Google ‘manipulating human nature’ to keep us hooked, says ex-boss

A FORMER Google manager yesterday accused the tech company of ‘manipulating human nature’.

Tristan Harris, who spent four years at the Silicon Valley giant, said its number one goal was to keep people plugged into its services, which was causing a ‘race to capture attention’.

He claimed governments around the world had given the tech industry ‘a free pass on regulation’.

His warning comes a day after Sharon White, the boss of the communications

watchdog Ofcom, said that continuing to give tech giants free rein on the web – with no regulation in place – could have ‘profound consequences’ for children.

Mr Harris spent several years as a ‘design ethicist’ for Google, developing plans for how technology could ethically steer the thoughts and actions of web users. Speaking on Radio 4’s Today programme, he said firms like Google were fixated on

clicks, rather than the effects their sites could have on others.

The organisations are locked in a ‘race to capture attention’, he said. ‘It really is manipulating human nature and has consequences across the social spectrum.’

Mr Harris added: ‘They [tech companies] are caught in this race to the bottom of the brain stem, and the problem is, it leads to huge consequences across the social fabric – from alienation and isolation to loneliness for teenagers.’

Asked to comment, Google said it had announced earlier this year that it was rolling out tools to help people ‘better understand’ how much time they spend online.