Over the past few years, I've been wrestling with the meaning of intellectual freedom in the attention economy-and now with the reshaping of information itself by generative AI-what does it mean when the threat is a fragmented, overloaded, "abundant" self?
This exploration has become a series of interconnected pieces-starting with my theory of adaptive infophilia (our biological information drive, now weaponized by design)-and continuing through questions about AI, copyright, reading identities, and self-censorship.
My latest essay tackles something I know many of you are grappling with too:
We've built powerful frameworks to fight visible censorship-book bans, state control, misinformation. But what about the algorithmic systems that fragment our attention? The engagement mechanics that make sustained reading feel impossible? The data infrastructure quietly preventing us from becoming the kinds of people who can care deeply about books in the first place?
The Self-Censorship They Didn't Want to Hear About: On Intellectual Freedom, Information Health, and the Future Selves We're Afraid to Become
(direct ink: https://infophilia.substack.com/p/the-self-censorship-they-didnt-want)
This is fully open public scholarship. Share it, cite it, argue with it-I genuinely want your thoughts, pushback, and different perspectives.
What am I missing? What resonates? What makes you uncomfortable?
Thank you.
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Anita Sundaram Coleman, PhD | Infophilia, A Positive Psychology of Information
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