Sean Illing

2 weeks ago | vox.com | Sean Illing

It’s hard to know what to think about AI. It’s easy to imagine a future in which chatbots and research assistants make almost everything we do faster and smarter. It’s equally easy to imagine a world in which those same tools take our jobs and upend society. Which is why, depending on who you ask, AI is either going to save the world or destroy it. What are we to make of that uncertainty? Jaron Lanier is a digital philosopher and the author of several bestselling books on technology.

2 months ago | vox.com | Sean Illing

Who hasn’t heard the phrase “ignorance is bliss” a thousand times? Like all cliches, it sticks because it’s rooted in truth, but it’s worth asking why ignorance can be so satisfying. If you read the history of philosophy, you don’t find all that much interest in the delights of ignorance. Instead, you hear a lot about the pursuit of truth, which is assumed to be a universal human impulse. That’s not entirely wrong, of course.

2 months ago | vox.com | Sean Illing

A friend of mine once told me that “You are where your attention is.” That line always stuck with me. It was a reminder that the most important choice we all make is also the most common one. It’s the decision about what to pay attention to and what not to pay attention to. One of the primary features of this age of the internet and smartphones and algorithmic feeds is that our attention is everywhere and nowhere at the same time, because we’re endlessly pushed around by a parade of distractions.

Jan 20, 2025 | vox.com | Sean Illing

How many times a day do you interact with devices? If you’re anything like me, it’s impossible to count. You’re reading this article on a phone or a tablet or a laptop. Maybe you used the alarm on your Apple Watch to wake up. Maybe you listened to a podcast while you brushed your teeth. Maybe you used an app to check the bus schedule or find a parking spot. Maybe you scrolled Instagram in the back of the Uber ride to work.

Jan 13, 2025 | aei.org | Christine Rosen |Sean Illing

What is the first thing that you touch in the morning? What about the last thing you touch before you go to sleep? For many of us, it’s our phone. Digital devices are with us constantly, often putting a digital layer between us and the world. The benefits of this are enormous: convenience, efficiency, and constant stimulation. But is there a personal cost to living in a mediated reality?