Scotland 2062

He didn’t speak out loud to communicate with Susan, she was in his head, constantly interacting with him, fetching data, interacting with other AI’s communicating with his friends, family, and colleagues.

But her most important function was as a filter, from that great yawning expanse of data that was overwhelming if connected directly to it.

Historically it was agreed that the early 2020’s had been where the meltdown had occurred. People were simply overwhelmed by the sheer amount of data they were exposed to. The mass burnout and rejection of what was happening at the time had been coined  “The Mindfulness” 

It had occurred when the perfect storm, of upgraded and faster ways of connecting  to data had accelerated the fear and panic at work and in society of missing something important for the safety of your family, for your career, for your chances of the best relationship possible, etc etc 

Eventually the huge bubble of anxiety, fear and loathing stoked by manipulative groups and individuals had resulted in the growth of an organisation devoted to allowing people to get their lives back, and not end up sedated on the Big Pharma’s ever more expensive drugs, and their dangerous forays into direct mind altering electronic equipment and therapies, dangerously woven into “Social Media, and other data interfaces commonly in use. 

Just imagine being soothed through your daily news and information gathering by a subliminal agent, promoting big Pharma’s agenda, steering your subconscious into agreeing with the elites self serving lobbyists , politics, scheming to manipulate your opinions and ultimately your vote?

“Mindfulness “was the name of the group, and it weathered the infiltrations, and attempted destruction of the concept by the corrupt elite who had previously skewed the “digital data age “to their own selfish material benefit.

But that’s another story…

So by using a benign incorruptible AI, as a buffer to filter the net, at its intrusive worst  “Mindfulness “had been a life saver, for society / civilisation as we knew it.

The AI protocols and interventions were agreed in an ongoing process with  a voting system populated by the best of the best freethinking academics, who could see logically through the dominating vested interest groups who were embedded in then current status quo, who had always developed  ever more intrusive ways of gaining profit and power from the current social and economic models.

Yes, of course  the AI was the ultimate intrusion, and could lead to subversion of freedom of thought, but people were desperate and the usual checks and balances of politics and law and order had been overwhelmed. People were literally going crazy, and this was a lifeline in the final unregulated phase of  “The Net’s “uncontrolled expansion, fuelled by the greed and aspirations of the nepotistic powerful, instead of the great and the good.