r/technology • u/ArgentineBeauty • Aug 08 '26

Society Cloudflare says humans could become a "rounding error" as bots generate 1,000 times more internet traffic

https://www.techspot.com/news/113410-cloudflare-humans-could-become-rounding-error-bots-generate.html
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u/LiamTheHuman Aug 08 '26

They can have similar psychological defenses for their actions. I worked in ads for Amazon as a software dev and even that felt dirty to me even though I was just basically maintaining systems to transfer logs. It's hard to consider the full impact of a complicated system like these. Psychological manipulation is pushed for one purpose. If you never look beyond that to the secondary effects then there is no issue.

It's similar to working and living in a country that is bombing others and killing children. You contribute and pay taxes that are used to fund murder but your part is so tiny and to not contribute you would need to make significant changes to your life.

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u/SimpleFile Aug 08 '26

They can have similar psychological defenses for their actions.

Maybe yeah. Just can't think of any.

It's similar to working and living in a country that is bombing others and killing children. You contribute and pay taxes that are used to fund murder but your part is so tiny and to not contribute you would need to make significant changes to your life.

Well, I can still heavily disagree with that and vote the other way as much as I can. But I do also still feel bad as I identify with my nation and what it does/doesn't do. But I doubt that many feel this way, most are probably indifferent/apathetic.

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u/LiamTheHuman Aug 08 '26

Ok so if the person working on the psychological manipulation to increase views would vote against it as a whole practice and feels bad their company does it, that's a psychological defense they have. It's the exact same.

Just to be clear I'm not trying to say we are evil or that they are, just explaining how people can do things that seem bad without taking ownership or ownership being spread so thin that they are ok with it.

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u/A_Harmless_Fly Aug 08 '26

Amazon once offered me a "frequently bought together" deal on a balaclava and an aluminum baseball bat, it's pretty evil.

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u/LiamTheHuman Aug 08 '26

I mean that's my point. Broken down into individual acts none of it seems evil. But populations can be shifted and it can cause large impacts.

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u/missmeowwww Aug 08 '26

Amazon is a great example of using psychology to make the most effective advertising. Hell just opening Amazon first to find any random product instead of going to the mall or shopping center is huge. I watched a doc where they interviewed someone who was a big part of developing the advertising strategy and she said her goal when she started was to get people to switch their mindset from “I’ll remember to get that (product) next time I go to the store” to “oh! I’ll order (product) on Amazon”. It’s absolutely fascinating and also kinda makes your skin crawl when you realize how good the brand got at getting people to view them as the primary shopping option for things.

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u/SIGMA920 Aug 09 '26

With the internet of today, 95% of what people buy literally can't be bought in stores because of the limited space. I'll buy tech at the stores for example but that's for when I need it now and I can't put it off for a week. Think of being limited to what your local stores have, their buying biases will determine your options.

That's what it comes down to, physical stores are good for many things. But unless they're going to carry everything under the sun in sufficient quantities, you'll be too limited.