The Engagement Trap

The business model of the modern web is simple: Time on Site. To maximize this metric, algorithms have learned that outrage, fear, and tribalism are the most potent engagement drivers. We are not addicted to smartphones; we are addicted to the cortisol hits delivered by engagement-maximizing AIs.

This is tearing the social fabric apart. It creates a "reality tunnel" where we only see information that confirms our biases and inflames our emotions.

The Intention Economy

What if we optimized for Intention? In an Intention Economy, the user explicitly states their goal: "I want to understand the causes of the conflict in the Middle East" or "I want to feel connected to my friends."

The AI agent then curates content to fulfill that goal, not to maximize time.

• It might show you a 10-minute balanced summary instead of a rabbit hole of 50 radicalizing TikToks.
• It might suggest you call your friend instead of doom-scrolling their feed.

The Business Model Problem

The problem, of course, is money. Ads rely on attention. An Intention Economy likely requires a shift to subscription models or micropayments, where the user is the customer, not the product.

But the cost of not switching is higher. A society that cannot agree on basic facts because its information systems are optimized for conflict is a society that cannot solve any other problem. Realigning our algorithms with human values is the defining engineering challenge of our decade.