forbes.com – There is an episode in Black Mirror, the popular Netflix series, in which the scariness of today’s social media comes to life. We are used to hearing slogans from tech companies such as: “Facebook helps you connect and share with the people in your life.” Sounds innocuous enough, right? But as the main character discovers firsthand in the Nosedive episode, platforms designed to enhance social affiliation can be perverted to exaggerate our worst human impulses.
To understand how social media could be used in such a diabolical way, it’s helpful to understand the concept of utilitarianism developed in the 1700s by philosopher Jeremy Bentham. Similar to today’s social media sphere,…