It seems that your view is that if someone falls prey to psychological manipulation to do something that is not in their interests, or feels bad or guilty if they resist, then that is purely their responsibility.  This is a sociopath&#x27;s view of the world.<p>At this point you may not like the way what I just said is making you feel.<p>According to you, there&#x27;s nothing wrong with that.<p>To address your point about empathy - empathy is a faculty we have for understanding what other people feel like and thus be better able to live together as  social beings.<p>An advertising network doesn&#x27;t feel anything.  Making a machine present words and images that induces feelings of empathy towards it is psychological manipulation.<p>Whether this is wrong or not is of course open to debate, but let&#x27;s at least tell it like it is.