Complexity has become the hallmark of modern life in today's fast-evolving sociological and economic landscape. This complexity, driven largely by technological advancements, has grown so dense that it seems to have gotten ungraspable for the majority of people. As technology develops at an exponential pace, our ability to truly understand, let alone control, the systems we've built seem to get out of our reach. This gap — between the relentless growth of technology and our far slower growth in our general understanding — creates a concerning dynamic. People are less informed yet more dependent on systems they don't understand, blindly trusting in entities and processes without questioning their own role in them.
This detachment manifests in our daily lives. In a world that has become so complex, with its overlapping networks, dependencies, and technological connections, we're increasingly experiencing what can perhaps best be described as "surrender syndrome". This sense of being overwhelmed leads people to reduce risks, ignore critical questioning, and instead blindly trust that someone or something else has their best of interests in mind. It's ironic: the less we understand, the more we perceive these opaque systems as "magical" while giving up the little power and autonomy we still have left. As we distance ourselves from understanding the technologies that shape our lives, we risk becoming passive participants, more easily manipulated and less able to resist, much like cogs in a vast machine that few people truly understand.
The solution, however, isn't unreachable. Rather than surrendering to ignorance, the answer lies in reclaiming a deep understanding of ourselves and the world we live and engage with — especially that of technology. If you think it's impossible, that's only a sign of how effectively you've been trained to doubt your own capacity to understand. But if we propel beyond that, we discover that we can take control, standing above the complexities of our world instead of being trapped beneath them.
AI: a short case study in modern ignorance
Artificial Intelligence (AI) is an wonderful example of the pervasive complexity and resulting ignorance that affects us today. When most people think of AI, they likely picture Hollywood's depictions — terminators, rogue AIs, machines overtaking and wiping-out humanity. These stories have fueled a widespread anxiety about AI and its supposed threats, yet in reality, what we call "AI" nowadays isn't actually intelligent in any human sense. What we're dealing with today are Machine Learning (ML) models, systems that simulate intelligence through sophisticated pattern recognition trained using large datasets. They aren't thinking, feeling, or creating — they're processing inputs to provide probable outputs based on pre-set data and patterns.
However, the portrayal of these tools as "intelligent" is misleading, because a model does not learn from its interactions in the way humans do. It's a fixed structure, established at a point in time and only capable of being changed through specific retraining, which is both time-consuming and involves feeding it new data. While an ML model may seem to produce astonishingly accurate and human-like results, it does so based on the data it was trained on and cannot adapt in the sense of evolving new forms of intelligence or self-awareness like practically all other life on earth — notably humans — are capable of doing.
This leads to an important point: the true danger isn't that AI models are "too intelligent". The real issue is that people mistakenly ascribe intelligence and autonomy to AI systems, resulting in discussions around AI's safety that often misplaces blame on the technology itself rather than on its designers and operators. By focusing on legislation for "AI safety", the conversation centers on controlling AI itself rather than scrutinizing the motivations and actions of those who wield it — basically giving it's creators more explicit control over AI instead of less!
One example of this misplaced trust is in the way AI companies add contextual updates to bridge gaps in a model's knowledge. Imagine an AI that was last trained on data up until 2022, yet it can still answer questions about events in 2024. How? The companies add contextual data or "fill-in" information that the AI can reference, allowing it to seem "up-to-date". Users don't see these background additions, which often include personal contextual details as well, explaining why certain AIs can "remember" names or details across conversations. What appears to be intelligent recall is actually a hidden set of cues and references, further emphasizing that the "magic" is crafted by those behind the technology — a layer between the user and the ML model itself.
Even our devices have been quietly surveilling us under the guise of helpful features. Early ML models scanned our photos for faces and tagged friends and family, but also flags potential illegal content — like CSAM — while informing its manufacturer. Today's smart devices go much further, with integrated AI capable of local analysis on-device, running continuously even without internet connection, storing and submitting data once reconnected — even bluetooth will do nowadays. End-to-end encryption, assumed by the public as a safeguard for privacy, is absolutely meaningless as AI embedded within the devices can directly answer manufactures's queries — or anyone given that ability — about the owner's activities on the device, without any form of hacking or explicit consent.
So, when advocates push for AI regulation, they might genuinely fear AI's potential to go rogue. However, the greater danger lies in how our unexamined trust and fear of AI's perceived intelligence hands control over to corporations and governments, ascribing "safety" to systems that we barely understand. Instead of AI achieving any form of autonomous decision-making, it is really the humans behind these systems who hold power — a power masked by our ignorance and willingness to believe in AI's "intelligence".
Understanding as the key to freedom
The only true solution is understanding. To thrive in this rapidly evolving landscape, is not to be ignorant about the changes, but by rejecting the passivity that increasingly complex systems invite us to have. We don't need to be experts in every field, but we do need to cultivate a deeper understanding of the technologies, processes, and structures that shape our lives. Why should technology make us any less capable in the future?
Yes, technology evolves quickly, but our basic cognitive capabilities remain strong. Complexity should not intimidate us into blind trust; rather, we should rise to meet it, actively engaging with the systems and tools that affect us daily. When personal doubt or emptiness arises in the face of complexity, it signals a need for more understanding — not to surrender. The answer lies in regaining agency by becoming active participants in our technological world, questioning, learning, and ensuring that we stand above it rather than beneath it.
In this new state, the magic is stripped away. AI and complex systems are revealed as tools — powerful, yes, but not mystical. And once that illusion is broken, we regain control over our lives and our choices, no longer passive in a world that wants us to be consumers rather than creators, followers rather than thinkers and doers.
In the end, the choice is yours. You can continue down the path of ignorance, allowing complexity to distance you further from your own life, or you can embrace understanding, standing above the complexities of the world, starting to see it for what it truly is, and ultimately, become free in the process.
— Wout
If you ever feel stuck in your life or career, know that clarity is always within reach. Sometimes, all it takes is a new perspective to unlock the next step forward. Don't hesitate to connect — whether it's for advice, a conversation, or simply to gain insight. Take care, and remember: the real answers often lie beneath the surface.
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