A wealth of information creates a poverty of attention.
Herbert Simon
We are living out the fulfillment of this quote today. We have more information than ever before, but we’re losing our ability to actually focus, and think critically.
This can be seen in the adoption of AI to do work that normally requires deep attention – writing, coding, designing. Yes we can have it done for us, but at what cost?
Additionally, as attention decreases, commanding that attention requires ever greater provocation; no longer can we read and evaluate long form content, but we are swayed by the most shocking soundbites, leading to … even more shocking soundbites. How do we regain our ability to focus and think when every platform is designed to consume us?