Convenience or Complicity? When AI Knows You Better Than You Know Yourself
Directionally Correct Newsletter, The #1 People Analytics Substack
By: Cole Napper
This article marks the launch of the "Forbidden Ideas" series—content deliberately tucked behind a paywall. Why? Because if I risk my reputation to surface these provocative perspectives, you're going to share skin in the gain to access them.
Subscribe to Directionally Correct newsletter to follow the complete series and access more insights on people analytics.
Opt-In, Opt-Out, or Out of Luck?
Some software lets you opt in, others default to opting you in (but allow opting out), yet embedded tools at work like Microsoft 365 (and Copilot) or Google Suite (and Gemini) leave employees with no choice whatsoever. When companies invest heavily in these platforms, employee consent is irrelevant—your digital footprints, daily habits, personal quirks and professional behaviors are meticulously captured, analyzed, and stored.
Privacy? Employee trust? Civil liberties? Consider them obsolete. Choice was only an illusion.
One Man's Convenience is Another Adversary’s Exploitation Point
Every piece of technology is dual-use: It can be used by you, or it can be used against you—by anyone who gains access.