Feb 20, 2026
3 min read
This is Mind Under Siege, an essay on artificial intelligence by Bruno Giussani
“The cognitive threat is real, but resistance is possible.”
After the birth of Moins d'Amerique dans nos vies last fall, Bruno Jussan continued his personal exploration of the New World.So here's to the upcoming The Mind Under Siege.The chosen subtitle is quite clear: "How not to allow ourselves to be manipulated in the age of artificial intelligence".We read it beforehand - required reading, not particularly comforting, but still necessary - and then confronted the author himself.
Bruno Giussani, in addition to being the most internationally heard of contemporary Swiss intellectuals, must be considered "in" his time.The past speaks for him—especially twenty years of experience with TED—of course, but then the present offers concrete confirmations.A brief reflection of Moins d'Amérique dans nos vies (Georg Editeur, 2025) now finds full expression in the essay Consciousness Under Siege (Edizioni Casagrande, 2026).From it can be seen a very disturbing picture of the world today and a dark prediction of what will happen tomorrow.Giussani, in this sense, makes no concessions.So much so that a person who has read it once will at least be shaken, not deciding between a dream and reality.But also isolated.He himself writes this and describes his practice: "Personal search, it raises more questions than answers."We will talk about it directly with the author of the article."In fact, the technologies that I call 'algorithmic', social media, generative artificial intelligence, connected gadgets are developing very quickly and are surrounded by a lot of confusion. Critical enthusiasm comes with a lot of fear, quick acceptance and misunderstanding of their true nature. Also, companies produce for non-marketing purposes. Trying to explain to each person what they really are and their potential impact individually and on societytrying to show that the technologies invented can't be unknown, but to know that they have consequences after their adoption, we don't need to rebuild the vulnerable and social spaces. For example, it's causing a lot of damage, creating distrust and polarization, and if many people understand better than others through AI chatbots, it's because these technologies are already embedded in the social fabric that is already outdated, "answered Jussani.
The article is divided into two parts.The first, "The Algorithmic Threat," explores the origins and trajectory of artificial intelligence.Second, the "Handbook of Small Resistance" tries to provide the key to entering this crisis of technology, geopolitics and economics. If the algorithmic threat begins - pushed by the world's great powers, states or corporations - and as Giussani explains, "it is not static", resistance is only one possible response, all must be reconciled. Resistance is, by definition, against the flow." In the book I define the concept of technological resistance asI use technology to reject, but to mark a situation that seems to me necessary against machines that have social and cognitive influence."Resistance" means knowing that our relationship with technology is full of benefits, but also disadvantages are not a natural product of technology and economic conditions.So we must always look at them and use them with a critical, clear and intelligent attitude, for example, opening the way to many risks.
Not just products
This reading of "today" in which each element is connected to the others, in which nothing is accidental, is abundant in Giussani.He also said that January 20, 2025 is the day of Donald Trump's second inauguration.Behind the president are not future political colleagues but the heads of large technology companies.Therefore, the world revolves around the convergence of political power, especially American power, and the power of technology companies.In short, everything converges in one direction.But how did we get there?We asked Bruno Giussani himself."We continue to treat these technologies as products that are ours when we buy them and we can do whatever we want with them.But in reality they have become platforms.It is very different.Almost all important software and digital services - the software we use in the office, payment systems, information flow and entertainment, social networks, sales pages, AI chatbots - today all work, as they say, "in the cloud".That is, more and more data and data processing reside on remote machines, controlled by technology companies.This allows them to have a huge impact on our lives, deciding what we can and cannot do, influencing competitive trends.Of course, these systems are efficient, effective, practical, easy to use, and often free.That's the most dangerous trap of digital technology: they're actually useful.That's why we accept them, and it's hard to think without them.But all of this comes at a price: data mining, loss of privacy, miscommunication, addiction, mental health, manipulation, the list goes on.In the book, I explain this fact and then I try to explain how to fight.It's about learning how to use them without being manipulated."
As I read, I wrote down a number of key words.Then I went to find them for the next assessment to try and line them up.At the end of this exercise in connected clouds, the concept of "cognitive integrity" has a special place.And thus, further: "cognitive protection".Giussani's goal was to bring this to the surface as a theme, if not the theme, for the next few years.He suddenly writes: "This is the most urgent challenge of the time."A few pages earlier, he explains, “It is highly unlikely that artificial intelligence and neurotechnology can develop in a safe, useful, and common good manner without deliberate and concerted effort.We still have some time before the fundamentals of these technologies become strong.Several years.After that, it can be difficult to change the shape of our relationship with them."But can we not waste time resisting this vicious circle?"Cognitive sovereignty must take precedence over market logic" (we read from a quote by centrist MP Isabel Chappell). However, it is a very difficult task."It is necessary to understand that digital technologies are not neutral. Many people think: they are machines, they cannot have thoughts, ideologies, intentions. But in reality, computer code is not neutral by nature, invisible, but coercive. What we see on social networks is often invented by algorithms and for commercial purposes, and when it is not, it can bebiased to follow the social or political views of these people, which means that we are increasingly surrounded by machines that give us superpowers, such as writing e-mails in seconds, on the one hand, impair our ability to understand reality, and on the other hand, they are able to reprogram our brains and society.
The challenge is also difficult because the AI has its obvious uses."Here lies the essence of technology and our relationship with it: it offers real, practical, useful services and makes us more efficient. But at the cost of transferring personal data, destroying the private sector and increasing dependence."Giussani writes like this.How then to maintain human control over artificial intelligence?What the author suggests are the conditions he thinks are necessary: the rules and regulations, of course, and the attitude of "opposition".But also education, strong skills, the restoration of technological communication of technology, the communication of technology with "technological communication", And again, special conditions for the design of computer systems to take advantage of small emotions and protect children, whose neuroanatomical development is at risk and about investing in education But they often offer technology studies.Of course, this is very important, considering that in the future there will be few jobs that do not need to communicate or work with these technologies, not only that they know how to use them and how to try to understand their human, social and ethical impact by defining the cultural, economic and power systems that exist and develop these technologies."
