Evil by Design: Interaction design to lead us into temptation

Evil by Design

The adjective “Machiavellian” is used to describe someone who aims to deceive and manipulate others for personal advantage. However Niccolò Machiavelli just used his observations of contemporary and historical affairs to suggest the courses of action that were most likely to help 16th-century statesmen (“princes,” or more accurately “merchant princes”) succeed. As such, he was a data-driven commentator. Some of the courses of action he recommends are less virtuous, but the more virtuous princes, as he mentions, did not often succeed. He was interested in setting down the facts and leaving the actions and moral judgments to someone else.

This book gathers observations from contemporary and historical computer applications and websites to suggest the courses of design action that are most likely to help modern-day entrepreneurs (the merchant princes of Silicon Valley) succeed.

The principles laid out in each of the seven deadly sin chapters can be applied either for good or for evil. How far you take it is up to you. There is a continuum from persuasion to deception. That continuum takes in everything from being totally open, through being economical with (or neglecting to mention) certain truths, through bent truths and white lies, to all-out deception. I would not go so far as to advocate lies—if nothing else because lies are difficult to recover from if you are found out. However, this book wouldn’t sell half so well if it were called Slightly Naughty by Design ...