SoylentNews is people
SoylentNews
from the we-told-you-this-would-happen dept.
In a move that should surprise no-one, The Guardian reports that :
One of the biggest insurance companies in Britain is to use social media to analyse the personalities of car owners and set the price of their insurance.
The unprecedented move highlights the start of a new era for how companies use online personal data and will start a debate about privacy.
Admiral Insurance will analyse the Facebook accounts of first-time car owners to look for personality traits that are linked to safe driving. For example, individuals who are identified as conscientious and well-organised will score well.
The insurer will examine posts and likes by the Facebook user, although not photos, looking for habits that research shows are linked to these traits. These include writing in short concrete sentences, using lists, and arranging to meet friends at a set time and place, rather than just "tonight".
As usual the insurer claims that this is "voluntary," where "voluntary" means you'll pay an extra amount up to £350 if you choose to protect your privacy.
The long term goal is to add other social media platforms, and yes, "...we've been working closely with Facebook in Europe to get the service ready"
(Score: 4, Interesting) by Sarasani on Wednesday November 02 2016, @10:28AM
This is eerily similar to Black Mirror's episode "Nose Dive" (s03e01).
Future, here we are...
(Score: 2) by Webweasel on Wednesday November 02 2016, @10:53AM
That episode was so good, scared the crap out of me.
Priyom.org Number stations, Russian Military radio. "You are a bad, bad man. Do you have any other virtues?"-Runaway1956
(Score: 4, Interesting) by Sarasani on Wednesday November 02 2016, @12:46PM
Yes, I believe one of the main reasons why people (including myself) find the Black Mirror series so unnerving is that it hits so close to home. For instance, in this particular episode we meet a "Reputelligent Agent". That person has a job that pretty much exists already today (for a fee, you can get help you with your online presence "issues").
Many people who end up watching the series can only stomach so much in any given sitting and prefer to take some time to process the underlying messages. What I find most striking about this series is the way it very clearly presents the need for us to make important decisions about the direction we're heading when it comes to technology. Let's adopt new tech because it will benefit us, not because it's new and shiny (or amazingly profitable to some).
(Score: 2) by FatPhil on Wednesday November 02 2016, @09:06PM
Have you seen the previous 2 series (?seasons in US-speak), the UK ones? There was quite an overlap with the 15-million merits episode (point-scoring and attention-whoring), but that one was satisfyingly futuristic - this one, at least the important parts, was barely futuristic at all. I was feeling almost physical pain as I became angry at what I saw, because I see the seeds of it around me every day.
Please feel free to friend me on Facebook and Twitter, I'm "FatPhil" there too.
Great minds discuss ideas; average minds discuss events; small minds discuss people; the smallest discuss themselves
(Score: 3, Funny) by Sarasani on Thursday November 03 2016, @01:29PM
Please feel free to friend me on Facebook and Twitter, I'm "FatPhil" there too.
And here I was thinking that my popularity ranking was firmly going South. Thanks heaps! Social media might not be so bad after all. Are you at least a 4.2 though? In any case, just let me ask my Reputelligent Agent for permission (your name being FatPhil and all).. I could be a successful social media monkey after all... Life's looking up. Hell yeah!
(Score: 2) by FatPhil on Friday November 04 2016, @08:35AM
Afterwards, I was mulling over what my and my g/f's scores would be, and it's pretty likely that we'd start pretty high (Oxbridge degrees, business connections, living in the right part of town, ...), but it was also clear that we'd head downhill as soon as we stopped playing the game, which would be immediately. The only question that remained in our heads was "how low could we go?". (And the nice thing about being an owner not a renter is that I could never be squeezed out, raising prices would only make me happier!)
So I expect my tax-avoiding cabs would take a long time to arrive too.
Great minds discuss ideas; average minds discuss events; small minds discuss people; the smallest discuss themselves