The Social Dilemma (2020)

United States of America

Documentary, Drama

Exposure Labs, Argent Pictures, The Space Program

Tristan Harris, Jeff Seibert, Bailey Richardson, Joe Toscano, Sandy Parakilas, Guillaume Chaslot

Jeff Orlowski

Jeff Orlowski, Davis Coombe, Vickie Curtis

Taglines: The technology that connects us also controls us.

artificial intelligence (a.i.), technology, silicon valley, high tech surveillance, internet, big corporation, media manipulation, social network, teen suicide, low self esteem, social media, internet culture, commercialism, internet addiction, social isolation, self-harm, advertising campaign, advertising model, late stage capitalism, machine learning, media addiction, algorithm, societal collapse, smartphone, surveillance capitalism

This documentary-drama hybrid explores the dangerous human impact of social networking, with tech experts sounding the alarm on their own creations.

Reviews:

Author: corrcorr
This documentary thinks it's real cute. You may learn a thing or two, but a lot of the time it feels manipulative and self-righteous. I wish that, instead of portraying the mechanisms of ad-targeting as some kind of sci-fi super villain, they would have shown what truly goes on in the offices of google, facebook, and the like. The evils of manipulating human attention do not need to be sensationalized to look like something out of Tron or Blade Runner. Why not film the actual computer screens that are spitting back data about users of these platforms? Perhaps internet giants would not let cameras behind the scenes. Anyhow, this film has a noble goal but comes across as more dime-a-dozen infotainment that Netflix has pumped out many times before. Maybe if it did not treat its viewers as though they were brain dead I would have enjoyed it more. Show it to your tik tok friends who could lose a staring contest with a squirrel, as that is likely who this documentary is targeted for.