Nudging Humans

Abstract

Nudging is the ascendant social engineering agenda pioneered by economist Richard Thaler and law professor Cass Sunstein. It has crept into the design of human-computer interfaces, affecting billions of individuals’ decisions daily. The foundational principles of nudging are simple: First, behavioral studies and data should inform the design of private and public choice architectures. Second, choice architects should steer people toward outcomes that make them better off. Third, Thaler and Sunstein’s ethical framework, libertarian paternalism, should provide sufficient ethical constraints on choice architects. This essay develops two novel criticisms of nudging, one focused on nudge creep and another based on normative myopia. Nudge creep describes how nudges justified and used to serve one purpose often are extended subtly. Normative myopia concerns the convenient, but unjustified, prioritization of certain normative values over others. Against creep and normative myopia, the essay proposes ‘active choosing by design’ as a default rule for nudges where social learning and related developmental consequences are relevant. This default rule sets a reasonable baseline for choice architects. It entails friction and that will rub efficiency-minded social engineers the wrong way. But friction is often necessary for human development and meaningful engagement with each other and our techno-social environments.