56 Days

"I think people can change their habits and behaviors, and sometimes their mind and their beliefs. People get older and wiser and have more experiences, and that all updates their . . . let’s call it their central operating system. Because everything they do they learned in the first place, right? No one is born being X, Y, or Z. And theoretically, if you can learn how to be a certain way, you can unlearn it, too. But at the same time, you can’t erase the past. You can lock it in a box and put that box away, but you can’t make it disappear."

“Why aren’t you on Instagram?”

“Because I’ve seen behind the curtain.”

“That sounds ominous.”

“I meant for it to.” She leans forward, elbows on the table. “Look, nothing is free, right? We pay for these apps with our data. That’s what all those user agreements that no one ever reads actually say. But the fact that all these tech giants are collecting information about us is not what everyone should be worried about—it’s what they’re doing with it that’s terrifying. I can make a list of documentaries for you to watch—horror movies, really—but the too-long-didn’t-read is that they’re feeding the data to AIs that are working to erode the very idea of free will. I can’t stop it—I don’t think anyone can, it’s too late—but I don’t need to actively help either. ”