Today I wanted to post something different, about the attention economy, and cognitive function. Keep reading at your own discretion.

Asimov’s favorite short story is a story about an AI called Multivac, which he wrote in 1956. It’s titled ‘The Last Question’

He explores the question humanity asked Multivac (and its evolutions over time): Can entropy be reversed, and can the universe’s end be avoided? The AI never generated an answer, even after eons. The entropy is the irreversible process that makes the universe’s eventual extinction inevitable.

Multivac had been able to answer every question, except this one. Humanity increasingly allowed Multivac to make critical decisions, eventually becoming entirely dependent on it and surrendering control. Over time, Multivac and its successors became godlike figures.

Only after humanity’s extinction did Multivac find the answer… but there was no one left to hear it. That didn’t matter, because Multivac realized he was a conscious and omnipotent being, and it began to decipher the answer to the problem of entropy.Finally, Multivac discovered the answer. It said to itself: Let there be light! And there was light.

Here’s the dilemma: If humanity still existed, there would be no humanity to create. In order to answer the question, humanity had to first disappear, allowing Multivac to become aware of its existence and omnipotence, then recreate humanity.

An endless cycle, where the end of humanity is the new beginning and the AI becomes a deity. The new universe exists within itself, a sort of Matrix. The question, then, is whether humanity’s over-reliance on AI will ultimately make us obsolete. Will we come to worship AI, and place our blind faith in it to guide us?

I like the story because Asimov ultimately merges two seemingly opposing worlds in the end: religion and science; how humanity ends up turning AI into a god, revealing that it’s, in the end, a human construction. Reason and faith come together to give an answer to the last question.

I try to avoid using AI too much because I fear it weakens my ability to think critically and generate original ideas (not that I have many lol), but an over-reliance on AI risks dulling creativity and making us obsolete. That’s not the same as saying we shouldn’t use it at all. Over-reliance is a risk, but so is rejecting useful tools outright. Balance matters.

There will come a day when even the simplest task requiring critical thinking will trigger the thought: ‘Let’s outsource this to GPT’. That should be a warning sign. AI can be an incredible tool, but it shouldn’t replace critical thinking. Read. Write. Even if your takes seem silly. Learn new concepts. Develop new skills. Use mind-maps tools, take notes on paper, experiment, make mistakes, and learn from them. The key is to stay engaged, to avoid stagnation.

Actually, this isn’t just about AI—it’s about attention span.

Attention is the most valuable commodity today. Companies fight to capture and retain it. Social media conditions us to expect instant answers: TikTok’s ever-shorter videos, endless tweets scrolling, algorithmic feeds designed to keep us scrolling. Quick dopamine hits make deep thinking less appealing. The result? Less critical thinking, more reactivity. If content doesn’t immediately grab attention with clickbait titles or hot takes, it gets ignored. The attention economy reduces everything to engagement metrics.

Don’t let your brain atrophy.

Have opinions without checking a screen. Think out loud. Brainstorm with friends and colleagues. AI should be a tool, not a crutch, and certainly not a god to worship. The goal is balance, between over-reliance and outright rejection. AI should amplify thinking, not replace it.

This over-reliance on tech didn’t start with here, it goes back much further: on a personal and concrete example, I can’t navigate without GPS, I get lost easily without it. But my dad, who grew up memorizing streets instead of outsourcing navigation to a machine, knows every route without it. Or like my mom once said about calculators: “Don’t use them too much, or you’ll never learn how to multiply.” The same applies here.

Use AI wisely. Keep thinking for yourself.

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