Comment by ionwake
18 hours ago
what if the greatest threat is simply there will be hedonistic experiences so great most humans will find them irresistible to the point of shorter lives.
Could be from a sandwich that tastes like the best sandwich ever, but is super bad for your cholesterol or something.
I dont know where Im going with this.
Actually did some research I think the term is "Wireheading" from a story/theory from the 50s
We have addictive and harmful drugs. Heroin, meth, cigarettes
From Larry's Niven's Known Space series, including Ringworld
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wirehead_(science_fiction)
This is already true? Ultra processed foods and tiktok are both deleterious and both wildly successful. Maybe what you are concerned with is a theoretical sandwich that was unfailingly addictive so that no one could escape its effects.
Or a movie that’s so good anyone who can’t stop watching and gets reduced to a drooling vegetable?
(Infinite Jest)
fentanyl exists