[timmytokyo]

This argument assumes social media algorithms are passive agents, which only give users what they're looking for. What's missing is the fact that human minds are malleable, reactive, and adaptive through reinforcement. By providing what they think you're looking for, the algorithms subtly shift your psychology, leading you to seek more of what you're already seeing.

This is not a novel insight. It's why advertising works. AI-based Skinner-box algorithms are like traditional advertising techniques on steroids. They inevitably profilerate the kind of content that optimizes for the most engagement, and due to the way our lizard brains work, this happens to be content that generates emotional manipulation and outrage. The consequence? A population-wide mental health catastrophe.