I’m speaking of online data harvested through apps, websites, hardware (such as phones/streaming devices).
I mean if multiple versions of the same harvested data are being sold, wouldn’t the value decrease because of the competition? When it comes to aggregate data, how much financial value can there really be in knowing that a million office workers just clicked on the same cat meme?
How does the quantity of time and expense toward “personalization” not simply overshadow the return, given that no one can click on even a small percentage of those numerous ads, let alone buy the shit being advertised?
It just seems like there would come a time when the value of user data is sucked dry, or at least significantly decreased.
Hm I wonder if generative AI could somehow be used to create fake user behavior to obscure my real behavior.
Slight spoiler for Neal Stephenson's book "Fall (or: Dodge in Hell)".
That idea is used early-ish in the book to muddy the waters and regain some privacy for a significant character. There’s a subplot involving a conspiracy theory being intentionally spread through online message boards and this character becomes a target of harassment. By flooding the sites with a full spectrum of scandals and red herrings, they’re able to drown out the pieces of legitimate personal info and confuse people enough that they move on to new topics.
There already are tools out there that obfuscate your data by making it purposefully wrong, e.g. https://adnauseam.io/ is an ad blocker that also clicks every single ad sent your way.
Also benefiting the ad companies who charge per click, while not ever leading to a sale.