WHAT THE FUTURE: ATTENTION
How brands can win attention as AI rises and trust fades
WHAT THE FUTURE: ATTENTION
How brands can win attention as AI rises and trust fades
Whatever your thing — cats, cooking or Minecraft speedruns — we will consume limitless content about our favorite topics.
And therein lies the central tension in this issue of What the Future. We keep hearing that attention spans are infinitesimal. We also hear and witness that people will endlessly scroll short-form content or binge eight 30-minute episodes of a streaming show. Both require attention; lots of it.
AI is going to shift this tension even further by quickly and tirelessly generating content as fast as data centers can get built, lakes can be drained and electricity can be generated. I kid. Kinda. Younger adults, especially, want to connect, give their attention and build community around these increasingly niche fan communities.
Here are the questions we ask in the issue:
How do you scale or consolidate niches into mass?
How can brands maintain trust when AI and disinformation flourish?
What content we will consume, and what will brand messages be up against?
We talk to Kyle Watson, chief brand officer of the fast-growing energy drink company, Celsius.
Amanda Ripley, journalist and author of “High Conflict,” talks us through these challenges and how to avoid and disarm them.
Jeffrey Cole, director of the University of Southern California’s Center for the Digital Future, explains how brands can thrive amid digital disruption.
Why do so many people believe disinformation?
What do opinions about today’s tensions say about tomorrow?
Media’s thirst for attention is nurturing the growth of conflict entrepreneurs who are driving disinformation and shaping public opinion. Here are ways credible research can neutralize their influence.
Why do so many people believe disinformation? Do we use screens for work or pleasure? Is disinformation a problem for society or not? Do we love our phones? And what trade-offs will we make for content or for privacy? We plot several possible futures.
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What content we will consume, and what will brand messages be up against?
Why do so many people believe disinformation? Do we use screens for work or pleasure? Is disinformation a problem for society or not? Do we love our phones? And what trade-offs will we make for content or for privacy? We plot several possible futures.