Engineering Decline: How Digital Systems Profit From Cognitive Collapse

The article argues that modern internet architecture is systematically designed to erode cognitive function for profit, not merely to distract. This represents a self-reinforcing industrial complex where attention hijacking and dopamine manipulation serve as the core business model, similar to how the military-industrial complex sustains itself through perpetual demand. Understanding this intentional degradation of human thought is critical for recognizing how digital platforms operate and their cumulative impact on society.