Sorry you got downvoted - wasn't me, I swear (it actually annoys me that people use downvoting to mean "I disagree".)
The problem with your comment is that you present a false choice.
I believe that there is strong - very strong - demand for real, lasting happiness. Indeed I think that is the strongest demand there is. NLP and technologies like it can be at the core of the tools that help people choose who they want to be and help (not coerce) them to act consistency with those choices.
I cannot reason with somebody whose main thesis is "I believe" and "I think". The real world actually shows the opposite of your beliefs. The obese guy does click consistently on KFC coupons recommended via NLP, and does dismiss ads of fitness products. Its really his choice. Maybe he has found "real, lasting happiness" eating the KFC :) I mean, who am I, a mere data scientist, to decide what leads to "real,lasting happiness" for the masses ? Even saints & philosophers can't decide upon that. So I do what NLP is best for - if the obese guy wants KFC I give him that.
Am not being flippant...I actually share your concerns very much, just that data mining in the real world has made me uber-cynical for the future of mankind.
Ah, but you miss the crux of my point: people act inconsistently with their own choices! You're right that it's not up to me to decide what's good for people, but what gets me is when people decide for themselves what is good, and then find themselves unable to do it.
The problem with your comment is that you present a false choice.
I believe that there is strong - very strong - demand for real, lasting happiness. Indeed I think that is the strongest demand there is. NLP and technologies like it can be at the core of the tools that help people choose who they want to be and help (not coerce) them to act consistency with those choices.