Marketing is everywhere – shaping what we notice, what we want, what we trust, and even what we believe. But where does persuasion end and manipulation begin?
This seminar explores the hidden power behind modern marketing, connecting philosophy, psychology, culture, technology, and AI. Through real-world cases including Cambridge Analytica, Barbie, Starbucks, Netflix, and AI-powered chatbots and recommendation systems, we will examine how brands influence behaviour, shape identities, use data, and design the environments in which we make decisions.
We will look at these questions through the lenses of thinkers such as Kant, Weber, Kahneman, O’Neil, Nissenbaum or Aristotle among others- not as abstract theory, but as tools for understanding the marketing systems we encounter every day.
Expect debates, experiments, campaigns, provocative questions, and practical ethical challenges. No previous knowledge is required – just curiosity and a willingness to question how marketing shapes the world around us.