artificial intelligence

Dr. Fogg has spent a number of years creating the field of Captology - Computers as Persuasive Technology - from foundations in several diverse fields. Dr. Fogg's "Persuasive Technology" neatly presents his work over the last several years. His book provides solid background and well-structured frameworks for informing the design process of persuasive systems.

"Persuasive Technology" is an in depth look at the cognitive and social factors surrounding computers as persuasive technology. Dr. Fogg takes several steps from research to practice by clearly organizing the research and theory into actionable frameworks and principles that help designers develop coherent strategies and products. His work on web credibility goes even further to provide very actionable metrics and specific factors that help improve or detract from a web site's credibility. It's refreshing to find someone in research that has pushed hard to assist the transition of ideas from research to practice.

His book is not a "how-to" cookbook of guidelines for creating persuasive software. Great design rarely proceeds from slavishly following lists of guidelines. It involves understanding the user and their behavior, the problem space and the media, and creating optimal solutions. "Persuasive Technology" provides the necessary fundamentals for design in this domain and stands with classics like "The Design of Everyday Things" by Don Norman in achieving this end.

Dr. Fogg ends by taking on the controversial topic of ethics in persuasive computing and steps forward as a champion of using persuasive computing for the benefit of users while acknowledging the darker side that exists. "Persuasive Computing" is an essential read for those interested in this area and in recognizing unwanted persuasion.

I look forward to more work in this nascent field, both from Dr. Fogg and others who follow his lead.

Andy Cargile
Director of Design Research
Attenex Corporation

It's 2003 and the initial excitement, innovation and greed that fueled the technology boom of the late 90s have all but disappeared. Yet left in their tracks are the tangible building blocks of an industry destined to continue changing commerce, education and social activism in profound and irreversible ways.

For a fresh perspective on the forces shaping next-phase software and Web development, look no further than "Persuasive Technology" by Dr. B.J. Fogg, director of the Persuasive Technology Lab at Stanford University. Surely, academic research may fail to generate the enthusiasm of erstwhile launch parties and public offerings, but Dr. Fogg's work offers a purposeful key to helping us understand, and thereby design, more effective and sustainable (read: revenue-generating) interactive technologies.

Proposing a new analytical model called "captology", short for "computers as persuasive technologies", Dr. Fogg is the first to address the increasingly important role of computers in actuating attitudinal and behavioral change - in other words, the ability to persuade users to take a particular action: to buy more, play more, lose weight, quit smoking, register to win, etc. For technology researchers accustom to the tenets of Usability - essentially the evaluation of functionality and "likability" - captology goes a significant step further, addressing the extent to which an interactive device (be it a website or mobile phone) succeeds in changing users' attitudes and behaviors. The importance of this research is unquestionable, if you can imagine (or personally relate to) an online marketer anxious to sell more goods, or a smoker who turns to a motivational website to help him/her quit. It is no longer enough for a website or software tool to be "user friendly"; its intended objective - as a tool of persuasion - must be achieved.

Through the study of captology, designers have a new framework for building products, services and promotions that succeed in generating the results they seek. What could be more timely and constructive in this period when all sectors - commercial, educational, social/civic and more - are straining to yield measurable, bottom-line results from their technology investments?

Thank you, Dr. Fogg, for the fresh and purposeful approach. Your timing couldn't be better!

Cate Riegner
M.A. Communications, Annenberg School for Communication. University of Pennsylvania
Principal, Media-Screen Consulting
Founder, artAngels.org

An excellent introduction to CAPTology, the study of Computers As Persuasive Technologies. Fogg takes us through the core principles (42 in all) of using computers as persuasive agents, and the research he and others have done which underpins those principles. In the process he provides a fascinating look at cutting-edge and potential future applications of computer and mobile technologies (such as location-linked reminder systems) that could enhance our lives. However, he does not dismiss the darker uses of the technology and the very real ethical issues it raises. Towards the end of the book, he argues that studying computer-human persuasion can provide new insights into human-human persuasion, and the crossover in many of the principles discussed is readily apparent. I took away from this book a new awareness of how systems used in my organisation could be enhanced to make things better for our customers, as well as a deeper understanding of persuasion in general. I would also recommend "The Media Equation", which discusses some of the same issues as well as similar issues related to television.