Private speech is converted into behavioral surplus via content and delivery

Evidence

In this commercial dreamscape, words that were once conceived of as “behind closed doors” are eagerly rendered as surplus. These new supply operations convert your talk into behavior for surplus in two ways. The first derives from what you say, the second from how you say it. Smart-home devices such as Amazon’s Echo or Google Home render rivers of casual talk from which sophisticated content analyses produce enhanced predictions that “anticipate” your needs. — Shoshana Zuboff, The Age of Surveillance Capitalism, 813

Categorization

• DEFINE: Clarifies the two-channel extraction of talk (what is said vs. how it is said) as behavioral surplus.
• XREF: The ‘how you say it’ channel connects to prosody, affect analysis, and the broader trend toward emotional data mining. — connects to: Voice interfaces translate service interactions into low-cost automated processes funneling behavioral surplus — Shoshana Zuboff, The Age of Surveillance Capitalism, 810; Conversational interfaces are prized because casual talk renders experience as surplus — Shoshana Zuboff, The Age of Surveillance Capitalism, 811; Ads dwell within the psyche and shape all internal speech forms — Mark Fisher (edited by Darren Ambrose), K-Punk: The Collected and Unpublished…, 1169

Broader Connections

• Conversational interfaces are prized because casual talk renders experience as surplus #expands (0.85) — Shoshana Zuboff, The Age of Surveillance Capitalism, 811