Cornucopia of Conspiracy

In the aftermath of the death of Molly Russell  (below), we are told that social media giants are going to alter the algorithms that introduce users to increasingly addictive content. I'm sure they will, because Big Tech is in the crosshairs of public opinion like never before. But we need to remember that these algorithms did not come about by accident. As I wrote in Planets and Meaning: A Phenomenology of Fate , quoting The Times' Ben Machell, There are hundreds of incredibly clever, incredibly well-resourced people in Silicon Valley armed with a very detailed understanding of how the human mind works, and who have made it their business to make sure we cannot put down their apps or hardware...it’s possible that half of us now suffer from some form of behavioural addiction. And while this is bad news for adults who wish to escape their smartphone screens, it’s even worse news for children…“People are carrying around a portable dopamine pump, and kids have basically