Maciej (HN handle &#x27;idlewords&#x27;) has an interesting take on this that I&#x27;m struggling to find in my history right now. The basic idea is that all of the data these companies collect is still ultimately useless in practice. We still don&#x27;t have advertising that is even close to being relevant.<p>But the data retains its toxic qualities (of being a database of every action I take on the Internet and some in the real world).<p>I fire up the YouTube homepage and all of my recommendations are for UK daytime TV. Celebrities, &#x27;Jeremy Kyle&#x27; (the UK Jerry Springer), etcetera.<p>YouTube sends me adverts for female hygiene products and dog food. (I am male and I own no dog.)<p>Even when I get advertising that&#x27;s not selling me stuff that would require I buy something else first (sex change, dog) it&#x27;s invariably for something vastly overpriced or some sort of megabrand.