Nathalie Nahai - Humanise The Web (Closing Talk)

Nathalie Nahai

Humanising The Web

Humanise The Web

We’ve talked about some of the more abstract challenges we’re facing, now I want to look at 3 of

the areas we deal with on a day-to-day basis

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From abstract to concrete…

Real world examples

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1  Email

Real world examples

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1  Email 2  Commercial websites

Real world examples

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1  Email 2  Commercial websites 3  Social / instant messaging

Real world examples

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1  Email 2  Commercial websites 3  Social / instant messaging

1. Email

What do you think your email ‘wants’ you to do?

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Notifications

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•  Create dopamine loops •  Encourage greater use of said tool •  Lower productivity through constant interruption

Humanised examples

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Real world examples

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1  Email 2  Commercial websites 3  Social / instant messaging

2. Commercial websites

Dark patterns

Dark patterns

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User interfaces designed to trick people into taking a certain

course of action

Humanised examples

Real world examples

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1  Email 2  Commercial websites 3  Social / instant messaging

3. Social / instant messaging

Facebook Messenger

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Facebook Messenger

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•  Non-explicit permission •  Not clearly defined what you’re signing up for •  UK law doesn’t protect you from being monitored in

this way

Humanised examples

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Signal (iOS app)

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•  End-to-end encrypted voice calling and text •  Heavy security •  Good usability (as simple as iPhone’s default apps)

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Twitter’s default settings

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•  You have to opt-in to disclose your location •  Protects location of vulnerable people (e.g. activists) •  But stripping out metadata also removes any name

and copyright info

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Hacking the habit

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Hacking the habit

Where does this leave us?

As individuals…

We need to be more conscious of what we’re signing up to, and how our technology

is shaping our behaviour

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As a society…

The law needs to actively protect our individual rights within this new tech driven paradigm of communication & economics

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As businesses…

We need to be leading this change.

We need to provide better alternatives that not only provide profitable, long-term products and service;

but also empower clients, build trust and create a

better world for all of us.

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A word on ‘best practice’

How to sort the good from the bad?

We don’t yet have an accepted, objective standard against which to judge these cases.

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A word on best practice…

‘Best’ should mean ‘long term and holistic’, not ‘quick and easy’.

It shouldn’t be about quick tactical wins, but about

long term benefit to business and society as a whole.

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My rules of thumb

•  Does it facilitate, not coerce? •  Is it mutually beneficial (helps them & helps you)? •  If you were the ‘user’ how would you feel about being

on the receiving end?

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It’s up to us to create a set of standards that work

A humanised approach

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1  Long-term

A humanised approach

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1  Long-term 2  Connected

A humanised approach

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1  Long-term 2  Connected

3  Empowering

And to become aware of how our tech is affecting us

bit.ly/WebHealthSurvey

1 Utility 2 Social 3 Absorption 4 Narcissism 5 Insomnia 6 Negative outcomes

Let’s begin

Thanks!

Harness persuasive technology for good