Latest Mary Harrington blog – “AI is central to the decline of social media platforms. It’s also, if misused, the greasy chute to cognitive atrophy. And I think the upshot of these twin phenomena is already visible: a bifurcation between those who enjoy the upsides of this industrialization of thought without falling victim to its temptations, and those growing increasingly cognitively adrift under the algorithms. If you don’t want to be among the latter, the time to take evasive action is now.”

I love her writing not only because I learn words like bifurcation. I am fascinated by the waves of thought she surfs, revealing views on modernity which resonate days after. The industrialization of thought, isn’t that right? But I can’t say I am completely on side about the concern. I don’t yet know because new technology often dumbs things down but not necessarily in the long run. I can imagine why people were offended when Glenn Gould proudly overdubbed himself. Challenging the idea of recording what is real… but wasn’t it always unreal? Is the tape recorder found in the forest? Not that Mary Harrington is saying AI is bad. I think her point is relying on AI contributes to less thinking by the rest of us. I see it in all the popular music. Absolutely nobody I know seems to care about that drum beats are omnipresent and dull. It’s taken for granted.