When the Cambridge Analytica scandal broke, I wasn’t surprised. As a marketer, I already understand how much data is collected about people. Like it or not, our technology has been able to deduce everything from what we like, to what we hate to look at. It makes sense that the company And politicians will ultimately use it to sway people to their side.
However, what I did not expect to occur was that Cambridge Analytica got caught. I do not think that Facebook expects to see its corporate “innocence” mask ripped off by the media. Maybe that’s our saving grace as a country, because I believe we need to look at how partisan enterprise can play out in our politics.
It’s 2018. We can no longer trust most outlets to provide us with a fair, balanced and honest view of the world. We cannot. Technology has allowed politicians and firms to lie to us about everything—and it is really scary to consider. If our elections were heavily influenced by a group of corrupt people in 2016, what will occur in 2038? 2050?
Well, it is up to us to find out.
Today, politicians and firms are witnessing their behavior being captured and challenged by the target audiences they seek to reach. Facebook, post-Cambridge, has had more than 50 million people deleting their profiles. Many more stopped using it for anything aside from communications because of the scandal.
Old propaganda methods, such as bulk text messages and flying, have proven ineffective. On the other hand, the “troll factory” from Russia succeeded in influencing the voice of the people and even caused riots in the United States. Political shills began to become much more dangerous and much more humane than before.
If political groups do not get their act together, the next 20 years of technology will be very disruptive and very difficult for them.
It is evident that we are at a turning point in civilization. This is a turning point where we really must fend off the potential negative effects of technology as they occur, or watch our world become a dystopia. Local citizens and individuals may just be the saving grace our democracy has needed so far.
Right now, if you asked a normal person what they felt was going on in the world, they would tell you very little. Most people are informed and actively want to have political discussions—and that is great! Some even attend clubs just to talk politics, and lots of more attend rallies to see what will occur.
One group even banded together to create a social media site geared toward nonpartisans, called local politics discussion AllyUs.org. People can go there to speak about what’s bothering them and even put their own two cents on the poll. Some have even used the site to petition local politicians to help improve their local governance. Hopefully, more sites like AllyUs will occur.
See this video:
The problem is, our technology is providing lots of smoke and mirrors for the wrong people. We need clarity, and if we cannot enforce it over the next 20 years, that’s not going to be great. I do not know what will occur in the future, but with hope, the people can reclaim their government with honest, humane and healthy discourse. I believe after speaking with Ben Shahin, Founder of Allyus.org, that this may be the technology to bring power back to society.
For more, go to: http://allyus.org
