Kevin Ludlow, a 33-year-old Texan software developer, calls it ?Bayesian flooding? and the data miner he wants to protect against is Facebook. ?The problem is that once information [about you] has been collected, it will always be stored and associated with you,? he writes. ?I have therefore devised a slightly different method for dealing with this problem. Rather than trying to hide information from Facebook, it may be possible simply to overwhelm it with too much information.?
Kevin Ludlow, 33 (or so he claims)
With a nod toward Bayes theorem, Ludlow basically wants to confuse the advertisers trying to profile him and the algorithmic machines that are trying to make predictions about him by throwing lots of false information about himself onto their radars. So he?s become a digital Scheherazade, weaving amazing tales about his life:
Over the past several months I have entered a myriad of life-events to my Facebook profile using their new Timeline feature. Some of those life-events are true, and some of them are not. In my fictitious life I?ve explored a dozen different religions, had countless injuries and broken bones, suffered twice through cancer, been married, divorced, fathered children all around the world, and have even fought for numerous foreign militaries?.
When Facebook analyzes my profile and notices that I have participated in a dozen different religions over the past 30 years, their engine should make the assumption that I am interested in theology and various disciplines of spirituality. As a result, they?re more likely to serve me ads and recommendations within this realm, perhaps for spiritual books, personal retreats, or the like. For a sizable majority of people, these assumptions and recommendations will be accurate and should result in a better click-through rate and ultimately more revenue. But the truth is that I?m an agnostic atheist and certainly couldn?t care less about religious topics.
It might seem like childish anarchy, but there is a legitimate rationale behind wanting to fool the engine. As data analysis becomes more and more detailed (namely due to our world being digitally cataloged), companies are inventing coercive psychological tricks that manipulate consumers into spending more, plain and simple. The products aren?t necessary getting better, rather the science of selling the products is. Advertisers argue there are benefits to more efficiently targeting customers, but I believe these benefits fail to acknowledge the downside consumers face. It?s simply a matter of knowing far too much about a person while having the singular goal of acquiring their money. If consumer manipulation is harmless, I would have to strongly question why we condemn psychics for applying similar tricks, while at the same time congratulating the business world.
Beyond psychological manipulation, there are also legitimate privacy concerns that need to be taken into consideration, much like the case of the pregnant teen. If advertisements became completely personalized, it would be possible to learn virtually anything about someone just by observing what they were suggested to buy, never mind what they actually bought.
Ludlow says his experiment is working and that he?s getting far fewer ads effectively targeted at him ? though really, who clicks on Facebook ads ever? ? and suggests his approach might appeal to others ?interested in reducing what they?re worth to Facebook as a human commodity.?
It may sound crazy, but there are others with whom this resonates. According to Consumer Reports, one in four Facebook users tells lies on the social network.
The colorful life may be useful for fooling machines but what about the humanoids who look to Facebook to make decisions about Ludlow. Those unaware of the experiment ? and familiar with his real life adventures ? might worry about mental health issues. A potential boss or romantic interest might find the propensity for digital tall tales off-putting (or attractive ? depending on their outlook).
Despite the potential downsides, Ludlow is not the only one embracing this tactic, though he?s probably the most exteme. Yale student Max Cho suggests ?unselling yourself to Facebook? by adding random interests to your profile. Cho added Teletubbies as his favorite TV show, Teen Vogue as his favorite book, and Tony Danza as a ? Person Who Inspires Him.? Not the Boss anymore, apparently. Cho, though, still lists Yale 2013 on his profile. Assuming that?s not an ugly lie too!
?The trick is to populate your Facebook with just enough lies as to destroy the value and compromise Facebook?s ability to sell you,? writes Cho.
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