Shadow Patterns
Examples from Recent Cases:
Algorithmic exploitation: AI recommendation systems that feed addictive or harmful content, amplifying social polarization and misinformation.
Surveillance capitalism: Data extraction and profiling that erode privacy, autonomy, and trust.
Deepfake and non-consensual media: The rise of AI-generated sexual imagery targeting women, children, and marginalized communities.
References Make it Real Report - Mapping AI-Facilitated Gendered Harm - Ratifoundation.org, Tattle.co.in
The Guardian — “Strike 3 porn copyright lawsuits”
The Guardian — “Are porn algorithms feeding a generation of paedophiles?”
The Guardian — “The dark world of sexual deepfakes—and the women fighting back” The Guardian - Deep-Fakes as News, AI, Media The Guardian - "The Chilling Effect of Deep Fakes on Women in India"
Platforms & Monopolies:
Two landmark U.S. rulings in 2024–25 found Google illegally maintaining monopolies in both search and digital advertising. These decisions offer a powerful lens on how platform power can distort information flows and reinforce self-serving feedback loops [1].
1. Background
Search Monopoly (Aug 2024): Google paid billions to be the default engine on browsers and devices, securing ~90% market share.
Ad-tech Monopoly (Apr 2025): Google structured its ad auctions to privilege its own exchange, capturing an average of >30% of ad spend [2].
2. Mapping onto the VIM Domains
Embodied Interaction (Sensing)
Users’ data is scraped and centralized; diminishes individual control over personal information.
How does hidden data-capture undermine our capacity for informed, embodied awareness?
Relational Mapping (Feeling)
Publishers lose revenue; journalistic ecosystems erode; trust relationships fracture.
In what ways do monopolized ad flows reshape who we can trust and how we connect?
Ethical Alignment (Thinking)
Defaults and opaque AI training create misaligned incentives, prioritizing profit over fairness.
How might enforced transparency and interoperability restore alignment between commercial incentives and public good?
Adaptive Learning (Intuition)
Entrenched platforms stifle experimentation and competition, impeding adaptive ecosystem responses.
What structures would allow smaller players to innovate and adapt alongside giants like Google?
3. Implications for Vital Intelligence
Structural Remedies: Divestiture and enforced interoperability break feedback loops that lock in dominance.
Behavioral Rules: Transparency in AI-model training and ad auctions fosters trust and collective monitoring.
Global Coordination: Aligned antitrust actions across jurisdictions prevent regulatory arbitrage.
Power & Knowledge: Democratising infrastructure shifts rule-setting power back toward communities.
4. Further Reading
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