ICCA and Consumer Autonomy
Year: 2026
Type: preprint
Abstract: ICCA: Identity Constructed Communication ArchitectureVolume V: Psychology, Autonomy & Digital HabitusPaper: ICCA and Consumer AutonomyConsumer autonomy has been systematically eroded by digital systems that observe, infer, predict, and personalise human behaviour. These systems replace discovery with targeted narratives, replace learning with guided outcomes, and replace creativity with regurgitation. Innovation collapses because iteration is steered; invention collapses because deviation is suppressed. Surveillance‑based architectures eliminate the ability to make errors safely, explore freely, or learn without predetermined conclusions. ICCA restores autonomy by eliminating identity visibility, behavioural metadata, continuity, correlation, inference, and prediction. Trustless systems dissolve narrative gravity, restore blind discovery, and re‑establish the conditions necessary for both innovation and invention. This paper examines how surveillance‑based systems collapse autonomy and how ICCA restores it as a structural, geometric condition rather than a psychological illusion.
Source: Figshare
Author: Karl A L Smith
Language: English
Subfield: Sociology and Political Science
Field: Social Sciences
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W7204663535