Professor P.Brain's blog: 2025

Tin Berners-Lee played a major role in the development of the world-wide-web. He was convinced that the benefit of enabling folk to access information online would self-evidently benefit our species. Berners-Lee didn't even take out a patent on his invention, regarding it as a 'good thing'. Being, however, a talented electronic engineer, he was probably unaware of a potential downside to unfettered access by all. In Psychology, folk have long been wary of confirmation bias. This is the fact that everyone is predisposed to respond favourably to anything that supports their own beliefs. Conversely, we tend to ignore/ downplay/question any 'facts' that run counter to those beliefs. The commercially-minded folk, who became the major players in social media, were fully aware that confirmation bias could be exploited to boost the number of times that online posts were accessed. This is done simply by creating or encouraging content that's likely to appeal to particular mindsets. When it appeals, algorithms could then direct similar material to the same folk. The more 'likes' and reposts, the greater the attractiveness of the site to potential advertisers. The better the financial viability of the supposedly 'free' site. Politicians now recognise that support for certain ideas can be manipulated by developing content geared to potential supporters. Folk are dragooned into different camps, with little/no dialogue between apposing viewpoints. Artificial intelligence might well make any rapport between the camps even less likely. So much for the free flow of information/facts anticipated by Berners-Lee!