Digital dystopia

Jean Tirole

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Abstract: Autocratic regimes, democratic majorities, private platforms and religious or professional organizations can achieve social control by managing the flow of information about individuals' behavior. Bundling the agents' political, organizational or religious attitudes with information about their prosocial conduct makes them care about behaviors that they otherwise would not. The incorporation of the individuals' social graph in their social score further promotes soft control but destroys the social fabric. Both bundling and guilt by association are most effective in a society that has weak ties and is politically docile.

Keywords: Community enforcement; Divisive issues; Mass surveillance; Social graph; Strong and weak ties; Social score; Platforms; Social behavior (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021-06
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Published in American Economic Review, 2021, 111 (6), pp.2007-2048. ⟨10.1257/aer.20201214⟩

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Journal Article: Digital Dystopia (2021)
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:hal:journl:hal-03352887

DOI: 10.1257/aer.20201214

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