Key Insights

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  Design systems can increase efficiency by over 25% but also risk scaling unethical design patterns if ethics are not embedded.

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  The tech industry shifted focus from providing user value to extracting user data and attention, driving widespread manipulative dark patterns.

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  Dark patterns are pervasive, found in up to 95% of free Android apps, and often fall into ‘dirty tricks’ or psychological manipulation categories.

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  Infinite scroll, originally designed to reduce friction, unintentionally created addictive behaviors, illustrating the unintended consequences of design choices.

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  Ethical design must be planned and embedded early in systems and governance to prevent amplifying harm at scale through reusable components.

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  Competitive analysis often encourages copycat design patterns, perpetuating harmful norms and mediocrity rather than innovation or ethics.

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  Legal frameworks like the FTC and GDPR are increasingly focusing on regulating dark patterns, making ethics a business risk issue.

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  Design principles can help depersonalize ethical debates within organizations, fostering collective responsibility around ‘doing the right thing.’

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  Cross-department collaboration, especially with marketing and legal, is essential to eradicate dark patterns embedded outside core product teams.

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  Design systems offer unique leverage points to intervene in systemic deception by promoting ethical behaviors through platform changes and governance.

Notable Quotes