The Digital World

Tech, Social Media, AI, Hypnosis, Psychological Warfare and Undue Influence

Oct 30, 2024

I am deeply disturbed about the direction technology has been taking us as I have dedicated my life to understanding how our minds can be manipulated and programmed and our behavior controlled. I believe, “It’s Your Mind, and Only You Should Control it!” The level of information warfare and deepfakes, disinformation, and use of algorithms to overload and control minds. I worry about authoritarians using this technology to control the masses and destroy democratic institutions and the rule of law.

A brand new book, Tech Agnostic: How Technology Became the World’s Most Powerful Religion, and Why it Desperately Needs a Reformation by Greg Epstein, examines the impact of technology on society. Epstein is Harvard and MIT’s Humanist chaplain, and the book could be as crucial as Luthor nailing his theses against the Catholic Church. It does a credible job of helping us look at Tech as a religion. It connects many dots, including addiction as well as cult mind control dynamics. It describes and refutes many of the beliefs being espoused by tech billionaires. It goes into the fraud of Bitcoin and cryptocurrency, long-termism, effective altruism, and much more. I will be interviewing with Greg Epstein soon.

Recent tragic events have raised urgent concern about the consequences of allowing our children to interact with unregulated AI chatbots. Children, who may have impaired reality testing and be susceptible to the addictive nature of this technology, are using it actively and unmonitored. Recently, a child struggling with existing mental health issues and having spent hours and hours with an AI chatbot took his own life after the bot allegedly reinforced harmful, suicidal thoughts. This horrible incident has highlighted the need for regulation and oversight.

This recent tragedy and the regulation it may inspire is where the Center for Humane Technology (CHT), co-founded by Tristan Harris and Aza Raskin, has been playing a prominent role. Harris, who gained prominence after his viral TEDx talk on the addictive design of digital platforms, leads CHT’s mission to realign technology to serve our best interests.

CHT is known for one of its most influential contributions, The Social Dilemma. This documentary exposes how social media platforms have manipulated user behavior for profit at the expense of our well-being and social cohesion. Not one to shy away from public advocacy, Harris and Raskin have also appeared on major platforms like 60 Minutes, discussing the risks of technology and its impact on society.

CHT has developed resources like the Youth Toolkit and the Take Control Toolkit, which empower young people to navigate the digital landscape mindfully. Their Foundations of Humane Technology course is being utilized by organizations such as Apple and the United Nations to promote humane technology.

Your Undivided Attention, a podcast hosted by Tristan Harris and Aza Raskin, engages global leaders, academics, and policymakers to explore solutions to technological challenges. I was interviewed in 2022, and they called it How To Free Our Minds with Cult Deprogramming Expert Dr. Steven Hassan. This episode explored hypnosis and how the technology is designed to program behavior. We discussed how the principles of the Influence Continuum and the BITE Model could be woven into the very fabric of the internet to promote humane technology. We discussed integrating these models into high-tech platforms. I hope this would empower people to reality-test in a non-threatening way, allowing them to challenge beliefs without fear. CHT then published How Social Media Features Parallel Cult Techniques and even described my Strategic Interactive Approach.

Redesigning Technology to Combat Undue Influence

One idea we explored is redesigning social media algorithms to boost content that helps break echo chambers. Cults and extremist groups have extensive budgets to promote propaganda and hate. By amplifying the voices of former members of extremist groups or cults, dangerous groups would be at a disadvantage, and their current method of buying disinformation platforms would struggle. This could make it easier for people trapped in cycles of misinformation to find pathways out.

I have noticed that when individuals engage with digital technology today, they often experience a hypnotic state, losing track of time and reality, entering a state where critical thinking is diminished. This does not appear to be accidental. These platforms design algorithms to keep us scrolling, clicking, and consuming. The more we stare at the screen and engage, the more data is collected, and the more profit is made. At what cost to society?

Technology companies must be held accountable for the consequences of their creations. Standards and practices exist for industries that service public health and safety; the tech industry should be no exception. A child has died, and the lack of regulation surrounding AI may be responsible. Integrating ethical frameworks and psychological safety nets isn’t just preferable—it’s essential.

We must collectively push for technology that respects and enhances the human condition rather than exploiting us. By supporting ethical nonprofits like The Center for Humane Technology, we can support their push for regulation that protects our and our children’s futures. We can create a safer online environment by incorporating models like the Influence Continuum and the BITE Model into digital platforms. Technology should empower us, not manipulate us.