The Last Gasp of the Attention Economy

Whether you think we’re descending the back side of the hype cycle or you think the AI bubble is deflating, it’s pretty clear that we’re experiencing an important expectation-to-experience gap in the world of generative AI. While the promise is that generative AI will be the most significant technology we have experienced, the reality is far from that today. Yes, language and image models are impressive. But the realized impact leaves something to be desired.

The fever pitch of AI expectations has grown in the echo chamber of Big Tech competition and their various cheerleaders. With every player clamoring for more attention, each new feature release is treated like the next stride in a 100-meter race, with victory won or lost declared by the next social feed update. The breathless coverage of the #unthinkingAIenthusiasts would drown out even the most excited coverage by sports journalists at the Olympics. OpenAI has won! Google’s new model is now the winner! Apple is so far behind, it will never catch up!

I see faults in Big Tech pushing out ill-fitting products to boost investor attention. I see faults in large corporate customers declaring their AI intentions so as not to be left behind. And I see faults in the #unthinkingAIenthusiasts who appear to have more talent creating attention than understanding the trends they are attempting to surf. But these faults aren’t really about any individual or company. Those faults are the effect of the last gasp of the attention economy.

For twenty years, individuals around the world have engaged in the attention economy: paying with their attention for social content and creating social content to be paid attention to. Some have been so successful that their entire income is based on being paid attention to. Today’s #unthinkingAIenthusiasts constantly post the next tip to wrangle generative AI’s capabilities or promote their favorite product’s superiority or declare the world has changed because of a pre-print paper (often without actually reading it)—all to gain attention in the deafening attention economy. Pay attention to me!

Ironically, the #unthinkingAIenthusiasts are battling to gain attention in a world that is being swamped by content generated by the AI they profess to understand. They seem blind to the fact that AI can outperform any wannabe influencer—creating content more quickly and more attuned to capture attention than any human. They are promoting the technology which will put them out of business.

While I can highlight this irony, I can’t say I have figured out the next path. We believe that we are transitioning from the attention economy to the intimacy economy—but what does it mean to share ideas in the intimacy economy? How are thinkers, researchers, and writers like us supposed to build a business in this new intimacy economy? Once AI-generated content overwhelms blogs, news, and even Substackistan, how will humans find other humans?

Our best guess so far is to gather our community closer, as we are doing with The Imagining Summit. We will share the stage with people at the center of our community—people we have existing relationships with; people we have some intimate knowledge of. And we are filling the Summit with people who want to have the kind of personal interaction that is uniquely human. People who want to talk and debate. People who enjoy hands-on experiences with art & music. People who enjoy the contrast of talking about the impact of AI while being in the mountains.

We believe that one impact of the intimacy economy is that as AI systems begin to understand humans intimately, we will want more intimate connections with other humans. Perhaps I’m being idealistic. But no matter how much value I see in intimate AI, nothing will surpass intimate human connection.

We’re following through on the idea of prioritizing human connection and will be taking the next couple of weeks off. We will spend time with the generation ahead and behind us in Puget Sound (enjoying the view above). And we will take time to consider some bigger picture questions that are pushed aside with the day-to-day of the attention economy. We hope you all have the opportunity to step back as well. And we hope you’ll join us at The Imagining Summit or another gathering to share your ideas in person.