The thing is, the models are actually pretty predictive at this point and are only improving.
Like scary predictive
There is no "getting worse" for the mathematics of prediction. In fact we have people in this thread saying to actually behave randomly in order to fool the systems.
So, you know, we actually figured out how to improve iteratively and it's increasing in speed of improvement of prediction
I don't dispute that. However the fact that predictive models work does not prove that people have choice and conciously choose to forego privacy. Look at apple/android there are huge scale effects/entry barriers at play so it's very hard for a more privacy-oriented competitor to emerge. Another thing is that people certainly don't understand how much data they provide and to what extent they are profiled.
It is possible to not be involved in the ad-economy, millions of people do it everyday. I would guess that most of these millions are old, illiterate, or are very poor, but you can do it without being any of those things.
This population of people are not on the internet, they don't use credit cards, they don't have a cell phone. They work for cash, live in the same city they were born in etc..
You and I are actively choosing not to live like that, when in fact it is a completely possible, reasonable way to live and by the way we have been living like that for basically all but the last few decades.
Like scary predictive
There is no "getting worse" for the mathematics of prediction. In fact we have people in this thread saying to actually behave randomly in order to fool the systems.
So, you know, we actually figured out how to improve iteratively and it's increasing in speed of improvement of prediction