Preamble
My focus in this debate shall be to prove that Capital Surveillance is hindering societal progress. I will support this claim with several arguments.
BOP
Since I'm the one proposing the claim, I believe I should win if I demonstrate that Capital Surveillance inhibits the progress of society. One example is all I need.
Constructive Arguments
l. Stifling Individual Thought
- The freedom to think independently is interrupted by the algorithm limiting your searches to only categories centered around your previous traffic.
- The information you're exposed to is centered around your personal views, so it amplifies your beliefs rather than allowing you to hear contradictory views to provide pushback.
- Lack of reliable sources.
This prioritization of business profit weaponizes these companies with the means to spy on you and restricting your access to information they feel threatened by. With this limited research, people are unable to make educated decisions because of the lack of information.
A third reason is that these methodologies are designed to keep us ignorant. The rhetoric of the pioneering surveillance capitalists, and just about everyone who has followed, has been a textbook of misdirection, euphemism, and obfuscation.
ll. Virtual Monopolization
- The companies that utilize surveillance capitalism/capital surveillance are able to assume long-term control.
- Hierarchal chain of command is permanent.
With the popularity of Google and Facebook, these tyrants will make decisions behind the scenes that the people may not consent to which allows them to exploit this power dynamic.
lll. Low Competition
- As an extension of my last two points, the power that these companies have and the control over information means they will inevitably use this ability to obscure competing startup tech companies.
This will cause these platforms to end up in the same category as MySpace. However, competition is vital in order to get original ideas or features that these new companies have that these current ones don't. How can we ever expect to challenge ourselves and grow with this repetition?
One theme of misdirection has been to sell people on the idea that the new economic practices are an inevitable consequence of digital technology.
lV. Violation of Privacy
You would probably be surprised to know how much people are unaware that they're being watched right now. These services track everything from your YouTube Searches, location history, what you eat & how you dress, or what kind of words you use when you post something.
- Tech companies harvest all sorts of data about us from our devices and online activities, often without our consent.
Frankly, it should be concerning just how much of our daily privacy is an illusion.
V. Elimination of Autonomy
People think they have complete control over the decisions they make, but all it takes is one thought to either make or break their choices. Even something as insignificant as a suggestion can drive them to certain things.
Google specifically harnesses this power to secretly encourage customers to purchase from businesses they own, so that the money can be personally used to fund their choices.
You can say goodbye to freedom of choice.
A debate about surveillance and the contender is under surveillance for using chatgtp to make the debate.
i love irony.
does this mean sir.lancelot wins by example AND principle?
"Since I'm the one proposing the claim, I believe I should win if I demonstrate that Capital Surveillance inhibits the progress of society. One example is all I need."
The term surveillance capitalism was coined by academic Shoshana Zuboff in 2014. She suggests that surveillance capitalism depends on:
…the global architecture of computer mediation […] [which] produces a distributed and mostly uncontested new expression of power that I christen: “Big Other”.
https://theconversation.com/explainer-what-is-surveillance-capitalism-and-how-does-it-shape-our-economy-119158
Oof, the updates.
I can certainly see the circumstantial evidence. Curious to see how Wylted will respond.
Hey Wylted!
Thanks for accepting this debate!
It is 3 days until the end of winter break so I don't have exactly time for elegant arguments, but because this debate is not "on balance" and counterexamples do exist...
Yeah, I think you can add "on balance" to make it fairer.