From attention to intimacy. The evolution of social networks and AI

Around the periphery of the Mahabodhi Temple in Bodhgaya, India, along a path where pilgrims circumambulate, solid rock walls painted pink display scenes from the Buddha's life in hand-carved, lifelike reliefs. My favorite scene is the one depicting the night before the Buddha's enlightenment, when he was visited by the maras—projections of his own delusion, desire, and aversion. The scene shows the Buddha sitting peacefully, surrounded by sensu…

The central objective of social networks and digital platforms is the same as that of any other company: to generate returns on investment. This is fundamental to understanding the phenomenon represented by applications such as Facebook, Instagram, TikTok and now also ChatGPT, Deepseek and Discord, among others. How do these platforms generate money? In essence, there are two main paths: 1) the collection for memberships and 2) the sale of adver…