Jon, what do you anticipate the long-term outcome will be for members of Gen Z who have been taught to view their home countries, such as the US and UK, as deeply racist and oppressive, and who believe that being on the “right side of history” means supporting terrorist organizations they mistakenly regard as liberators of oppressed people?
You've cataloged numerous problems and harms - for both our minds and our societies - resulting from technological developments; are there any indicators that Technology will not advance into our bodies and extend or worsen these damages?
Hi Jonathan, huge fan - I'm especially grateful for your book 'The Righteous Mind', which in my opinion along with Sowell's 'Conflict of Visions' contain the two best mental models for understanding the difference between progressive and conservative outlooks. One of the more fascinating conclusions you reach is that progressives understand conservatives a lot less than vice versa. Since you've subsequently admirably tackled the hugely important issue of over-immersion of children in online vs. offline worlds by furnishing parents with actual playbooks of practical steps they can take to get kids to play more and scroll less, what would be your top practical solutions and proactive steps various institutions and people can take to reduce the current level of political division and tension, especially in the United States?
I’ll add multiple questions for consideration in case any are of interest. thanks!!
1. Is there any information into the particular phenomenon of binge watching television series (2-3 + hours) especially vs previous episodic television. And additionally, binge watching on iPad vs marathon watching sessions on television? Or if there is a difference in the young?
2. Any counseling or advice on specifically how to manage that transition into the world of social media and the internet after it’s been delayed as long as possible in teens?
3. I’ve had many friends/acquaintances tell me they are using AI as pseudo therapist or as something to bounce ideas off of for how to respond to people socially or handle drama or just talk them out of a spiral, validate there feelings. These are not people who think they’re dating a celebrity etc, just otherwise normalish people looking for more input on their lives because they don’t want to bother their friends too much. It strikes me as a rather alarming trend as AI doesn’t seem like a remotely objective observer (although I guess who is?) and tends to flatter or appease users. Have you come across this and what are your thoughts on this trend? Is this just a natural outgrowth of people’s growing need for external validation? Is this trend a threat to a fundamental aspect of human experience and connection or possibly a positive outlet for people without abundant social resources?
4. also, if it didn’t come up in interview, I’m curious about your thoughts on the relationship between social media and the decline in birth rates and marriages/relationships especially in millennials and Gen Z. Does social media / the internet and associated on demand media create a false sense of intimate connections that dulls the human imperative for real world connections, or does it just waste everyone’s time so they fail to build these relationships.
And finally, regarding birth rates, similarly, does something about our perpetually online world subconsciously dull that instinct for procreation, or is it just the many online influences (propaganda?) that celebrate and encourage the childfree life landing with their audiences?
Empathy is far overrated, likely as consequence of the feminization of society which has occurred in the WEIRD nations. See _Against_Empathy_ for a good critique of the overuse (and needless deployment) of empathy.
Hi Jonathan, with the phrase "its easier to fool someone than to convince them that they have been fooled" - is there a way to change someones mind back to truth even when presented with facts they still cling to their original belief? Orwell said something along these lines but i cannot remember the wording to look it up!
Are the societal changes from AI changing any of your priorities or advice in how to raise high-agency children that thrive?
It appears my daughter will inhabit a world where the right questions are more important than answers, where convenience becomes an ever-greater trap, and where employment becomes increasingly uncertain. Yet also where the opportunities for entrepreneurship and creation rise like never before and become accessible from much earlier ages. That makes your existing recommendations more important than ever, but does any of your advice change?
You have spoken in favour of Australia's social media ban, and Australia is moving to further censor the internet. Russia didn't lock me in my house. China didn't try and inject me against my will. Iran didn't pass laws forcing me to say men are women. There has been no reckoning, no apology. I simply do not trust the government to mange this, and, indeed, from what the young people around me say, it is has been mostly a pointless disaster.
Dr. Haidt's defence of free speech and open inquiry in academia is admirable. That said, is he OK with the 80-90% Left orientation of the professoriate proven by researchers like Eric Kaufmann, and does he think his own characterization of Republicans as "the stupid party" is helpful?
Have you read Timandra Harkness' book Technology is Not the Problem? How would you respond to her argument that our algorithmic technology is downstream from our hyper-individualistic culture, hence restrictions on tech won't solve the underlying atomistic, self-focused assumptions of our culture that contributes to the decline in mental health?
How do you tell when an ideological disagreement over fairness is still open to reframing versus when the person’s “elephant” is simply not going to move?
Jon, what do you anticipate the long-term outcome will be for members of Gen Z who have been taught to view their home countries, such as the US and UK, as deeply racist and oppressive, and who believe that being on the “right side of history” means supporting terrorist organizations they mistakenly regard as liberators of oppressed people?
You've cataloged numerous problems and harms - for both our minds and our societies - resulting from technological developments; are there any indicators that Technology will not advance into our bodies and extend or worsen these damages?
Hi Jonathan, huge fan - I'm especially grateful for your book 'The Righteous Mind', which in my opinion along with Sowell's 'Conflict of Visions' contain the two best mental models for understanding the difference between progressive and conservative outlooks. One of the more fascinating conclusions you reach is that progressives understand conservatives a lot less than vice versa. Since you've subsequently admirably tackled the hugely important issue of over-immersion of children in online vs. offline worlds by furnishing parents with actual playbooks of practical steps they can take to get kids to play more and scroll less, what would be your top practical solutions and proactive steps various institutions and people can take to reduce the current level of political division and tension, especially in the United States?
Can there be an algorithm by which social media can continue to be free to use but safe and edifying for individual users and communities?
Do schools use too much technology in the classroom?
Question for JH as a concerned parent:
Could overuse of Ai today permanently stunt a child’s brain into adulthood?
How much of an issue do you think Ed-tech is in schools? Is there an appropriate balance to be struck or should it be vastly reduced?
I’ll add multiple questions for consideration in case any are of interest. thanks!!
1. Is there any information into the particular phenomenon of binge watching television series (2-3 + hours) especially vs previous episodic television. And additionally, binge watching on iPad vs marathon watching sessions on television? Or if there is a difference in the young?
2. Any counseling or advice on specifically how to manage that transition into the world of social media and the internet after it’s been delayed as long as possible in teens?
3. I’ve had many friends/acquaintances tell me they are using AI as pseudo therapist or as something to bounce ideas off of for how to respond to people socially or handle drama or just talk them out of a spiral, validate there feelings. These are not people who think they’re dating a celebrity etc, just otherwise normalish people looking for more input on their lives because they don’t want to bother their friends too much. It strikes me as a rather alarming trend as AI doesn’t seem like a remotely objective observer (although I guess who is?) and tends to flatter or appease users. Have you come across this and what are your thoughts on this trend? Is this just a natural outgrowth of people’s growing need for external validation? Is this trend a threat to a fundamental aspect of human experience and connection or possibly a positive outlet for people without abundant social resources?
4. also, if it didn’t come up in interview, I’m curious about your thoughts on the relationship between social media and the decline in birth rates and marriages/relationships especially in millennials and Gen Z. Does social media / the internet and associated on demand media create a false sense of intimate connections that dulls the human imperative for real world connections, or does it just waste everyone’s time so they fail to build these relationships.
And finally, regarding birth rates, similarly, does something about our perpetually online world subconsciously dull that instinct for procreation, or is it just the many online influences (propaganda?) that celebrate and encourage the childfree life landing with their audiences?
How can classical liberals best defend against the, "you have no empathy" attack?
Empathy is far overrated, likely as consequence of the feminization of society which has occurred in the WEIRD nations. See _Against_Empathy_ for a good critique of the overuse (and needless deployment) of empathy.
Hi Jonathan, with the phrase "its easier to fool someone than to convince them that they have been fooled" - is there a way to change someones mind back to truth even when presented with facts they still cling to their original belief? Orwell said something along these lines but i cannot remember the wording to look it up!
Are the societal changes from AI changing any of your priorities or advice in how to raise high-agency children that thrive?
It appears my daughter will inhabit a world where the right questions are more important than answers, where convenience becomes an ever-greater trap, and where employment becomes increasingly uncertain. Yet also where the opportunities for entrepreneurship and creation rise like never before and become accessible from much earlier ages. That makes your existing recommendations more important than ever, but does any of your advice change?
You have spoken in favour of Australia's social media ban, and Australia is moving to further censor the internet. Russia didn't lock me in my house. China didn't try and inject me against my will. Iran didn't pass laws forcing me to say men are women. There has been no reckoning, no apology. I simply do not trust the government to mange this, and, indeed, from what the young people around me say, it is has been mostly a pointless disaster.
Dr. Haidt's defence of free speech and open inquiry in academia is admirable. That said, is he OK with the 80-90% Left orientation of the professoriate proven by researchers like Eric Kaufmann, and does he think his own characterization of Republicans as "the stupid party" is helpful?
Have you read Timandra Harkness' book Technology is Not the Problem? How would you respond to her argument that our algorithmic technology is downstream from our hyper-individualistic culture, hence restrictions on tech won't solve the underlying atomistic, self-focused assumptions of our culture that contributes to the decline in mental health?
Are the gender differences larger than the phone/social media use differences?
How do you tell when an ideological disagreement over fairness is still open to reframing versus when the person’s “elephant” is simply not going to move?