The Fascinating Phenomenon That Holds Our Attention: An Overlooked Danger to Our Autonomy

The Hidden Threat to Our Free Will: An Underestimated Challenge in the Digital Age

In discussions about artificial intelligence, many envision dramatic scenarios—robots turning against humanity, machines taking control, or dystopian future dystopias dominated by technology. These visions are often loud, sensational, and immediate. However, the true danger may be subtler and less conspicuous: a gradual erosion of our attention and, ultimately, our autonomy.

Our worldview—the lens through which we interpret ourselves and the world—is fundamentally shaped by the vast stream of information our senses have gathered throughout our lives. From language and trust to political beliefs, everything is a product of the knowledge we’ve absorbed. When you pause and reflect, you’ll realize how much of your perspective is based on these external inputs.

All intelligent species do this to some extent—learning from their environment and experiences. But humans possess a remarkable superpower: we can transmit complex ideas through symbols—stories, speech, and writing. This capacity has been instrumental in building civilizations and advancing thought, but it also opens us to vulnerabilities.

Symbolic communication is the foundation of our society. It’s why we’re able to share ideas, collaborate, and evolve culturally. In essence, everything that defines us as humans is rooted in our ability to use symbols to pass on knowledge.

Yet, this remarkable talent comes with a profound challenge. Writing, the earliest form of symbolic transmission, emerged about 5,000 years ago. For most of that history, literacy was confined to a small elite, and the majority of humans formed their worldview directly through personal experience.

Then came television—a new, powerful medium that did not require literacy. Suddenly, information shaping our perceptions became more accessible and widespread. Over time, the proportion of our worldview influenced by symbolic media increased dramatically—from a few percent to the majority in many cases.

Growing up in 1987, I remember a household with a single, old TV, tuned to whatever was on. Most of the time, I didn’t even want to watch it. Fast-forward to today, and screens are omnipresent. We are constantly connected to devices that are engineered to know us better than we know ourselves. Algorithms are curating our feeds, shaping our beliefs, and influencing our perceptions at an unprecedented scale.

This shift has profound implications. If an algorithm can tailor content to your preferences, it effectively becomes a silent architect of your worldview. A significant chunk of your sense of reality could be formed not by your direct experiences but by what