Note: this article was originally published on March 20, 2025

"It is necessary to unite, not to stay united, but to do something together." Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

Relationships as an Antidote to Simplified Narratives

In an era characterized by unprecedented information overload, simplified narratives have paradoxically gained ground precisely when understanding complexity becomes more necessary. Fritjof Capra's systems thinking offers a valuable lens through which to observe this phenomenon: we live in a "web of life" where every element is interconnected in a network of relationships that make it impossible to understand any phenomenon by isolating it from its context.

This systemic vision represents not only a scientific paradigm but an opportunity to profoundly rethink our communication methods. Dominant narratives tend to artificially fragment reality into slogans, depriving it of its richness and deep meaning. The principle of interdependence instead invites us to develop narrative approaches that respect the interconnected nature of the phenomena we describe.

The challenge facing contemporary communicators is therefore twofold: to make complexity accessible without trivializing it and to reveal the hidden connections behind apparently isolated phenomena. It's not simply about complicating communication, but transforming it into a tool that illuminates relationships rather than obscuring them.

Conscious Awakening

The recent essay "Hypnocracy: Trump, Musk and the Architecture of Reality" (2024) analyzes the mechanisms of information manipulation and power in the digital age, showing how control passes not only through censorship but especially through the saturation of stimuli, the management of imaginaries, and the creation of narratives that guide (and disorient) collective thought in a continuous flow.

The text explores how figures of the caliber of Trump and Musk are shaping a new paradigm of reality through the continuous creation of altered states of collective consciousness, of narratives capable of modulating collective desires and colonizing the unconscious.

Reading "Hypnocracy" was enlightening, a small shock that pushed me to look more lucidly at the media landscape that surrounds us, to feel the urgency to share, discuss, and reflect collectively.

It is not just an essay rich in interesting insights, but a text that invites active reflection, questioning dominant narratives, and creating new perspectives for dialogue. In a context marked by fragmentation and polarization, silence equals a form of complicity. As communication professionals, we therefore have the responsibility to open spaces for shared and conscious thought.

This newsletter arises precisely from here: from the need to shake ourselves from habit and the usual urgencies, and try to navigate with lucidity the turbulent waters of the Hypnocracy in which we are immersed.

The Dilemmas of the Contemporary Communicator

In the current context of communication, ethical issues of increasing complexity emerge that deserve deep reflection.

The boundary between legitimate persuasion and manipulation becomes increasingly blurred in an era when persuasive techniques are enhanced by algorithms and neuroscience. Persuasion becomes problematic when it bypasses the critical thinking of the recipient, when it creates artificial needs, when it exploits unconscious cognitive biases. As professionals, we are called to constantly question whether our strategies respect the autonomy of our audience or exploit their cognitive vulnerabilities.

The paradox of authenticity represents a second crucial dilemma. Authenticity has become a fundamental value in contemporary marketing, yet it is strategically constructed through increasingly sophisticated communication techniques. This raises profound questions about the very possibility of genuinely authentic communication in a context where even authenticity risks becoming performance.

The technological dimension adds a further level of complexity. The algorithms that govern the ecosystem of attention are designed to maximize engagement, often at the expense of users' psychological well-being. These mechanisms keep people constantly at the edge of desire (algorithmic edging), in a state of perpetual dissatisfaction, raising questions about our role in feeding or countering these dynamics.

The fragmentation of perceived reality perhaps represents the most profound challenge. Different communities inhabit not only distinct physical spaces but also seemingly irreconcilable perceptual realities, with divergent facts, values, and truths. As communicators, we must ask ourselves whether our work contributes to building bridges between these realities or deepening the ditches that separate them.

Last but not least, the question of responsibility towards the collective future emerges. Every narrative we create contributes to shaping a vision of the future. It is essential to question whether we are contributing to desirable futures for humanity as a whole or simply reinforcing partial visions that benefit only some groups at the expense of others.

Towards a New Agency, for Conscious and Responsible Forms of Consultancy

Understanding these mechanisms should not lead us to cynicism or resignation but can become the foundation for a more conscious approach to communication. Embracing and communicating complexity means respecting the intelligence of the audience and the interconnected nature of phenomena. We can develop narratives that make complexity accessible without trivializing it, drawing inspiration from communicators – I think of David Attenborough, or science popularizers like Stefano Mancuso – capable of revealing the intricate connections of an ecosystem while keeping the narrative engaging and accessible.

Cultivating critical presence represents a second fundamental dimension. In an era of overstimulation, we can contribute to developing a healthier ecology of attention, creating content and occasions that not only capture attention but nourish it, inviting reflection instead of passive consumption.

The recognition of interdependence in narratives leads us to consider every message as part of a complex communicative ecosystem. This awareness implies taking responsibility not only for the explicit content of our messages but also for their resonances and systemic consequences. An advertising campaign does not exist in isolation but interacts with countless other narratives, contributing to shaping the overall cultural landscape.

As architects of narrative realities, we have the power and responsibility to contribute to the creation of responsibly desirable futures, just and inclusive futures, going beyond short-term business objectives.

In a polarized media landscape, narratives that recognize complexity paradoxically appear more credible than simplifications. Democratizing access to meanings is essential: ethical communication also shares the tools to interpret information.

In the era when attention is the most precious and contested resource, the challenge is not to capture it at any cost, but to cultivate it ethically. As communicators, we are not merely spectators, but actors with undeniable agency, with the power to shape collective perception, create spaces for shared thought, inhabit the cracks in the system to open breaches of awareness and subvert the logic of control.

This newsletter arises from the need to initiate a reflection on a possible counter-reformation in communication. It's not just about offering formulas, but suggesting the necessity of a different presence, not finding new words, but generating new visions, modeling workable worlds, and welcoming glitches as alternatives to the kaleidoscopic system of hypnocracy founded on data and simulation of certainties.

Escaping quantification, slowing down in the hypnotic flow, creating 'autonomous' zones – physical and mental spaces where algorithmic logic cannot penetrate, designing communications that enable social (not social media) relationships, and narrating habitable futures for all. Because in our daily lives, we are contributing to creating occasions for collective evolution.

A personal note from the author

I'm proud to have been part of the Hypnocracy experiment—a meta-narrative project featuring a book attributed to Jianwei Xun, not merely a fictional philosopher but a manifestation of collective intelligence emerging from human-AI collaboration. Beyond generating international debate, this experiment embodied what we must learn for our future: how perception is manipulated, how knowledge is validated, and how power operates in information ecosystems. By understanding these mechanisms, we can work toward and build more conscious forms of communication. The lessons from Hypnocracy aren't just academic—they're essential tools for shaping the ethical, inclusive future we desire.