Seemingly free software choices are steered by design architecture

Evidence

Even when code is written to give choice in some aspects of the software’s use, the choices themselves and the order in which they are presented represent a “choice architecture” that encourages certain types of user behavior. As Siva Vaidhyanathan (2012) argues, “the structure and order of the choices offered to us profoundly influence the decisions we make … If a system is designed to privilege a particular choice … people will tend to choose that option more than the alternatives, even though they have an entirely free choice” (p. 88). … Prescription in our software, however, can be difficult to detect, given the power and immediacy in which it shapes our behavior and makes that behavior appear as if it was chosen freely by ourselves. — James D. Kirylo (ed.), Reinventing Pedagogy of the Oppressed, 530

Categorization

• XREF: Directly parallels the article ‘Complaints About Immodesty Go Way Back’ theme of engineered systems steering apparent free choice, and the choice-architecture literatures of Thaler and Sunstein. — connects to: Choice architecture steers decisions even when all options remain free — James D. Kirylo (ed.), Reinventing Pedagogy of the Oppressed:…, 530; Platforms’ initial promise of freedom masks instrumentarian behavioral engineering — Shoshana Zuboff, The Age of Surveillance Capitalism, 1492; Secrecy and illegibility are deliberate design features, not incidental side effects — Shoshana Zuboff, The Age of Surveillance Capitalism, 1091 (+2 more)

Broader Connections

• Choice architecture steers decisions even when all options remain free #corroborates (0.97) — James D. Kirylo (ed.), Reinventing Pedagogy of the Oppressed, 530
• Secrecy and illegibility are deliberate design features, not incidental side effects #expands (0.80) — Shoshana Zuboff, The Age of Surveillance Capitalism, 1091
• Platforms’ initial promise of freedom masks instrumentarian behavioral engineering #corroborates (0.75) — Shoshana Zuboff, The Age of Surveillance Capitalism, 1492
• Decision theories displace complexity onto predefined system structures #corroborates (0.73) — Niklas Luhmann, Trust and Power, 306
• Reforming individual platforms within a system replicates rather than challenges its foundations #expands (0.72) — Nick Couldry & Ulises A. Mejias, The Costs of Connection, 586