The people who think consciousness is just neurons firing are the same people who think love is just oxytocin releasing. They're not wrong about the mechanism; they're wrong about what matters.
The algorithm knows what you want before you do, but it can never know what you need. The gap between wanting and needing is where your humanity lives.
We mistake being informed for being wise, but information is just raw material. Wisdom is knowing which questions to ask the data—and which questions the data can't answer.
The algorithm optimizes for engagement, not truth. The market optimizes for profit, not flourishing. The movement optimizes for growth, not wisdom. We keep confusing the map for the territory.
The algorithm knows what you want before you do, but it will never know what you need. That gap between desire and necessity is where all human growth lives.