In the TED speech, Eli Pariser warn us about how the Internet search engines control us. He explains what Google does to personalize our search results. Who knows that the search results are actually very controlled by Google (and probably by other search engines too)? If you think about it, it is pretty scary because today, people believe in Google like a god, and they instantly believe pretty much whatever Google says. So like Pariser says, it is very easy to control people, because the only thing Google need to is to give them "sweets."
In the article "Mind Control and the Internet," Sue Halpern brings the problem of possible near future technologies, which we may only have seen in science fiction movies. According to Halpern, human already have some sort of technologies, specifically chip implanted devices that can control our mind, which is of course scary to think about because if it become very real technology, who knows who controls who. But at the same time, it could be a very useful technology if we use it right. Every technology can be either good or bad depending on how people use them.
In contrast, in "High-Bandwidth Buddies," Clive Thompson raises the topic of "echo chamber" effect. I think this is the most fundamental and most fatal problem that is very hard to get out because basically "echo chamber" effect is created by the natural habit of human beings. Even they search on the Internet search engines, they tend to trust what they already believe. So, no matter what they believe is right or wrong, they tend to believe the information that has advantages to them. Like I said, this problem is way harder to solve because it is not about who controls who, but it is more about people's natural behavior that controls themselves.
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