AI subtracts. It hastens dynamics that erode human reason as we have come to understand it: social media, which diminishes the space for reflection, and online searching, which decreases the impetus for conceptualization. Pre-AI algorithms were good at delivering “addictive” content to humans. AI is excellent at it. As deep reading and analysis contracts, so, too, do the traditional rewards for undertaking these processes. As the cost of opting out of the digital domain increases, its ability to affect human thought—to convince, to steer, to divert—grows. As a consequence, the individual
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