Leafy-Link; Beyond Cambridge Analytica: The Architecture of Facebook and Its Role in User Manipulation

My technical and STS research projects are connected through their shared emphasis on how designers embed technologies with assumptions about their users, which then go on to shape how people interact with said technologies. In our capstone project, my team and I developed the automated hydroponic microgreen grow system for restaurants, Leafy-Link. My STS research paper, meanwhile, examined how Facebook's platform design conditioned users to accept algorithmic control and passive data collecting. Both projects focus on the idea of user configuration, a framework drawn from Science, Technology, and Society (STS) studies, that describes how technologies are developed with embedded presumptions about their users. Leafy-Link was designed to make cultivating nutrient-rich microgreens easier, especially for restaurants that lack the time or resources to care for conventional plant systems. Using various sensors and a microcontroller, the system automates the light and water cycles, tracks the pH and nutrient levels, and provides users with notifications through an LCD screen. We made some assumptions about our consumers when we were designing the system: that they would prefer a "set-it-and-forget-it" experience, that they would choose default presets over manual customization, and that one of the primary selling points of our design would be the minimal maintenance. Everything, including the hardware architecture and interface design, was influenced by these presumptions. My STS research paper, Beyond Cambridge Analytica: The Architecture of Facebook and Its Role in User Manipulation, uses User Configuration Theory to analyze the role of Facebook’s platform architecture in the configuration of its users. I argue that Facebook's design deliberately influenced user behavior to optimize data exposure through its black-box algorithms, default privacy settings, and seamless third-party integration. The platform was made to encourage users to disclose their data, both actively and passively. I demonstrated how the platform's architecture affected user behavior in ways that benefited corporate interests while eroding user autonomy by using primary sources such as Facebook's executive statements and privacy regulations. Working on both projects together offered new insights into the ethical implications of engineering design. Although the goal of Leafy-Link was to provide users with access to fresh, healthy produce, the process helped me see how simple it is to ignore the more profound effects of user configuration. User behavior can be greatly impacted by even seemingly insignificant design decisions, such as feedback alerts or default settings. My technological work made the impacts of user configuration feel more real, and my STS research gave me a more critical approach to design. Moving forward, I will work to maintain this awareness in future engineering projects, striving to design systems that empower their users rather than take advantage of them.