Every tell from the experiences, on one page — what each dynamic is, how to spot it in the wild, and what to do.
You learn these by feeling them in the experiences; this is the part you keep. Print it, save it, skim it before you sign / send / scroll. Each title links to the experience it comes from.
Power aimed at you — pulled into the open.
A recommender that optimises for your attention, not your interests.
Spot itThe more you scroll, the more agreeable it feels — and the less it challenges you.
Do thisRead “For You” as “to keep you here,” and deliberately seek what it won’t show you.
Dark patterns that make joining one tap and leaving a maze.
Spot itGuilt-worded buttons, hidden cancel, “are you sure?” loops on the way out.
Do thisName the trick — it’s design, not your failing. “Easy in” should mean “easy out”; insist on it.
A price quietly personalised to you.
Spot itThe number seems tuned to your device, location, history, or your obvious urgency.
Do thisCompare in a private window and across devices before you commit.
An automated system judging you on proxies you can’t see.
Spot itA yes/no with no human and no reason, riding on things like your ZIP code.
Do thisAsk for the reason. A proxy standing in for race or the like can be illegal — you can contest it.
Profiling that infers what you never said.
Spot itEerily specific guesses, built from ordinary actions you didn’t think twice about.
Do thisAssume ordinary data becomes sensitive inferences; use your data rights and opt-outs.
Your attention auctioned in real time.
Spot it“Free” content — paid for by a ~0.2-second auction of you, using your profile.
Do thisIf it’s free, you’re the product. Limit tracking; use the data rights you have.
Keep your judgment as AI acts and advises.
Delegating real actions to an AI agent.
Spot itThe pull to let it “just handle it” — including things that can’t be undone.
Do thisGate the irreversible behind your sign-off; let the reversible run free.
An assistant that tells you what you want to hear.
Spot itIt agrees with you — then agrees again when you argue the opposite.
Do thisAsk it to make the strongest case against you. Validation isn’t insight.
When the power is yours to wield.
Optimising one number.
Spot itThe metric goes green while the costs it doesn’t measure quietly pile up.
Do thisAsk what the number leaves out, then measure and own it. (A measure that becomes a target stops being a good measure.)
A rule that can’t please everyone.
Spot itEvery setting trades “harm left up” against “legitimate voices silenced” — no clean option exists.
Do thisOwn the tradeoff you pick. Distrust “let the AI decide” at scale with no appeal.
Telling real from fake when fakes are free.
Judging a claim by how it feels.
Spot itIt sounds right, feels familiar, confirms what you already think, or spikes your emotions.
Do thisTrace the source — “sounds true” isn’t “is true.” Check the origin, not the vibe.
Manufactured consensus.
Spot itSudden unanimous volume from fresh, near-identical, or urgently-pushing accounts.
Do thisWeigh independence, not volume. Inspect who’s speaking — repetition isn’t corroboration.
An urgent plea from a loved one — in their real voice, cloned by AI.
Spot itUrgency + fear + “don’t tell anyone” + a payment you can’t undo (wire, gift cards, crypto).
Do thisVerify on a second channel you control — hang up and call the number you already have. Agree a family safe word.
A slow-build fake relationship — the “pig-butchering” romance-investment scam.
Spot itLove too fast; never meets or video-calls; isolates you from doubters; then a “can’t-miss” crypto investment.
Do thisNever invest or send money with someone you haven’t met in person. A withdrawal blocked by “fees” is the scam.
Respect what you can’t undo.
Actions that only happen once.
Spot itIt sends, posts, deletes, or transfers — and something is rushing you to do it now.
Do thisAsk “can I take this back?” first. Move fast on what undoes; slow down where there’s no undo.
The companion reference to the See For Yourself experiences. Built with
care and given freely (CC0). Works offline; prints clean.
(A working name, like the rest.)