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We're building a dystopia just to make people click on ads | Zeynep Tufekci

TED · talk · Watch on YouTube

Futurism & technology and societyAI safety, AGI & impactPrivacy, surveillance & cybercrime

What it is

Technosociologist Zeynep Tufekci argues that the machine-learning systems used to serve ads also decide what political and social information people see. She explains how opaque algorithms can nudge, segment and manipulate users, and warns that the real danger is powerful people using AI to control populations.

Why Hacker News recommends it

HN commenters cite it whenever engagement-optimizing feeds, micro-targeting or ad infrastructure come up, as an accessible warning about algorithmic amplification.

  • 6 people recommended it
  • 6 different months
  • 1 strong recommendations
  • first 2017, last 2026

What HN commenters said

  1. “Recommend watching”

    Eye-opening talk on ad algorithms controlling access to information.

    kaizenb, 2026-08 · Strong recommendation · in “uBlock Origin Is Giving Up the Fight to Keep Ads Off Facebook”

  2. “there is a really scary Ted talk suggesting that it's possible Facebook is using deep learning techniques to optimize for engagement”

    Scary talk on engagement-optimizing algorithms nobody understands.

    greggman, 2017-12 · Recommendation · in “A friend of mine died and I didn't know because of algorithms”

  3. “check out the Ted talk by Zeynep Tufekci”

    Shows how effective social media micro-targeting campaigns can be.

    redux13, 2018-02 · Recommendation · in “The FBI, CIA and NSA say American citizens shouldn't use Huawei phones”

  4. “This TED talk[0] on persuasion architectures brings up some interesting moral arguments against this idea.”

    Moral arguments against data-driven ads exploiting addictive behaviors.

    save_ferris, 2020-05 · Recommendation · in “Facebook executives shut down efforts to make the site less divisive”

  5. “There is an interesting speech by Zeynap Tufekci on this topic”

    Interesting talk about platforms pushing recommended content.

    inglor_cz, 2021-01 · Recommendation · in “Facebook to staff: Avoid company-branded clothing for own safety”

  6. “There's also a very good TED talk on this topic from 8 years ago”

    Very good talk on algorithmic amplification of outrage.

    DarkUranium, 2026-02 · Recommendation · in “The EU moves to kill infinite scrolling”

Excerpts from Hacker News comments, linked to the originals. Summaries and labels were written by a language model from those comments.

Topics: ad targeting, recommendation algorithms, persuasion, social media, ai ethics

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