[xyzzy123]

If defaults don't work then Google wasted 15 billion dollars last year paying Apple to be in the search bar...

I guess there must be further detail in the paper and I will have to read it to understand the nuance.

[inglor_cz]

Defaults very clearly work in matters such as consent to organ donation. In countries where you need to opt out of organ donation, few people bother to do so.

Another question is whether this increases the total amount of successful donations. I was looking around for studies and found this one [1], which basically says "in some countries, yes".

[1] https://behavioralpolicy.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/Does...

[iudqnolq]

I've heard people argue that that effect isn't a nudge, it's deceit.

That is, all you're doing is tricking people who didn't read carefully. People don't know they've opted in and would opt out if you called and told them that they checked the box.

I find it generally plausible that defaults don't matter much for what people consider very important decisions. I have minimal experience in this area, though.

[manwe150]

There is also some research suggesting that defaults in organ donation (so called presumed consent) may decrease rates of actual donations in those countries. I can't find the original podcast where I heard about it (I assume related to either Planet Money or Freakonomics), but found this source:

https://blogs.bmj.com/medical-ethics/2017/09/25/organ-donati...

[jjgreen]

Without consent, it's not a donation. "Harvesting" would be an appropriate name.

[salawat]

Consider that 401k's are an onramp through which one delegates one's capital to be allocated by someone else, and it should be obvious the objective.

Capital wants to have the spigot left on. If people don't feed the beast voluntarily, Capital will make that the default.

[Gustomaximus]

Also fair to recognise google also pays Apple to not make or promote a competitor that may offer far more competition.

Id say this is a large part of the reason Gmail, Android and Chrome exist.

[pessimizer]

Or Google is using the search bar as a pretense for paying Apple for something else.

[greggsy]

Suggesting that there is a corporate or government conspiracy without actually saying what it might actually be is the worst type of conspiracy.

[pessimizer]

That's not a conspiracy. When two companies, or countries, or individuals have business dealings on many different levels, a lot of things can be negotiated at the same time.