[email protected]: Civil Conversation around a Difficult Topic

A large portion of the software side of the global information technology infrastructure, including web search, email, social media, and much more, is in many cases provided free to the end users. At the same time, the corporations that provide these services are often enormously profitable. The business model that enables this involves customized advertising and sometimes behavior manipulation, powered by intensive gathering and cross-correlation of detailed personal information. These companies provide some great products and services at no upfront cost to the end users. But the model has a dark side as well, with negative impacts for privacy, autonomy, human dignity, and democracy. The purpose of this panel is to provide a civil forum for the CHI community as a whole to discuss this business model, including its advantages and disadvantages, and its impacts on CHI and HCI and society more generally, with an eye toward responsible innovation.