#388 AI Literacy and the Hidden Power of Digital Persuasion

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AI is reshaping not just what we see, but how we think, trust, and decide. Host Dr. Darren sits down with Diego Bonilla, CSU professor and AI literacy expert, to unpack digital persuasion, privacy, critical thinking, and how AI can move from personalized influence toward collective intelligence. ## Key Takeaways - **AI literacy is now leadership literacy.** Understanding how AI shapes attention, persuasion, and decision-making is essential for technologists and business leaders. - **Critical thinking applies across every medium.** From mass media to social platforms to generative AI, the core defense is the ability to question outputs and recognize bias. - **Advertising drives much of today’s digital ecosystem.** Free platforms often rely on persuasive design, which can fuel addiction, echo chambers, and cognitive overload. - **Centralized AI creates dependency risk.** Leaders should evaluate vendor lock-in, model control, and the consequences of relying on a single platform or system. - **AI can support collective intelligence.** Beyond individualized chat, AI can be designed to help groups reason together, share knowledge, and solve problems collaboratively. - **The future belongs to organizations that think together.** Teams that build judgment, literacy, and dialog will be better prepared for AI’s next wave. ## Chapters - **00:00** Welcome and AI literacy introduction - **03:12** Diego Bonilla’s background in digital media and cognition - **08:10** Why critical thinking is the foundation of media literacy - **13:25** Social media, psychographics, and persuasive design - **18:40** Echo chambers, advertising, and digital addiction - **24:05** AI companions, personalization, and behavior shaping - **29:30** Why AI is different from traditional digital media - **34:15** Centralized models, open source, and AI control risk