Platforms also make choices about what behaviors they reward. Recommendation algorithms favor engagement, and scandal engages. When platforms prioritize watch time and clicks, they inadvertently promote content that stokes outrage or exploits vulnerability. A different design ethic is possible: prioritize contextual moderation, friction for sharing sensitive content, and escalation paths for verifying consent. Those changes require sustained will and a recognition that ethical design can have economic costs in the short term.
Platforms also make choices about what behaviors they reward. Recommendation algorithms favor engagement, and scandal engages. When platforms prioritize watch time and clicks, they inadvertently promote content that stokes outrage or exploits vulnerability. A different design ethic is possible: prioritize contextual moderation, friction for sharing sensitive content, and escalation paths for verifying consent. Those changes require sustained will and a recognition that ethical design can have economic costs in the short term.
