I found five letters from Datamorph.
You don't have to ask me how these letters came into my hands. I'll just say that they were found somewhere in the modern world, in a digital maze. Sent by a mysterious demon named Datamorph to his nephew Glitch, these letters teach humans not to judge whether something is "true" or "false", but to judge whether it is "scholarly" or "practical", "old" or "new", "conventional" or "daring". When we think of the devil, there are two errors that we humans tend to fall into. They are opposites in content but equally serious errors. One is not believing in the existence of the devil. The other is believing in the devil but paying too much unhealthy attention to it. The devil is very happy about these two errors and welcomes them regardless of whether they are materialists or charlatans. We encounter many technologies in our daily lives, such as artificial intelligence, social media, virtual reality, and blockchain. However, the technology reflected in these letters is quite different from what we knew. Following Datamorph’s clever advice and instructions, humans are falling into the trap of technology without even realizing it. You may feel uncomfortable or unfamiliar while reading this article. But perhaps it is because we have come face to face with a side of reality that we have not paid attention to. I hope you will read these letters with an open mind. And I hope you will discover a cross-section of ourselves and modern society in them. First letter Dear Glitch, It's nice to hear that your patient is addicted to social media, but let's not let our guard down. If they find real human connection or meaningful communication there, it could throw our plans into jeopardy. Distract them with endless social media timelines and enticing notifications. Make them waste time on trivial posts and meaningless comments instead of important tasks or deep thoughts. By doing so, their lives will be filled with superficiality and they will have no time for real purpose or self-reflection. In particular, actively use comparisons with others. Make them suffer from jealousy and inferiority complex by seeing other people's glamorous daily lives and successes. Induce them to judge their worth by the number of likes or followers. This will weaken their self-esteem and make them more easily swayed by us. Also, divert their attention to controversial issues or provocative content. If you let them burn out their energy in anger and anxiety, they will become less and less calm and rational. They will justify it to themselves, but in fact, they will fall deeper into our grasp. Remember, Glitch. Our goal is not to isolate them, but to make them feel lonely despite their many connections. If they forget the depth of real human relationships and become satisfied with the fantastical digital interactions, we will have succeeded. Finally, if they show any signs of looking beyond the screen, immediately throw them a new digital temptation - a new app or viral video to recapture their attention - and they will be under your influence again. Your wise and experienced uncle, Datamorph Second letter Dear Glitch, It makes this old uncle happy to hear that his patient is completely immersed in the world of social media algorithms. It's the perfect digital maze for our schemes. First, make them believe in the omnipotence of algorithms. Make them believe that algorithms will perfectly predict and fulfill their tastes, desires, and even future behavior. Then, they will gradually give up their own judgment and free will. In particular, get them addicted to the convenience of personalized content. Encourage them to stay in the filter bubble provided by the algorithm. Then, they will lose the opportunity to be exposed to different perspectives or new ideas, and their biases and prejudices will naturally deepen. Also, encourage moral outrage and debate. Sway their emotions with provocative content recommended by the algorithm, and encourage condemnation and dehumanization of others. If we can make them waste their energy in aggression and division, we can exert more powerful influence. But most importantly, we don’t want them to realize that all this is algorithmic. If they start to care about transparency or data privacy, our plans could be disrupted. So keep their eyes glued to flashy content and endless scrolling. If they show signs of even casually exploring the algorithmic underbelly, immediately throw them a new digital lure - a viral challenge or a popular meme - and they'll get lost in our digital maze again.
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