As a consumer and also a product of commercial media platforms, it seems to be becoming increasingly difficult to remain open and objective and to stay connected to your fellow man. I regularly find myself with a somewhat gloomy aftertaste after wading through the channels: important events, posts and opinions that the AI routine selects for me. Facts that paid dependent fact checkers have approved for me and incomplete press releases. Unverified messages with personal views. It flies around your ears and affects your brain. The channels have a certain appeal – like fast food for your system, hormone spikes for your body. Happiness and unhappiness are close together. Digital fast food, low in nutrition, quickly consumed and engineered to want more and more.
It’s reminiscent of artificial sweeteners that make your pancreas crave more sugar. Or the book Fast Food Nation (2001) by Eric Schlosser mixed with the findings of filmmaker Morgan Spurlock, who in Super Size Me (2004) eats fast food as a guinea pig for 30 days. Has the food sector changed in 20 years in terms of production speed, quality and nutritional value? The legal frameworks in Europe are somewhat different than in other parts of the world – there are reports of fast food containing potassium bromide, propylene glycol, calcium sulphate, phosphates and phthalates. More and more organizations are publishing their ingredients and stating which ingredients are no longer in their products. So small changes and transparency. The flow of information has picked up pace in recent years. Who goes to a fast food chain for a bottle of water and a salad? But a little less petroleum-based chemicals in the food is nice.
How can you find some balance? With fast food, the answer may be offering organic products, paying attention to nutrition and making sustainable food trendy. An effort by both producer and marketer. And I think that works reasonably well – even though I am stuck in various media bubbles… It is still difficult with media and information flows. In terms of technology deployment, organizations that are into ‘data and information flows’ are ahead. AI, algorithms, smart marketing, efficient use of data, reuse, applied psychology: their application is super smart. A bit like fast food in 2001. But otherwise this sector is lagging behind. Sustainable information, process descriptions and process optimizations, data ownership, data correctly displayed, transparency about its origin: the ‘information’ sector (private and public) still has a lot to do. Fortunately, I have one daily bright spot: the Doomslayer project from Human Progress. For positive news and a bit of professional happiness.
By Wouter Bronsgeest
Chairman KNVI
