Hacking Happiness Read Online Free PDF Page A

explore the role of sensors, quantified self, the Internet of Things, and artificial intelligence as they relate to identity and happiness. We’ll spend some time discussing the effects of machine-learning algorithms and how they relate to our digital future, and conclude by reviewing how ouractions reflected in the connected world reveal a clearer portrait of identity than our words alone.
    PART 2: BE A PROVIDER (BROADCASTING VALUE IN THE PERSONAL DATA ECONOMY)
    There’s a relationship created when we think of ourselves as consumers—while the word reflects the fact that we live in a transactional society, is it the primary identity we want for ourselves? A primary way to escape exploitative practices (like our tracked behavior being used primarily to enhance advertising models) is to change the vocabulary around an established idea.
    In this section, we’ll discuss how the concepts of shared value and conscious capitalism relate to the connected world. Where people’s data is seen as commerce, its value should be distributed. In the personal data economy that will be made visible by augmented reality, we can inspire innovation while honoring privacy.
    Rather than worrying about strangers filming and tagging without permission, people can broadcast their identities in public while notifying how they’d like to interact with the world. If you’re at Starbucks and someone looks at you wearing Google Glass, your digital avatar could appear in their vision and say, “If you’d like to record and I’m in your shot, my face will appear blurry and I can’t be tagged without my permission. If you’re tagging me for commercial purposes, please text me the specifics of how I’ll be compensated for the use of my personal data.”
    This type of scenario, outside of the technical aspects, represents the rapidly emerging practice of virtual currency. Within a trusted framework, people can pay each other in the form of specie (money), products (swapping), or skills (time). This avoids the echo chamber of privacy discussions mired in policy in favor of positive economic exchange. This is also a vision of how we can shift the model of selling people’s data without their knowledge. We can shift this practice from being exploitative to being inclusive byproviding transparent means of identity sharing and virtual commerce. Then people can see themselves as providers of content or data, where they are actively involved in a consensual transaction. The notion of being a consumer, defined primarily by what and how much is purchased, will erode and allow people to see their value in a wider dimension.
    Geekery in this section will involve the evolution and future of augmented reality, a definition of Big Data, and how providing content and value to others can liberate your identity through creativity and commerce.
    PART 3: BE PROACTIVE (PROMOTING PERSONAL AND PUBLIC WELL-BEING)
    Many times, happiness is an output of action versus a momentary mood. Social scientists make the distinction between short-term or “hedonic” happiness and eudaimonia—a Greek term associated with Aristotle, roughly translated as “well-being.” A new outfit may produce a momentary increase in positive mood, but if you rely on retail therapy for happiness you may experience what’s known as the “hedonic treadmill.”
    Altruism also has proven benefits toward the increase of happiness. As Sonja Lyubomirsky, a leading mind in the field of positive psychology, notes in her book The How of Happiness , one of the less-noted aspects of kindness is its benefits regarding self-perception. The more acts of compassion you perform, the more you view yourself as altruistic. Eventually, the way you view your own identity may evolve to the point at which your confidence and happiness increase as a result.
    Sharing value in the connected world leads to happiness. Also, the alternative isn’t great—if you’re a jerk, your actions may get quantified in a way to