined
when it is spent.
#mwuxconsent

23. Data can be
reused
Once it has been spent, companies can keep reusing it
and spending it.
4.
#mwuxconsent

24. Users lose agency
We don’t understand how, when, and how often our
personal information is used, nor do we understand its
value.
5.
#mwuxconsent

25. Which is better?
#mwuxconsent

26. Isn’t this a two-
way road?
#mwuxconsent

27. Yes.
Users must also take accountability for their actions.
#mwuxconsent

28. But let’s
be real.
#mwuxconsent

29. The average person would have to spend
#mwuxconsentSource: The New York Times
76 Working Days
reading all of the digital privacy policies they
agree to in the span of a year.

30. Reading Amazon’s terms and conditions out
loud takes approximately
#mwuxconsentSource: The New York Times
Nine Hours.

31. We suffer from
consent fatigue...
#mwuxconsent
and this is by design.

32. legal rules coupled with a specific
technological environment can lead us
to behave like...
#mwuxconsent
Techno-Social
Engineering:

33. perfectly rational, but also perfectly
predictable and ultimately
programmable.
#mwuxconsent
Stimulus-Response
Machines:
Source: Brett Frischmann (Villanova) Scientific American

34. Hey, who are you
calling a stimulus-
response machine?
#mwuxconsent

35. Humans are not
machines.
But we sometimes are treated like them.
#mwuxconsent

36. Can’t people just
opt out?
#mwuxconsent

37. 37
Damien Newman
#mwuxconsent
And
Yet.
image credit

38. It’s not that simple.
Your data can also be collected from other people
without your consent.
#mwuxconsent

39. All your data are
belong to us.
Facebook users can share contact information with
Facebook from their device contacts.
#mwuxconsent

40. Shadow Profiles
Shadow Profiles collect data about non-users, as well as
data that current users may not have provided about
themselves.
#mwuxconsent

41. Image credit

42. For example:
“A man donated sperm to a couple, secretly, so they
could have a child—only to have Facebook recommend
the child as a person he should know. ”
source: Kashmir Hill, Gizmodo
#mwuxconsent

43. For example:
“A woman whose father left her family when she was
six years old—and saw his then-mistress suggested
to her as a Facebook friend 40 years later.”
source: Kashmir Hill, Gizmodo
#mwuxconsent

44. It’s not just about
consent. It’s about
ethics.
#mwuxconsent

45. We have an
obligation.
If data (personal information and attention) is currency,
then we are responsible for that transaction.
#mwuxconsent

46. Consider these
two quotes:
(Imagine that, an academic framing conversation with
quotes from philosophers and social scientists)
#mwuxconsent

47. A wealth of information creates a
#mwuxconsent
poverty of attention
and a need to allocate that attention
efficiently.
- Herbert Simon (social scientist, 1971)

48. When you invent the plane, you also
#mwuxconsent
invent the plane
crash...

49. #mwuxconsent
- Paul Virilio (philosopher, 1999)
Every technology carries its own negativity,
which is invented at the same time as
technical progress.

50. The struggle is real.
#mwuxconsent

51. #mwuxconsent
FOMO.

52. #mwuxconsent
FOMO. Attention Casinos.

53. #mwuxconsent
FOMO. Attention Casinos.
Dopamine Loop.

54. #mwuxconsent
FOMO. Attention Casinos.
Dopamine Loop. Email
Apnea.

55. #mwuxconsent
FOMO. Attention Casinos.
Dopamine Loop. Email
Apnea. Ringxiety.

56. #mwuxconsent
FOMO. Attention Casinos.
Dopamine Loop. Email
Apnea. Ringxiety. Text
Neck.

57. #mwuxconsent
FOMO. Attention Casinos.
Dopamine Loop. Email
Apnea. Ringxiety. Text
Neck. Compassion Fatigue.

58. #mwuxconsent
FOMO. Attention Casinos.
Dopamine Loop. Email
Apnea. Ringxiety. Text
Neck. Compassion Fatigue.
Fake Happy.

59. #mwuxconsent
FOMO. Attention Casinos.
Dopamine Loop. Email
Apnea. Ringxiety. Text
Neck. Compassion Fatigue.
Fake Happy. Dissonance.

60. OK.
But what can
we do?
#mwuxconsent

61. Be Transparent
Be clear about your intentions.
1.
#mwuxconsent

62. Speak in Plain
Language
Talk like you talk to any human being.
2.
#mwuxconsent

63. Use Economy of
Words
Be direct and succinct.
3.
#mwuxconsent

64. Collect what is
necessary
Don’t just grab what you can take.
4.
#mwuxconsent

65. Consider
Engagement
Don’t just run up to people and start
talking.
5.
#mwuxconsent

66. Value attention
and information
Treat others like you want to be
treated.
6.
#mwuxconsent

67. Consider
alternatives
Play “let’s pretend we can’t.”
7.
#mwuxconsent

68. Align goals
What if business goals reflected human
goals?
8.
#mwuxconsent

69. Do I have to?
#mwuxconsent

70. Yes.
With the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR)
in the EU, and the California Consumer Privacy Act
(CCPA), some of these measures are legally required.
#mwuxconsent

71. But...
We should not settle at the bar of legal requirements.
#mwuxconsent

72. Start Small
Small changes on their own won’t be enough, but they
are still worthwhile.
#mwuxconsent

73. We can make
things better.
For more ideas, check out
The Center for Humane Technology.
#mwuxconsent

74. Thanks!
Any questions?
You can find me at
@laurenteresa
lliss@colum.edu
Download these slides at
goodspark.com/mwux2019
#mwuxconsent