Thread

1. delis-thumbs-7e · 1790681167 · focus · HN ↗

   In an old Simpsons episode Lisa gets to visit the Teachers room, where all the staff are making fun of the children. Groundskeeper Willie is pantomiming Milhouse “Oh I am Milhouse, I tell all my secrets to Willie since I have no friends!” and the teachers laugh. Later something embarrassing happens to Milhouse and he immediately runs away crying “I have to tell this to Willie!”.

   We have all become Milhouse now.

   1. consensus1 · 1790697399 · focus · HN ↗

      But we are not really like Milhouse. In reality the teachers didn't care about us enough to make fun of us in the teachers lounge. We were just that year's batch of work soon to be forgotten when they move on to the next. This is exactly the same as the advertising companies. You are just a member of the cohort of a particular target campaign. Nobody cares about you or even knows you are part of that target cohort.

      Unless you become a target of the government. Then people a lot worse than any teacher you ever had will be looking through it, and they, unfortunately, do care.

      1. port11 · 1790764953 · focus · HN ↗

         I would point you to the insurance companies deciding on premiums based on people’s Amazon purchases as an indicator of risk. There’s plenty of potential for long-term abuse of your profiling data. Nobody cares about you in a specific way, but the algorithms can be designed to target people “like you” and hurt YOU in a very specific manner.

Unofficial Hacker News client; not affiliated with Y Combinator.