The Persuasion Machine
Jamie Bartlett reveals how Silicon Valley's mission to connect the world is disrupting democracy, helping plunge us into an age of political turbulence.
Jamie Bartlett reveals how Silicon Valley's mission to connect the world is disrupting democracy, helping plunge us into an age of political turbulence. Many of the Tech Gods were dismayed when Donald Trump - who holds a very different worldview - won the American presidency, but did they actually help him to win? With the help of a key insider from the Trump campaign's digital operation, Jamie unravels for the first time the role played by social media and Facebook's vital role in getting Trump into the White House. But how did Facebook become such a powerful player?
Jamie learns how Facebook's vast power to persuade was first built for advertisers, combining data about our internet use and psychological insights into how we think. A leading psychologist then shows Jamie how Facebook's hoard of data about us can be used to predict our personalities and other psychological traits. He interrogates the head of the big data analytics firm that targeted millions of voters on Facebook for Trump - he tells Jamie this revolution is unstoppable. But is this great persuasion machine now out of control? Exploring the emotional mechanisms that supercharge the spread of fake news on social media, Jamie reveals how Silicon Valley's persuasion machine is now being exploited by political forces of all kinds, in ways no one - including the Tech Gods who created it - may be able to stop.
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Music Played
Timings (where shown) are from the start of the programme in hours and minutes
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00:02Clark
Winter Linn
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00:06Oasis
Rock 'N' Roll Star
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00:09Daft Punk
Burnin'
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00:12Burial
UK
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00:13Aphex Twin
Come To Daddy (Lord Faulteroy Mix)
Credits
| Role | Contributor |
|---|---|
| Presenter | Jamie Bartlett |
| Executive Producer | Mike Radford |
| Series Producer | Tristan Quinn |
| Director | Jack Rampling |
| Producer | Jack Rampling |
Explore the OU's interactive timeline ‘A History of Silicon Valley’
How Silicon Valley became so powerful