The dark side of persuasion and technology: scams, phishing and why people take their phone to the bathroom – 12 June 2018

A partially closed laptop against a black background.

Presented by Professor Adam Joinson.

In this masterclass, Professor Adam Joinson looked at how techniques of persuasion, product design and marketing are used and abused when combined with technology.

This can be in order to achieve nefarious ends such as the theft of bank details, to make products and services ‘sticky’, or even to encourage people to share ‘fake news’.

The masterclass closed with a discussion of what, if anything, can be done to protect people, businesses and nation states from the use of these ‘dark arts’.

Listen to the masterclass

About Professor Adam Joinson

Adam Joinson is Professor of Information Systems. His research looks at the interaction between human behaviour and technology, with a focus on how the design of systems influences behaviour, ranging from privacy and self-disclosure, cyber-security, social relations and patterns of influence.

Adam is a programme lead for the Centre for Research and Evidence on Security Threats, and is currently running funded projects on individual susceptibility to malevolent influence techniques, such as scams and phishing.