“Everything that's popular is lies.”
A 2023 Pew Research study found that 7 in 10 adults worry about AI's role in misinformation. But it’s deeper than that given we may have reached a significant tipping point — not just technologically, but intellectually.
It could be we’re sleepwalking into a crisis of thought.
What's Really Going On?
This isn’t another anti-tech rant. It’s a wake-up call.
Here are some things most of us miss:
We’ve confused knowing for understanding.
Memorizing facts isn't the same as building insight. Intelligence gets you data. Wisdom helps you live.
We’re outsourcing thinking.
Smartphones are no longer tools. They’re training wheels we never take off. And with AI baked into every app, the risk is: why think at all?
Old-school learning is dying.
Open an early 20th-century guidebook — you’ll see diagrams that teach 3D reasoning. Compare that to today’s bite-sized content and shallow info. No depth. No context. Just scrolling.
We worship opinion, not truth.
Likes and retweets create echo chambers. Beliefs are worn like fashion. “Truth” becomes whatever trends.
Let that sit for a second.
So What's at Stake?
If you don’t filter what enters your mind, someone else will do it for you.
This isn’t just about privacy. It’s about direction.
Who benefits when you're passive? When you follow the feed, not your reason?
We’re being nudged. Quietly. Constantly.
AI could gently steer humanity — not towards better lives, but towards predictable behaviors. Buy more. Think less. Click again.
However, we're not powerless.
Here’s a mental toolkit worth building:
- Appoint a gatekeeper for your mind.
Question what you consume. Pause before sharing. Don’t let every opinion through the door. - Learn to spot manipulation.
Study fallacies. Recognize bandwagon thinking, false authority, and emotional baiting.
This should be taught in school. It’s not. So teach yourself. - Value wisdom over trivia.
Read deep. Learn slowly. Visualize systems. Build mental models, not just memories. - Stop glorifying open-mindedness.
Yes, you read that right. An unfiltered mind isn’t noble — it’s vulnerable. Be open, but be discerning. - Treat truth like it matters.
Not everything needs to go viral. Real truth stands on its own. It doesn’t need a slogan or a sponsor.