Human Agency, Artificial Intelligence, and the Attention Economy

The Case for Digital Distancing
Erscheinungsjahr 2026
ISBN: 978-3-031-82088-5
Verlag: Springer

Buch, Englisch, 346 Seiten, Format (B × H): 148 mm x 210 mm, Gewicht: 461 g

People relish novelty, enjoy convenience, and are prone to distraction. These natural tendencies are now being dangerously exploited in the digital world.  So we find ourselves bewitched by the shimmering screens of our digital devices, like moths circling a flame. It may only be a matter of time before our downward spiral reaches a deadly nadir.

Leslie Paul Thiele incisively explores the psychological, social, and political impacts of social media, artificial intelligence, and digital platforms that are designed to capture our attention and maximize engagement. Digital technologies offer countless benefits.  But in the attention economy, they also heighten distraction and dependence, erode cognitive and social skills, proliferate misinformation, amplify political polarization, increase social isolation, and leave us despondent. Governmental regulation is needed, but it cannot replace the individual’s responsibility to exercise self-governance.

Thoroughly grounded in the latest scientific research but accessible to the general reader, this book explains how we can cultivate the dispositions, habits, and skills needed to sustain human agency and strengthen democratic prospects.  In an age of incessant technological upgrading, Thiele demonstrates a vital and practical means to avert human downgrading.

Zielgruppe

Research

Autoren/Hrsg.

Thiele, Leslie Paul

Fachgebiete

• Sozialwissenschaften Politikwissenschaft Politikwissenschaft Allgemein Politische Theorie, Politische Philosophie
• Geisteswissenschaften Philosophie Philosophie: Allgemeines, Methoden
• Technische Wissenschaften Technik Allgemein Technik: Allgemeines

Inhaltsverzeichnis

Chapter 1: Digital Upgrading and Human Downgrading.- Chapter 2: Regulation and Self-Governance.- Chapter 3: Distraction and Dependence: The Loss of Reflective Self-Direction.- Chapter 4: Deskilling: The Atrophy of Cognitive and Social Aptitudes.- Chapter 5: Dogmatism: The Eclipse of Common Truths and the Decay of Civic Trust.- Chapter 6: Despair: Passivity in the Face of Predictive Power.- Chapter 7: Self-Leadership and Service.- Chapter 8: Conclusions.

Über Autor(innen)

Leslie Paul Thiele is Distinguished Professor of Political Science at University of Florida, USA, where his research and teaching focus on emerging technologies and sustainability. He is the author of many books, including  (3rd edition, 2024),  (2019), and (2006). He serves as the Specialty Chief Editor of the section of