Beyond the attention economy, towards an ecology of attending. A manifesto
Abstract We endorse policymakers’ efforts to address the negative consequences of the attention economy’s technology but add that these approaches are often limited in their criticism of the systemic context of human attention. Starting from Buddhist philosophy, we advocate a broader approach: an ‘ecology of attending’ that centers on conceptualizing, designing, and using attention (1) in an embedded way and (2) focused on the alleviating of suffering. With ‘embedded’ we mean that attention is not a neutral, isolated mechanism but a meaning-engendering part of an ‘ecology’ of bodily, sociotechnical and moral frameworks. With ‘focused on the alleviation of suffering’ we mean that we explicitly move away from the (often implicit) conception of attention as a tool for gratifying desires. We analyze existing inquiries in these directions and urge them to be intensified and integrated. As to the design and function of our technological environment, we propose three questions for further research: How can technology help to acknowledge us as ‘ecological’ beings, rather than as self-sufficient individuals? How can technology help to raise awareness of our moral framework? And how can technology increase the conditions for ‘attending’ to the alleviation of suffering, by substituting our covert self-driven moral framework with an ecologically attending one? We believe in the urgency of transforming the inhumane attention economy sociotechnical system into a humane ecology of attending, and in our ability to contribute to it.
Authors
- Enrico Campo (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3875-7880)
- Olaf Witkowski (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2101-2428)
- Wijnand A. IJsselsteijn (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6856-9269)
- Matthew Dennis (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4212-6862)
- Gunter Bombaerts (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8006-1617)
- Elizaveta Solomonova (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3733-8676)
- Betty McGuire (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4165-7645)
- Steven Laureys (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3096-3807)
- Brad Jacobs
- Lavinia Marin (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8283-947X)
- Joel G. Anderson (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6216-4014)
- Bence Péter Marosán (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6973-1077)
- Silvia Caprioglio Panizza (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2184-028X)
- Marieke K. van Vugt (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3200-0059)
- David L. McMahan
- Antony Fredriksson (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8107-0083)
- Juewei Shi (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3989-5425)
- Maren Wehrle (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3965-9692)
- Anna Ciaunica (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2708-8319)
- Chien-Te Lin
- Shobhit Shakya (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6799-2751)
- Natalie Depraz (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8100-7308)
- Alessandra Aloisi (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4137-882X)
- Nina Petek
- P. Sven Arvidson (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4898-5027)
- William Edelglass (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4684-1051)
- C. Mascarello
- M.E. Adam
- Sebastjan Vörös
- Thomas Taro Lennerfors (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7506-7280)
- Wolfgang Drechsler (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2880-329X)
- Galit Wellner (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1686-5079)
- Mark Fortney (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7712-5088)
- Gábor Karsai (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7775-9099)
- Jason M. Wirth (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2557-2315)
- Laura Candiotto (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5293-2836)
- Tom Hannes (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7592-4695)
- Francesco Tormen
- Peter Doran (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5891-1216)
- Hin Sing Yuen (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2307-2205)
- Jin Young Park (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5351-9549)
- Dale R Wright (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3946-3582)
- L. Berger
- Yves Citton
- Jitendra Uttam
- J. H. Lim
- Yutong Zheng (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0005-8946-9132)
- David Loy
- Iris Eisenberger
- Peter D. Hershock
- Soraj Hongladarom
- Mark Losoncz
- Anna Puzio
- Apiradee Wongkitrungrueng
- Stefano Davide Bettera
- Diego D ́Angelo
- William Lamson
- Katrien Schaubroeck
Institutions
- Budapest University of Economics and Business (HU)
- Tallinn University of Technology (EE)
- Uppsala University (SE)
- Queen's University Belfast (GB)
- University of Vienna (AT)
- Dalhousie University (CA)
- European Union (BE)
- University of Pardubice (CZ)
- University of Lisbon (PT)
- University of Antwerp (BE)
- Ca' Foscari University of Venice (IT)
- Jawaharlal Nehru University (IN)
- University of North Carolina Wilmington (US)
- University of Ljubljana (SI)
- Holon Institute of Technology (IL)
- Hong Kong Institute of Vocational Education (CN)
- University of Groningen (NL)
- Franklin & Marshall College (US)
- Chinese University of Hong Kong (HK)
- American University (US)
- University of Milan (IT)
- Tzu Chi University (TW)
- Utrecht University (NL)
- University of Victoria (CA)
- Mahidol University (TH)
- University of Würzburg (DE)
- Mahachulalongkornrajavidyalaya University (TH)
- University of Oxford (GB)
- University of Belgrade (RS)
- Friends United (US)
- East–West Center (US)
- Barre Town Middle and Elementary School (US)
- Dharma Gate Buddhist College (HU)
- Radica Systems (China) (CN)
- Unione Italiana del Lavoro (IT)
- Université Laval (CA)
- Nan Tien Institute
- Université Paris 8 (FR)
- McGill University (CA)
- Seattle University (US)
- Université de Rouen Normandie (FR)
- Occidental College (US)
- The University of Tokyo (JP)
- Eindhoven University of Technology (NL)
- Erasmus University Rotterdam (NL)
- Marist University (US)
- University of Twente (NL)
- University of California, Berkeley (US)
- Delft University of Technology (NL)
Publication Details
- Journal
- AI & Society
- Published
- 2025-06-28
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1007/s00146-025-02405-8
- Citations
- 1
- Primary Topic
- Mind wandering and attention
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 1.43