Fragmented Worlds, Artificial Experiences — #155
When our digital worlds get even personalised, what shared experiences do we have left?
A few weeks back, someone on LinkedIn commented that people are no longer giving up their seats for pregnant or older individuals on metros or buses, suggesting that we are living in a “peak egoism” era.
I hadn’t considered this as egoism before. Still, I’ve noticed similar trends that suggest a reduced sense of solidarity or an inability to take other people’s perspectives — changes in issues such as immigration, vaccinations, taxes, and foreign aid, among others.
Whatever we call it, this trend is very unintuitive to me. I understand that people care about their social status and want to ensure they stay ahead, but it feels so tiring to be constantly on your own. And when we share responsibilities for the common good, we reduce the pressure on each individual to excel in every area.
We can contribute in some ways and get support in others. You don’t have to do it all yourself.
But what might be behind this change? I keep returning to one major shift in how we experience daily lives: social media.
For the last 20 years, we have not only been at the centre of our own lives, but we have also shared our personal lives and thoughts with everyone constantly, as if we mattered. Every single moment has been broadcast, first to an audience of friends, but now just to an algorithmic void.
And I’m thinking: Did we misunderstand the idea that we all have equal value, thinking that it also means that everything we do, think, and feel should be taken into account all the time? That our needs be at the centre of the universe.
We are not at the centre of the universe.
Still, if you constantly look for moments to communicate rather than experience, something happens.
And while being on Instagram might feel like a collective experience, our social media feeds are, in fact, entirely separate experiences. No one else perceives the world as you do, since no one else shares your digital space. We all live in fragments, and then we wonder why everyone else is an idiot for not experiencing life the same way we do.
We disconnect with each other. I think that constantly being in your own version of the world contributes significantly to trends like increased polarisation and decreased empathy. How can we expect to understand each other if we don’t experience the same events in the same way?
Dealing with others becomes harder.
This isolation shows up in measurable ways. For example, take a look at these scores regarding personality changes across the age groups in the United States (looking forward to seeing studies on this from other countries).
Many personality traits are in free-fall. Primarily, Conscientiousness, which measures self-control, diligence, and attention to detail. But also Agreeableness, which measures kindness, helpfulness, and willingness to cooperate and extroversion. Neuroticism is rapidly on the rise.
There might be many reasons for these changes. Personality is an interplay between genetics and environment. Still, the timespan in this graph is so short that I would doubt these trends are due to genetic changes across generations.
But isn’t it fascinating that personality traits like kindness and helpfulness are falling? Or that people prefer being by themselves to being with others?
Yes, dealing with people can sometimes be impractical. But it becomes even more complicated when we live in fragmented worlds. It will require a lot more skill and effort to find common ground or take someone else’s perspective.
Unfortunately, AI is increasing this fragmentation.
This week, I listened to a panel where a researcher at the Stockholm School of Economics said that he makes his own AI music now, and listens mostly to that—a fully personalised musical experience.
I realise that we will soon have similar tools for literature or film, allowing us to prompt our own novels or Christmas romcoms based on our personal preferences.
Culture, the “glue” that holds a society together, has always been about shared experiences, but AI may change that even more.
Another AI-driven personalisation trend is individual pricing. Where the previously objectively shared experience of how much something costs is adapting to the individual making the purchase.
Soon, we might not even share a common experience of the cost of a cucumber.
What will happen to us then? And, is this something we want?
How individualistic can a society get before it’s no longer a society?
Perhaps Artificial Intelligence is not about intelligence at all. Maybe it should be Artificial Experience, as that is likely the outcome of this new technological shift.
Naively, I’ve been thinking that we should soon reach the end of this individualistic cycle, thinking things would swing back towards more collectivism and solidarity.
And maybe we will. We see many signals pointing in this direction. People are reducing their social media usage, wanting to spend more time in the “real world”. Dinner clubs, where people eat together, are gaining popularity. And in Sweden, we see young people joining the church at record levels.
So, in one way, it feels like we are all longing for more shared experiences.
At the same time, we continue to break down the world we live in into smaller and smaller fragments. Creating so personalised worlds that we remove the ability for anyone else but ourselves to fully know the world we live in.
That sounds very lonely.
/Anna
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WEEKLY RECOMMENDATIONS
CLIMATE and SECURITY — A delayed UK intelligence report warns that climate breakdown and ecosystem collapse could soon threaten national security through food shortages, economic shocks and global instability.
AI and DEMOCRACY — AI may not disrupt elections through deepfakes overnight, but its long-term impact on democracy, power and communication could be far more damaging.
CREATIVITY and HEALTH — Creative experiences like dance, art, music and playing strategic video games can improve our brain health and keep our brains young for longer.