In today’s world, artificial intelligence is no longer confined to science labs or futuristic movies. It’s become an invisible force that quietly intervenes in our daily lives—especially through the screens we so often turn to for information, connection, and entertainment.

From the moment we unlock our mobile phones, AI is already at work, shaping what we hear and what we see.

The algorithm is the new “editor”

Social media platforms use AI-powered algorithms to curate our feeds. What we read, the videos we watch, even the music we discover—much of it is selected not by us, but for us, based on past behavior, likes, clicks, and watch time. Over time, this creates what’s called a “filter bubble”—a personalized information loop that reinforces our existing beliefs, preferences, and moods. These are not random. They are the result of millions of data points analyzed in real time to keep us engaged—and consuming.

It feels like freedom, but in reality, it’s guidance. Subtle, quiet guidance.

This means that every time we “like” a post, skip a video, or linger on an image, we are feeding the algorithm’s appetite for better precision. The digital world adjusts itself in response. The content you consume tomorrow is shaped by how you behaved today.

What does this mean for truth? For curiosity? For human connection?

TV is no longer “just TV”

Even our televisions have become smarter. Streaming services like Netflix or Disney+ don’t just offer shows; they predict what we’ll want to watch next. Recommendation engines, powered by AI, analyse viewing habits across millions of users to decide what gets promoted, what gets funded, and what disappears quietly into the digital void.

In this way, AI is beginning to influence not just what we choose to watch, but also what gets created in the first place.

Echoes in the chamber

This influence can be both enriching and limiting. On one hand, AI can introduce us to new music, films, artists, and perspectives we might never find on our own. On the other hand, it can trap us in narrow echo chambers, where we are only exposed to views that mirror our own.

It subtly affects our perception of reality. What we believe to be “popular” or “true” might simply be what the algorithm thinks we want to believe or consume. In that way, AI doesn’t just reflect reality—it reconstructs it.

Where do we go from here?

This is not a dystopian warning but an invitation for awareness.

The more conscious we are of the invisible hands guiding our feeds, our playlists, and our news streams, the more power we regain to choose. To pause. To seek out different voices. To ask: Is this what I truly want to hear—or what I’ve been trained to expect?

AI is a tool—a powerful, complex tool that can either deepen our understanding or narrow our perspective. The difference lies in how we engage with it.

And perhaps, like with dreams and parallel realities, we are living in a world of layered truths. One created by human experience and one gently sculpted by machine intelligence.

Both are real. But one deserves our critical thinking. The other—our responsibility.

Artificial intelligence no longer lives on the fringes of human experience—it dwells in the core of our daily routines, often invisibly. We rarely pause to notice it, yet it quietly and profoundly influences the very fabric of our perception: what we read, what we watch, what we hear, and perhaps even what we dream.

In an age where our smartphones are extensions of our thoughts and televisions double as curators of culture, AI plays the role of a silent sculptor—molding the reality we inhabit without ever asking for permission.

The blurring line between waking and dreaming

Now let us take a step further—into our own minds. Into our dreams.

Dreams have traditionally been seen as deeply human experiences, arising from memory, emotion, imagination, and the mysterious workings of the subconscious. But in a world increasingly shaped by AI-generated stimuli, we must ask: Are our dreams still entirely our own?

The videos we watch, the music we listen to, and the content we scroll through—much of it chosen by algorithms—fill our minds with visual and emotional material. And what are dreams, if not a montage of sensory impressions, emotional residues, unresolved thoughts, and symbolic fragments?

In that sense, if AI curates what we consume, and what we consume shapes our subconscious... could it be that AI also influences our dreams?

This is not science fiction—it is psychological possibility. Studies already show that emotionally charged media leaves a stronger imprint on the dream state. If an AI-guided feed shows us a steady stream of certain themes—fear, beauty, desire, and outrage—it becomes the soil from which our nighttime worlds grow.

Thus, our dreams may no longer be formed solely from lived experiences but also from algorithmic experiences—second-hand emotions shaped by AI’s interpretation of our desires.

Artificial intuition, human imagination

The ethical and philosophical implications are immense. Are we passively allowing machines to rewire our perception of reality, one image, one sound, one curated moment at a time? And if our inner world begins to reflect an artificial outer one, do we still fully own our inner life?

Yet this need not be a message of despair. Awareness is the first step toward reclaiming agency.

AI is not inherently manipulative. It is a tool—a powerful, predictive system that, when used consciously, can enhance our access to knowledge, creativity, and global perspectives. It can help artists discover new forms, connect thinkers across continents, and surface stories we never knew existed.

But to use AI wisely, we must stay awake—not only in the physical sense, but in the philosophical one. We must question what we’re being shown, remain open to the unfamiliar, and intentionally seek content that challenges rather than comforts.

And perhaps most importantly, we must reclaim space for our unmediated selves—for silence, intuition, and human imagination. In doing so, we allow ourselves to dream dreams that are truly our own.

A gentle invitation

AI will continue to evolve and embed itself more deeply into our lives. Its reach will extend beyond our screens into our homes, workplaces, and even our bodies. We cannot, and perhaps should not, resist this evolution—but we can shape it with awareness, integrity, and care.

So, the next time you scroll through your feed or fall asleep after a stream of videos, ask yourself: Whose story am I dreaming?

Let that question linger.

And in the morning, before turning to your screen, give yourself a moment to be with your own mind, unscripted. That space—that pause—is where the human spirit begins again.