This Wired article on persuasive computing research was a little disturbing. Stanford researchers at the Persuasive Technology Laboratory “cook up the darkest technology they can imagine.” They design technology which taunts jealous wives, tracks if employees wash their hands in the bathroom, and, more positively, teaches men new vocabulary at the urinal. You know someone’s going to take that last one and use it to sell advertising instead of increasing male verbal skills. The study of persuasive technology is called “captology” and there’s a class at Stanford on it. It’s a marketer’s dream, but I hope these CS students use their knowledge for good and not evil. Their collaborative projects look promising: studying what makes websites credible, persuading people to take better care of themselves, and persuading people to take care of the environment.