Lying and the design of new technologies
The Wall Street Journal reports on work done by Intel’s Digital Home Group on people’s tendency to lie online and what the implications of lying are on the design of new technologies.
“[Ethnographer Francoise] Bourdonnec, for example, works for Intel’s digital home group, which has responsibility for technologies that could affect home PC and TV users. One concept the group is working on are ways to serve up personalized TV programming to users based on their preferences. But what if the users don’t tell the truth about their preferences? They might want to be considered “Masterpiece Theatre†people, when they actually spend all their time watching pro wrestling.
And many of these norms are specific to particular countries or cultures. Americans, Bourdonnec says, are much more willing to share personal information online than, say, Koreans. But many Americans are much more nervous about having their physical movements tracked through technologies embedded in their cellphones.”
