Giles Crouch, PhD-c | Digital Anthropologist

I think this in part speaks to both laziness on the part of senior Deloitte managers that let this get out the door and the employees who pulled it together. That no one really likes what they do.

But will they deal with the noise pollution of these centres so close to urban areas? An issue of increasing health concerns.

The Future of Human Language with AI What is the future of human language when we start creating it with machines? We’re already doing it.

AI is already having an impact on languages around the world, so what does it mean for the future of language when we are co-creating with machines? I explore in this article: gilescrouch.substack.com/p/the-future... #Technology #Culture

The Real Reason Technology Won’t Slow Down. How humanity accidentally built a world that thinks faster than we do. And why it’s not going to slow down.

Technology advancements are happening at a rapid pace, so much so, we sometimes think it's aliens. Sorry, it's not. Here's what's going on: gilescrouch.substack.com/p/the-real-r... #Technology

How Is Social Media Really Changing Humanity? How social media is rewriting the rules of being human and what it means to be human in the Digital Age.

Social media is changing what it means to be human at some very profound and deep levels. I explore beyond the usual issues of attention and conflicts: gilescrouch.substack.com/p/how-is-soc... #socialmedia

Are We Creating a Global Monoculture? No. Why Not? The surprising ways digital technologies from smartphones to social media, are preserving cultural diversity globally.

It's easy to think we are creating a global monoculture thanks to digital tools from AI to social media, smartphones etc. but no, not actually. A look at why we're not getting boring. gilescrouch.substack.com/p/are-we-cre... #Technology

Are Smartphones Domesticating Us? We domesticated wolves in 15,000 years. Phones did it to us in 15.

It took 15,000 years to domesticate wolves and only 15 for smartphones. But are they really "domesticating" us I explore this idea in my latest article. gilescrouch.substack.com/p/are-smartp... #Technology

While I applaud the idea, as a digital anthropologist working with more than a few AI companies, I think most of them will see this as eroding their mote and slowing down development. It's a mad race and madness prevails right now.

Culture itself is an evolutionary system that predates and will outlast any specific technology. Technologies are temporary expressions of deeper cultural needs and patterns. They're tools that culture uses, modifies, and discards according to its own logic. #Technology

Are Privacy Wars Looming? How Surveillance Anxiety Is Sparking New Forms of Collective Action and Technological Sovereignty.

New and interesting communities and technologies are emerging as people become more aware of privacy and data issues. What might play out? gilescrouch.substack.com/p/are-privac... #Technology

The danger isn't that machines are lying to us, but rather, our ancient myth-making brains can't distinguish between human-generated cultural narratives and algorithmically-produced ones. #ArtificialIntelligence

Children and AI Agents In A New World Understanding the profound shifts in how children learn, think, and connect as AI becomes their constant companion.

In this article I look at the implications of a world in which children have an Ai "companion" at an early age. What it means for their development & being human: open.substack.com/pub/gilescro... #ArtificialIntelligence

If kids become accustomed to AI companions that never tire, judge, or have off days, how does this affect their ability to navigate human relationships with all their messiness and unpredictability? #ArtificialIntelligence

AI is becoming sacred not through organized religion, but through what political scientist Benedict Anderson would recognize as an "imagined community" of users who share beliefs about AI's nature and capabilities. #Technology

AI worship borrows the intensity and certainty of religious extremism while lacking the historical wisdom and community accountability that traditional religions (at their best) provide.

Demographics tell you WHO your customers are. Digital anthropology tells you WHY they behave.

When social structures become too complex, they collapse into atomization. Social media promised community but delivered performance anxiety. #socialmedia

The Anthropology of Trust in Podcasting Podcast Episode · Echo Podcast Summit · EP3 · 40m

My presentation on the anthropology of trust at EchoCast, from parasocial relations to the first video podcast 32,000 or so years ago. podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/t... #podcast

I think we're witnessing a cultural Red Queen race; running faster just to stay in the same place relative to AI capabilities.

As humans mark themselves as "not-AI" through imperfection, we're exercising a form of costly signalling (per evolutionary biology). The "cost" is potential misunderstanding or appearing less educated. The benefit? Authentic human connection in an increasingly synthetic information environment.

How Memes Are Affecting Global Politics — Giles Crouch | Digital Anthropologist What is the role memes are playing when it comes to geopolitics and are they having an impact? Yes they are and I explore memes and global affairs.

Memes are funny. But also divisive. And they're playing an increasingly significant role in geopolitics. Beyond just mis/disinformation. I explore how and why here: www.gilescrouch.com/field-notes/... #politics

Memes are micro-mythologies that can aggregate into macro-political effects. The difference now is speed and scale. What once took generations to transmit across cultures now happens in hours.

Social media teams are stuck fixing AI’s mess, while leaders believe everything’s going just fine AI is becoming essential, but also problematic for social teams

This doesn't surprise me. I've talked with more than a few marketing dept.'s about issues they're having. Most are realigning how they're using AI, going towards it being a support tool. www.techradar.com/pro/half-of-...

In times of tech hype, remember Amara’s Law: we tend to overestimate the short term impact of technology & underestimate the long term impacts. Such as the AI hype of today.

Those that think most jobs can be replaced by AI, assume all jobs can be reduced to simple, repetitive tasks. Very few can and they misunderstand the nuances of how the majority of jobs work. Reductionist thinking at best.

Part of the challenge with new digital communities is they must constantly work against informational entropy; the tendency for signal to become noise as communities scale. This is BlueSky's challenge, along with the tragedy of the commons.

Technology & Our Primitive Brains The role some of our primitive human brain aspects play in our digital lives.

You might be surprised at how much of our interactions with digital technologies, from software to smartphones is connected to our ancient brains, our limbic systems. I take a quick dive: gilescrouch.substack.com/p/technology... #Technology

The intermittent reinforcement schedule of social media notifications mirrors ancient foraging patterns: sometimes you find berries, sometimes you don't, but the uncertainty keeps you searching. #SocialMedia

I think the term “Virtual Reality” needs to be retired. It’s gone stale and just gets associated with gaming when VR could be so much more.

WeChat's dominance isn't merely about integrated services; it exploded because it mirrored China’s complex social structures and relationship networks (guanxi). Western super-app attempts often fail precisely because they miss this fundamental cultural alignment.