CONCEPT
Nudge
Any aspect of choice architecture that alters behavior in a predictable way without forbidding any options or significantly changing economic incentives — guidance that preserves freedom.
A nudge is a deliberate architectural intervention that makes certain choices more likely without restricting alternatives or altering economic incentives. The cafeteria that places salads at eye level nudges toward healthier eating; the retirement plan that defaults to enrollment nudges toward savings; the organ donation form that presumes consent nudges toward donation. Each preserves the full range of options — the person who wants dessert, who wants to decline retirement contributions, who wants not to donate organs, can always select that option. But the default makes the alternative path the path of least resistance, and the behavioral research consistently demonstrates that most people follow paths of least resistance, not because they lack willpower but because the cognitive cost of deliberate deviation from defaults is higher than most decisions warrant. Nudges work with this feature of human cognition rather than against it.
In The You On AI Field Guide
The critical features distinguishing nudges from mandates are preservation of choice and absence of significant economic incentive. A nudge that eliminates alternatives is