Hunches about hunch.com

On my neglected Facebook page sits an even more neglected
"Like" button. Although I read what others post and occasionally add a comment,
I grumpily avoid this particular feature. Technology based on personal
preferences-a rapidly expanding group that includes Hunch, Pandora, various
Google products and others-is a source of anxiety for me. I am ambivalent about
the purpose and meaning of "liking" something.

My first problem is a moral one. Even if Hunch can sift
through a world of choices and direct me toward things I like, do I want it to?
Perhaps I would be better off directed toward things I don't like-perhaps my "taste profile" needs transformation, not
confirmation. Don't our desires sometimes need to be corrected by standards
that stand outside of us? As Kant wrote, "Morality is not the doctrine of how
we may make ourselves happy, but how we may make ourselves worthy of
happiness." Hunch is clearly not built on this model and may even stand against
it.

Secondly, I am not sure it is to my benefit or the benefit
of others to make it easier for advertisers to reach me. Even if this
technology can properly identify my likes, what good is that if it just leads
to more consumption on my part? Consumerism for consumerism's sake is something
I decidedly don't like.