Interesting research on our own usage algorithms

vansh on Instagram: "In 2014 Facebook published a study in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. They manipulated the emotional content of 689,000 users’ feeds without their knowledge or consent. They were testing whether they could influ

5,155 likes, 131 comments - vanshxvermaa on April 11, 2026: "In 2014 Facebook published a study in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. They manipulated the emotional content of 689,000 users’ feeds without their knowledge or consent. They were testing whether they could influence the emotions and thoughts of users through algorithmic curation. They could. Your phone’s accelerometer, gyroscope, and microphone are never fully off. In 2018 a Cox Media Group internal document leaked confirming they marketed a product called “Active Listening” to advertisers. It used smartphone audio to target ads based on conversations happening near the device. Google and Facebook were listed as partners. But the technology goes deeper than microphones. Your scroll speed changes when content resonates with you emotionally. Your thumb hesitates over things your conscious mind hasn’t registered yet. The algorithm reads those micro-behaviors and builds a psychological profile more accurate than your closest friend. Stanford researcher Michal Kosinski proved in 2013 that 150 Facebook likes were enough to predict your personality more accurately than your spouse could. 300 likes and it knew you better than you knew yourself. They have had years of additional data since then. This is why the ancient practice of mental discipline matters now more than ever. A scattered, low frequency, reactive mind is an open door. A disciplined, grounded, high frequency consciousness is the only thing the algorithm cannot fully model. You cannot be profiled if you are not predictable. They built a machine that learned to read your mind before neuroscience could explain how the mind works. And they put it in your pocket. And made you pay for it.".

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